In today’s post, I’ll be talking about how to obtain freedom from trauma and abuse, how to be healed, set free and delivered from the wounds that have shattered your soul. In essence, you’ll learn how to become unbroken.
Table of Contents
Freedom From Trauma
Trauma is the broader definition of what is clinically known as PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a psychological reaction to an emotional wounding, damage, or injury.
Most of us associate PTSD with war veterans or extreme situations and disasters, however, trauma encompasses more than just first-responder types of incidences. People can be hugely impacted by a variety of traumatic experiences. God cares about ALL of these experiences.
There are two things that can break the soul of man. One is sin and the other is trauma. Trauma encompasses all the horrendous occurrences that are common to man. Not only war and disaster, but all the myriad situations that can break the hearts of both children and adults. Trauma is meant to steal from us our God-given destinies.
Why is healing trauma such an important step for each one of us to take? Because trauma becomes the frame around the portrait of our lives, a pervasive, permeating presence that is always pulsating in the recesses of the mind and heart. The physiological impulse of survival, that is stimulated by trauma, remains long after the traumatic event has passed.
The body remains in a state of mobilization for combat. The constant strain on the endocrine and immune systems can be devastating to physical health. This is why people are diagnosed with cancer, or other serious diseases, after experiencing trauma.
The aftermath of trauma can seep into all areas of life: how we learn, our ability to interact and engage with others, the capability to see another’s point of view, how we experience pleasure, the coordination of our thoughts and feelings, and how we make choices.
Trauma is much more than stress, which is often temporary. Because trauma affects the brain, it is re-lived in the body long after the event has passed. How a person perceives and absorbs trauma is determined by many factors other than the trauma itself.
For instance, how a person was supported during and after the event is pivotal to how they perceive the situation, along with their ability to release the hurtful memories. Those who have supportive, affirming people around them, who are able to communicate and comfort, do far better than those who aren’t validated, nurtured, or sometimes, even believed. Individual personality traits also factor in.
Unresolved Trauma
Each one of us suffers from unresolved trauma, whether that was abuse by a parent, experiencing a terrifying natural disaster, betrayal from a spouse, or being shamed in front of the class, by a teacher in grade school. One traumatic event has the capability to shatter a developing human soul.
Many types of situations can break a soul, shatter peace, destroy self-esteem, and uproot identity. Although, there are varying degrees of trauma, it’s not helpful to compare, because all types of trauma are devastating to the soul. A wound, no matter how big or small, is still a wound, and needs to be healed.
Shattered souls must be mended…
The root word of trauma (traumatizo) is the word “wound.” Interestingly, the word “trauma” appears only one time in the New Testament, and that is in reference to the man whom the Good Samaritan helped.
Rather than thinking of trauma as a mental illness or disorder, trauma should instead be viewed as an injury to the soul. The fairly common practice of telling people to “move on” or “get over it,” encourages stuffing of emotions or denial of what a person is feeling. Denial of feelings can manifest as depression, anxiety, and negative behaviors.
Jesus wants to get into our wounded places to bring healing, restoration, and freedom to the most painful moments of our lives, to erase the memories so we are no longer defined by what happened to us.
We live in a very broken, traumatic world. If our relationship with God is not what it should be, the brokenness of life is compounded. Trauma breeds hopelessness and despair because it distorts identity. This is one reason trauma is considered a sort of bondage, and why being released from it brings freedom.
Trauma can so permeate a person’s life, to the point that they subconsciously believe that what they’ve been through, is the truest thing about them. Society seeks to treat the physical symptoms brought on by trauma, when the root of the problem stems from emotional or soul-wounding.
Symptoms of Trauma
| Trouble sleeping | Irritability | Isolation |
| Nightmares | Anger | Hyper-vigilance |
| Flashbacks | Memory problems | An inability to Relax |
| Depression | Hopelessness | Fibromyalgia |
| Anxiety | Digestive issues | Chronic nerve pain |
| Panic attacks | Suicidal ideation | Restless legs |
- Trouble sleeping
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks
- Panic attacks
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- Anger
- Hopelessness
- Digestive issues
- Problems with memory
- Suicide ideation
- Isolation
- Hypervigilance
- An inability to relax
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic nerve pain:
Traumatic memories set up a fight or flight response, which is governed by the amygdala in the brain. Signals are sent from this portion of the brain to the adrenal glands, which then pour out cortisol and adrenaline. These stress hormones inflame the nervous system, which can lead to chronic nerve pain.
The good news is, deliverance from these ailments is possible when someone is freed from their trauma, which is the underlying issue.
Wabi Sabi, a Japanese concept that finds delight in the broken, incomplete, and imperfect, is a wonderful portrayal of what Jesus does tl our shattered souls. Only He can put the broken pieces back together exactly how they were meant to be, making us more lovely than we could ever imagine.
Jesus restores us to our original design, holding all our broken pieces together in the palms of His hands to make us even more beautiful and more valuable amidst our shattering. Jesus remakes and remodels us, binding all the pieces together, with a lacquer of gold, drenched in love, surrounding it all.
A Biblical Promise
Listen to this beautiful promise in Isaiah 61:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” Isaiah 61:1 (ESV)
This scripture is a summary of Jesus’ ministry to those who are victimized, marginalized, and traumatized. Jesus’ mandate when He came to earth, was to destroy the works of the evil one, to set the captives free, and to heal the broken-hearted.
Do you feel like a prisoner to the trauma you’ve suffered in life?
There is no “getting over” a shattered soul, which is a broken heart. Trauma can shatter the belief you have in yourself because of what happened to you and how you were treated.
But… take heart. You can be set free. THIS is why Jesus came…
Author Mike Hutchings embraces this tender topic in his ground-breaking book:
Supernatural Freedom From The Captivity of Trauma
You can also enjoy the content in an audio format
This timely book was written to help people become unbroken through God’s provision. It is power-packed, easy to read, and is full of practical tips on how to heal from trauma, whether you’re ministering to yourself or to others. The Holy Spirit is the great psychiatrist. We are designed to have a sound mind because we have the mind of Christ.
The Holy Spirit Heals
We’ve all heard about “peeling back the layers of the onion” when it comes to healing. Do you know what that means? It’s simply the Holy Spirit putting his finger on the right thing, at the right time, for us to deal with it and move on.
Jesus paid the penalty for our mental torment as well as our physical pain and disease. All of our wounds are worthy to be healed.
If you’d like to learn more about this fascinating topic, please visit Godhealsptsd.com or go to voice4victims.life if you need to reach out to someone. Voice 4 Victims is a network of people who assist others through trauma. They are there to listen and intercede, as well as, to offer helpful resources.
We no longer need to be defined by what we’ve gone through. We are defined by who Christ sees us to be. He has absorbed all our sin and bondage so that we can be free.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalms 34:18 (NASB)
Let us never forget that Jesus hovers over all of us to heal us for we are the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit.
P.S. If you’re ready to join a powerful, transformative community in which women can heal and connect, click here to join my private Facebook page.