How Long Does It Take To Recover From A Trauma Bond

When will this be over? How long will this pain last? These are all questions clients have asked me while in session to work through their recovery from the trauma bond. Recovering from a trauma bond takes time and effort. It will take effort, and you can recover from the trauma bond. Trauma bonds are formed when a person develops a deep attachment to their abuser, and a source of trauma to which they start to feel and become addicted. Although the trauma bond is difficult to break, it is possible. The recovery process will require lots of effort, commitment, and patience.

You can recover from the trauma bond. , but it is possible. Trauma bonds form when a person is exposed to traumatic events or relationships, leading them to develop an intense attachment to their abuser or source of trauma. This bond can be difficult to break, and the recovery process will often require a lot of self-care and professional help.

Know What the Trauma Bond is

To recover from the trauma bond, first, you have to know that you are trauma bonded. There are seven stages to the trauma bond. It starts with love bombing and continues until the point where you feel addicted to the narcissist. You can begin to explore how the trauma bond has impacted your life, starting with self-reflection, journaling, and going to counseling. By becoming familiar with the trauma bond, you can also become aware of ways to break the addiction.

Create Clear Boundaries

Setting boundaries not only limits the interactions that you have with the narcissist, but it also prevents you from continuing your connection with the narcissist. When you remain in constant contact with the narcissist, you decrease your recovery time from the trauma bond. Setting boundaries creates a healthy space for you to process your emotions and thoughts. When you say connected to the narcissist consistently, you are unable to process your experiences, emotions, and thoughts. I’m clear boundaries make it unclear for you to be able to recover from the trauma bond faster. Use the boundaries to reflect and journal.

Seek Professional Help

Connecting with a counselor who specializes in narcissism and narcissistic abuse recovery will increase your recovery time. The counselor has a deeper understanding of the cycle of narcissistic abuse, the trauma bond, and betrayal trauma they will be able to help you process more deeply. The counselor will also be able to help you through additional challenges you will face as you recover from the trauma bond.

When you try to recover from the trauma bond on your own, the potential for recovery is significantly decreased. This means you are left alone to figure out all of the nuances of understanding what has happened in your life by yourself. Being with a narcissist is extremely confusing and painful. You do not have to face your recovery from the trauma bond alone. Having a professional to help you work through the different stages of grief, PTSD, C-PTSD, and additional areas such as anxiety, depression, and low confidence can increase your time of recovery from the trauma bond.  Working with a counselor can help you to understand the trauma bond and learn skills to break it. You also have a safe space to process your emotions and experiences.

Trying to recover from the trauma bond on your own would be like trying to figure out how to make a 12-tier wedding cake, and you’ve never baked in your life. You can do it on your own, but it would help to have an experienced baker to guide you through the process.

Creating Your Closure and Acceptance

Recovering from the trauma bond means creating closure and acceptance for yourself. For some, it is not easy to come to acceptance. Many survivors look for narcissists to give them the closure they need to be free from the trauma bond. Acceptance is a huge part of improving your recovery time from the trauma bond. You can create your closure by accepting. You do this by seeing the narcissist and the relationship for their true qualities. As you stop romanticizing the relationship, your recovery from the trauma bond increases.

Just because it’s taking time doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

-Unknown

It Takes As Long As It Takes

This probably isn’t the answer that you want to hear, and it is the truth. Each one of us heals from narcissistic abuse in our own time. Some might even say that the healing process is a continuation of revelation, insight highs and lows all mixed up into a lived experience. There will be moments when you feel like you have finally achieved recovery from the trauma bond. At other times, you may feel as if you are in the beginning stages of the healing process.

It is important to be patient with yourself as you continue to work through grief. One of the most important parts of recovering from the trauma bond is practicing self-compassion and self-care. This means being gentle with yourself as you continue to allow life to unfold in new and amazing ways. Recovery from the trauma bond also means being gracious with yourself in the difficult and dark moments of your healing process.

Overall, recovering from a trauma bond can be a long process, and at the same time, it is possible.

When you’re ready for steady support that won’t rush you, start here. Take your next step, gently.

We provide online therapy services to adults and couples located in Texas.
If you do not live in Texas or are not ready for therapy yet, we also offer self-guided resources designed to support recovery from narcissistic abuse and trauma wherever you are.