Source: How to Deal with Chronic Fear and Anxiety | Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing

Fear can shatter our sense of the world as we know it. Those who have experienced trauma may also have experienced real losses that further lead them to question the meaning of their lives. Trauma survivors also often feel guilt about what happened, feeling, illogically, that they could have somehow prevented it, and this shame can also contribute to doubts about their meaning.

But whether we suffer from anxiety or trauma, it is important to rediscover a sense of purpose. An 80-year study of factors contributing to longevity found that individuals who return to healthy behaviors after trauma are the ones able to find meaning in the traumatic experience and reestablish a sense of security about the world