SCARS™ Recovery: Taking Care Of Yourself

What Is Self-Care?

The term “self-care” refers to actions and attitudes we use to consciously contribute to the maintenance of our overall well-being and personal health.

Self-care can include physical activities as well as emotional practices and changing our perceptions of situations in our lives. While this concept is big in the field of victim services, it can also be generalized to those who are not currently experiencing trauma but are looking to feel more internally healthy and balanced.

Why Is Self-Care Important?

Many crimes involve the use of force or violence against victims – even if it is not physical. Crime victims of all types of crime may experience trauma – emotional wounds or shock caused by the violence against them. Reactions to trauma vary from person to person and can last for hours, days, weeks, months, or years.

Emotional Trauma:

Victims may experience emotional trauma—emotional wounds or shocks that may have long-lasting effects.

Emotional Trauma May Take Many Different Forms:

• Shock or numbness: Victims may feel “frozen” and cut off from their own emotions. Some victims say they feel as if they are “watching a movie” rather than having their own experiences. Victims may not be able to make decisions or conduct their lives as they did before the crime.
• Denial, Disbelief, and Anger: Victims may experience “denial,” an unconscious defense against painful or unbearable memories and feelings about the crime. Or they may experience disbelief, telling themselves, “this just could not have happened to me!” They may feel intense anger and a desire to get even with the offender.
• Stress: Some crime victims may experience trouble sleeping, flashbacks, extreme tension or anxiety, outbursts of anger, memory problems, trouble concentrating, and other symptoms of distress for days or weeks following a trauma.

What Are Some Examples Of Self-Care?

• Positive Affirmations – Each day (or in stressful situations) think through some kind thoughts about yourself and your life. Remind yourself that you have taken steps to care for yourself that might seem easy but are very important, like taking a shower, getting out of bed, or going for a walk. Remind yourself that you are worth praising through nice notes about your appearance, goals, and confidence on your mirror or written down throughout your day.
• Relaxation Exercises – Anything from breathing techniques to practicing meditation and creating a bedtime routine can help to create a relaxing environment to heal and reflect.
• Channeling pain into creativity – Taking up activities like poetry writing, short stories, journaling, drawing or dance serve as outlets to release and process emotions that might otherwise be overwhelming.
• Physical Self-Care – Getting up and moving your body in a way that feels good to you can change your whole mood. If you’re not a person who loves the gym, you can go for a walk with a friend, do some stretches, or dance at home to some feel-good music. Anything that allows you to connect to what your body physically needs in that moment.
• Know and communicate your boundaries – Let others around you know up front what is and is not okay for you. This is especially important in the context of sexual partners but can be applied to any friends, loved ones, and acquaintances.
• Ask for help – No one should be expected to go through life alone and everyone needs help from time-to-time. Asking loved ones for help with life feels overwhelming is important.
• Remind yourself it is okay to walk away from situations that are too stressful or triggering.

Additional resources:

• Love Is Respect
• Your Life, Your Voice
• The Mighty

 
SCARS™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.

TAGS: Selfcare, Self-Care, Taking Care, After The Scam, Recovery, Emotional Trauma, Psychology Of Scams, Denial, Disbelief, and Anger,

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FAQ: How Do You Properly Report Scammers?

It is essential that law enforcement knows about scams & scammers, even though there is nothing (in most cases) that they can do.

Always report scams involving money lost or where you received money to:

1. Local Police – ask them to take an “informational” police report – say you need it for your insurance
2. Your National Police or FBI (www.IC3.gov »)
3. The SCARS|CDN™ Cybercriminal Data Network – Worldwide Reporting Network HERE » or on www.Anyscam.com »

This helps your government understand the problem, and allows law enforcement to add scammers on watch lists worldwide.

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