Dr. Anet Babakhani

If you are reading this, it is likely that you have suffered a mental illness. Statistics tell us that one in five people suffer some form of mental health problem. Psychology interested me because it provided a learning tool to help me with my own ups and downs. I became interested in trauma and its effects on people when studying the causes of bipolar affective disorder. Many sufferers did have a history of trauma. For those with a history of trauma, they know too well that their lives changed from the moment they experienced trauma. They generally lost a sense of who they were before these experiences. One way to get back to knowing one's self before the trauma is to understand how it impacts the self. The insight is powerful, and it paves the way for other learning to take place. Learning is what makes neuroplasticity possible, and through it, healing. Whether one has had trauma associated with childhood abuse or other life events, it is important to be reminded that one is not alone. There are many others who have endured events similar to what one has, but there is help and support to bring back what was once lost, and to regain a sense of self lost somewhere along the way.