Experiencing hazing can leave individuals with lasting emotional and psychological trauma, and overcoming the effects of that trauma and reclaiming your well-being is a courageous journey to start. It will, of course, require time, support, and self-care to make it through that journey, and you might even find that you need more than even that.
While healing from such trauma is unique to each individual, there are steps you can take to help overcome the impact of your hazing experience, which is why this article aims to highlight and explore some of these steps to guide you towards healing and recovery.
Seek Legal Help
Therapy, self-care, and everything else you can do to look after yourself are doubtlessly important elements of your recovery efforts. However, if you cannot put your trauma to rest, then it might be because you are still lacking proper closure on the events that you had to suffer through. If that is the case, then you might want to consider the benefits of seeking legal restitution from the people that did this to you.
To start with, you should seek the support and advice of an attorney who can evaluate your case and help you determine whether you would even be able to properly bring a case to bear against these people. Try to be sure to find high-skill attorneys for sexual hazing cases, who have the expertise to handle the details of your case properly.
Connect with Support Networks
One of the best things you can do to help support yourself through this trauma is to build strong social networks with people you can trust to support you. To start, you should reach out to trusted friends and family members who can provide understanding and empathy during your journey.
The simple opportunity to share your experiences with others who will meet you with love and compassion – and not judgement – will help to validate your feelings and provide a vital sense of community.
Engage in Self-Care Practices
Prioritize self-care to nurture your physical, emotional, and mental well-being while allowing yourself to rebuild the life you want around you. To get started, you might want to engage in activities that help you to relax, and search for those things that bring you passion and joy.
There are plenty of ways to do this, some of which include:
- Exercise
- Mindfulness or meditation practices
- Journaling
- Art and creativity
- Spending time in nature
Taking care of yourself holistically like this will help to contribute to your healing process and promote mental resilience against the trauma you have faced.
Challenge Negative Self-Beliefs
A particularly terrible element of hazing is that it can often lead to feelings of self-blame or low self-worth. However, these feelings couldn’t be further from the truth of the situation.
So, you should challenge these negative self-beliefs – whenever you can – by reframing your thoughts and focusing on your strengths and resilience, rather than the negativity your mind will try to focus on. A good way to start doing this is by practicing self-compassion and reminding yourself that you deserve the love, respect, and support that your support network shows you.
