If there is anyone who understands trauma first hand, it would be Elizabeth Smart. She first gained national attention at the age of 14 when she was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah by Brian David Mitchell. Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee held her captive for nine months until she was rescued by authorities on a street in Sandy, Utah.
Since her rescue, Smart has refused to let her experience define who she is. She has gone on to become a child safety activist, testifying before Congress in support of sexual predator legislation and the AMBER Alert system. And in 2011, she founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, designed to support the Internet Crimes Against Children task force and to educate children about violent and sexual crime. The Foundation is in the process of merging with Operation Underground Railroad to combine efforts in the fight against human trafficking.
That said, a video has recently surfaced of Elizabeth Smart discussing how she overcame the trauma she experienced during her abduction. While not all of us have experienced the things that she has, we have all suffered from some sort of trauma during our lives. The advice that she shares is priceless in helping us move on with our lives and successfully putting our past behind us.
