Trauma is a pervasive fact of modern life. Most of us have been traumatized, not just soldiers or victims of abuse or attack. ” In a recent study of more than one thousand men and women, it was found that forty percent had gone through a traumatic event in the past three years. Most often cited were: being raped or physically assaulted; being in a serious accident; witnessing someone else being killed or injured. Studies show that somewhere between seventy-five and one hundred million Americans have experienced childhood sexual and physical abuse.
War and violence have affected the lives of nearly every man, woman, and child living on this planet. In the last few years, entire communities have been wiped out or devastated by natural disasters. Many other people have traumatic symptoms that go unrecognized. For example, ten to fifteen percent of all adults suffer from panic attacks, unexplained anxiety, or phobias. As many as seventy-five percent of the people who go to doctors have complaints that are labeled psychosomatic because no physical explanation can be found for them.
Depression and anxiety often have traumatic antecedents. “(http://www.traumahealing.org). The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) is a research study conducted by the U.S. by the health maintenance organization has shown that considerable and prolonged stress in childhood has life-long consequences for a person’s health and well-being. It can disrupt early brain development and compromise functioning of the nervous and immune systems. Furthermore, because of the behaviours adopted by some people who have faced ACEs, such stress can lead to serious problems such as alcoholism, depression, eating disorders, unsafe sex, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. (https://www.cdc.govl).
What most people don’t know is that many seemingly benign situations can be traumatic. The consequences of trauma can be widespread and hidden. Few mainstream mental health services question the seriousness of the problems created by trauma and few treat mental health illnesses from a trauma based perspective. As a trauma therapist I always focus on assessing traumatic events,which contribute to mental illness. Over the course of the years I have found an extraordinary range of symptoms—behavioral and psychosomatic problems, related not only to the traumatic events mentioned above, but also to quite so called ordinary events that made us feel shocked.
The effects of these shocking events are not always apparent immediately following the incidents that caused them. Symptoms can remain dormant, accumulating over years or even decades. Then, during a stressful period, or as the result of another incident, they can show up without warning. There may also be no indication of the original cause. Thus, a seemingly minor event can give rise to a sudden breakdown, similar to one that might be caused by a single catastrophic event. ” These traumatic experiences in our lives lead to what is called an “encoding” of the overwhelming feelings, resulting in the storage of “trauma.”
This process of pausing consciousness takes place in a single millisecond of time, capturing all of the sensory data, feelings, and perceptions of the overwhelming experience. This encoding process is subconscious and automatic.” (www.heaqlingdimesnions.com). Therefore “trauma” can be defined as “an altered state of consciousness – a spontaneous state of self-hypnosis, facilitated by the fight/flight function of the Limbic-Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis.”
Becoming “mindful about our memories,” and how they are felt in the body and mind we are able to employ an internal felt sense through which we can learn to hear this instinctual voice that connects the mind and body. Most people use this sense every day, but very few of us consciously acknowledge it, and even fewer cultivate it. It is important to remember that this inner voice or the so called voice of the “subconscious mind” it is a very natural human capacity. Those of us who are traumatized should be aware that learning to work with the felt sense or inner voice may be challenging. Part of the dynamic of trauma is that it cuts us off from our internal experience as a way of protecting our organisms from sensations and emotions that could be overwhelming again. It may take awhile to trust enough to allow an internal experience to come through. ( P. A. Levine, Ph.D; A. Frederick 1997).
Therefore, practises that connect mind-body and spirit (i.e. Yoga, meditation, etc.,) are those practises that are most successful in helping traumatized patients connect mind and body. As well therapies that focus on mind-body connection, such as Holographic Memory Resolution and EMDR have shown to be very successful in treating any types of trauma.
References:1. Complex PTSD. (n.d.). National Center for PTSD. Retrieved from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/complex-ptsd.asp2. ISTSS complex PTSD treatment guidelines. (n.d.). International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Retrieved from http://www.istss.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=ISTSS_Complex_PTSD_Treatment_Guidelines3. http://www.traumahealing.org4. Peter A. Levine, Ph.D; Ann Frederick . ” Waking the Tiger. Healing trauma”Published by North Atlantic Books P.O. Box 12327 Berkeley. California .1997.5. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/index.html
