Don’t Let the ‘False Springs’ of Trauma Recovery Leave You Frozen

This has been a once-in-a-lifetime winter in Minnesota. We haven’t seen a winter this mild since 1877-1878. It’s the end of January and the ground, normally piled with snow, lays bare; there are even reports of trees budding and plants sprouting!

As much as I’d like to say that winter is over, I know that this isn’t the case. (It’s Minnesota after all; I’ve seen snow flurries in May!) What we’re experiencing is a an extended case of “false spring”. False spring generally happens every year to some degree, though nothing close to what we have experienced this winter. In normal years, we might get a streak of a few above-freezing days. The mild weather might induce many to step outside without heavy coats or go for a puddle-dodging walk as we take advantage of the relative warmth. But inevitably the bitter cold returns.

I can’t tell you how many times as a trauma survivor that I have had a “false spring” in my post-trauma journey. I’d have an extended string of good days where the triggers didn’t “trigger”. I felt instances of joy and calmness rather than numbness or despair. It seemed as if the perpetual fog that hung over each day was lifting. But just when I thought I had bested it, the fog would roll back in like I was the San Francisco Bay.

The feeling was defeating. It knocked whatever wind I had out of my sails. And it made it that much harder to want to try to triumph—for good—over the post-trauma gunk.

In Minnesota, you can’t experience real spring without first encountering the false springs. And so I think it is for so many of us on our post-trauma journeys. The episodes of false hope are part of the journey. But here’s the positive: they also serve as teaching moments. I learned a lot during my “false spring” episodes.

• It doesn’t just go away on its own.

• Habit-building is critical.

• Healing isn’t constant and linear.

• And about a dozen other things!

What I’m saying is don’t let the false springs in your trauma recovery beat you down so that you give up. Take note of what the episode teaches you. A step back can be later used to “spring” forward. And each false spring leads you closer to the real one.