Something that was critical to my trauma recovery was my mind’s automatic reliance upon various storyworlds, as I call them.  I didn’t grow up with many positive influences for my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, but I’ve had a strong moral compass since childhood, if only on a subconscious level.  Children below the ages of around 7-10 are absorbing astonishing amounts of information on a subconscious level, and that moral compass enabled me to absorb from stories what I could not get from the adults around me.

The result was that, later in life when I needed the lessons that I subconsciously learned, my mind would immediately offer up a line or scene from a movie or show, or perhaps a snippet from a book.  Song lyrics were also a primary source of mental reference material, for to me, songs are just tiny stories set to music.

Virtually every single thing I’ve ever read, heard, or seen in my life is stored in my brain, ready for my mind to retrieve at a second’s notice whenever I’m in need of inner guidance.  However, there are certain storyworlds that are particularly important.  In order of relative importance, they are as follows, with a brief explanation of that importance:

• The Matrix: most closely resembles the mechanisms of the modern world and therefore possesses the best tools for being aware of it and dealing with it
• Lord of the Rings: most closely resembles the moral, ethical, and existential issues of humanity as well as my own spiritual beliefs
• Doctor Who: provides a highly ethical and moral magical rescuer
• Stranger Things: most closely resembles facets of myself
• Marvel Cinematic Universe: carries both the hope and gravity of the modern era
• The Dark Knight trilogy: parallels personal Hero’s Journey
• Skyrim: immersive and interactive framework allowing for development of inner warrior persona
• Harry Potter: most closely resembles my own mystical life
• Game of Thrones: most closely resembles my traumatic existence
• Star Trek: provides the best parallel to my own moral and ethical values

I was constantly asking myself, “what would this character do?” in response to any given situation where I couldn’t come up with my own answer.  Having this vast repository of subconscious knowledge that offered itself up at just the right moment was absolutely critical to my growth and healing since awakening in 2018.

It’s easy to come up with your own list of relatable storyworlds.  Just think of the stories you’ve read, seen, or heard (music counts too) that feel closest to you, that you turn to in moments of need.  Any book, show, movie, album, playlist, or just a single song can be a source of inspiration and even be a lifesaver.  Music and stories save lives, have no doubt about it.  The stories we tell ourselves, whether we wrote them or someone else did, are critical to our survival and happiness in life.