Have you struggled to find the right words to begin to talk about past trauma in your new relationship?

No matter what traumatic experience you've endured in your life, it is natural for the trauma to affect your new relationship in many ways, because the events may have caused disruptions in your feelings and connections to others.

Even if you've been through years of therapy, living through traumatic events often leaves an element of vulnerability and difficulty to trust others, so it may feel frightening to get close to new people and discuses your past trauma.

It can be so difficult to initiate the conversation to a new partner, and finding the right words can be tough, so here are some conversation starters to open up this deep communication:

• "Can I tell you something that is hard for me to talk about?"
• "Something bad happened to me X ago"
• "I experienced something X ago, that was really hard for me, and I'd like to talk to you about it"

Save this post to remember these conversation starts for when you may need them

For more on trauma, communication and relationships follow @the.resiliency.therapist