10. Reclaim your sense of self
On the path to dealing with the emotions you experienced during a childhood trauma, you will have begun to unlock your sense of self. Being able to identify the feelings you felt, understand them, acknowledge them, and let them go gives you an opportunity to surrender their control over you. When you release your feelings, you become unburdened by them. This will give you control over yourself and your destiny.
Your true self, now unfettered by all those negative emotions from childhood trauma, will have a different perspective on life. Your goals and ambitions may change due to your new emotional perspective. You may find yourself able to enter new relationships with a degree of closeness you never imagined possible. Embrace these opportunities as rewards for the difficult process you have gone through.
Whatever you do, bear in mind that this is a rare chance for you to re-invent yourself and change your approach to your future. That can have life-changing consequences. For the first time, you will be looking far beyond what happened to you and examining what you plan to happen to you in the future. If you make the most of it, you can make what you have been through work for you.
Many people may not make immediate changes in their work or personal lives. They may instead choose to reclaim themselves by helping others. This is very satisfying to them as it gives them a way to ‘pay it forward’ and help someone else escape the shackles of childhood trauma. If this is an option that sounds attractive to you, find out what opportunities there are in your area for you to help others by supporting them through the process.