Trauma anniversaries & how to manage them

Trauma anniversaries can be confusing if we don’t know they are happening. I have experienced feeling irritated and reactive without understanding why. It is another example of how our bodies retain trauma.

Personally, I’ve learned to pause, assess, and acknowledge that my body is experiencing something. This awareness takes the edge off these feelings and gives me permission to allow myself rest and some me-time while the feelings pass.

What is a trauma anniversary?

A trauma anniversary is what therapists sometimes call an "anniversary reaction". It is when somehow, without even looking at a calendar, your body pinpointed this as the same season, month, or day of your trauma from the past.

So how do we manage these?

A trauma anniversary can present a lot of triggers. If possible, offer yourself compassion and

patience. You are not weak or crazy and you will not always feel this way. It is normal to have reactions to anniversaries.

Try to separate past from present.

Think about how much time has passed and try to take note of anything that differentiates the anniversary from the incident. Without taking away from what you are still going through, try to help your body realise that it's not still happening in the same way.

What are your triggers?

Awareness of your triggers will give you more choice; do you need to avoid or limit certain things during this time?

Is there anyone in your life that you can share this information with? This doesn't make it their responsiblity to make sure triggers don't occur but it can be helpful to have another person recognising them.

Acknowledge the anniversary

It is helpful to be able to name what is happening even if you don't want to focus on it. when you do this, give yourself permission not to do anything related to it, including any of other options, if that is what is best for you at this time.