Sense of Foreshortened Future

Overcoming Your Story Podcast

Miriam is an avid reader and does a lot of continuous research on trauma and trauma recovery. A couple of years ago she came across an article on time and prolonged trauma that shook her. In this episode she talks about the article, how she experiences time and why a sense of foreshortened future is a trauma response. KEY TAKEAWAYS If somebody has been tortured or had prolonged trauma a common outcome can be that they lose faith in humanity. After a complicated and difficult childhood Miriam came into adulthood already tired. The way she experienced time was warped, she did not experience time like other people. She had a distrust in time as a result of trauma and it would make her feel like she didn’t have a future, that she wouldn’t meet the normal milestones most people do. This result came from being beaten, not being nurtured and is a trauma response. It is called a sense of foreshortened future. If you have negative thoughts about the future it’s important to tackle them and challenge them head on. Break the cycles formed by this negative way of thinking, start by setting small goals and begin to build something else. BEST MOMENTS “You have a distrust in time and that is an effect of trauma, it makes you feel as if you don’t have a future” “Being stuck in fear in childhood we become adults that are unable to project themselves into the future” “It’s important to not be so scared of the future, it can really hold us back and keep us stuck” VALUABLE RESOURCES Link to full article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4166378/ Link to overview of Coping with a Foreshortened Future: https://www.verywellmind.com/coping-with-a-foreshortened-future-ptsd-2797225 ABOUT THE HOST Miriam is a Trauma Informed Coach, an African, a mom of three daughters, a blogger and writer. After graduating from the London School of Economics, she built her international career in the fields of banking and international development, working for organisations such as the World Economic Forum, Lombard Odier Private Bank, JP Morgan, the Mastercard Foundation and the United Nations. She now uses her passion for psychology and dedicates her time to coaching others to free themselves from the burden of childhood trauma. Her wish to help other women connect to their inner wisdom, love themselves and follow their passion. In her effort to destigmatize mental health and normalize mental health conversations in black communities, she wrote her memoir about surviving childhood and finding her worth. CONTACT METHOD Instagram:@overcomingyourstory Instagram: @_miriamnjoku/ Facebook Linkedin CLUBHOUSE: @miriamnjoku See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.