When you have suffered through a trauma, it’s very common to feel helpless in the moments when the traumatic event occurs. That helpless feeling is often something that lingers for years to come unless healing takes place. More often than not, helplessness can manifest itself in the body as muscle tension, or as sensations of disintegration. This is very dependent on the parts of the body that were affected during the trauma.
For example, if you have been a victim of physical abuse, you’re likely to experience tenseness in your head, your back or any other body part that was assaulted. The same is true for other types of victims. Over time, this tenseness can lead to feeling numb. Learning more about why this happens in the body and what to do about it can go a long way toward beginning the healing process.
The Self-Numbing Process
In his book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk talks about the fact that he has encountered many patients in his practice who have experienced self-numbing as a direct result of trauma. This occurs because they have learned to brace themselves against any unwanted sensory experience, and over time, they’ve grown to see almost every sensory experience as unwanted. Of course, this looks different for every person, and it may include:
- Becoming very obese or anorexic
- Becoming addicted to exercise
- Becoming a chronic work-a-holic
- Turning to drugs or alcohol to dull the pain
It’s very common for people to seek to “cure” their numbness by cutting or engaging in high-risk behaviors like prostitution. For the moment, these activities give a false sense of control.
Yoga and its Role in Trauma Therapy
In order to effectively help trauma victims, it’s often necessary to address the numbness first. Doing so helps victims experience a sense of relaxation, and it allows at least some of their tenseness to leave their bodies. Dr. Van der Kolk began studying heart rate variability (HRV), which measures how well the autonomic nervous system is functioning. He found that when the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system are not balanced (as is the case in most trauma victims), this leads to mental issues like anxiety and depression, and it can also lead to physical problems including cancer and heart disease.
Yoga involves a combination of breathing practices, stretches, postures and meditation. Even the very act of deep breathing has a profound effect on both the sympathetic nervous system (breathing in) and the parasympathetic nervous system (breathing out), which can bring back the balance that the body is lacking.
Over time, participants learn to be more relaxed and safe in their own bodies. They learn to look inward at their bodies, and listen to the cues they’re being given from within. This is the exact opposite of what most trauma victims have trained themselves to do, which is to be constantly looking outward in an attempt to defend themselves.
The right trauma therapy offers healing to those who need it, and oftentimes, Yoga can become an integral part of that process.
If you’ve been suffering because of a traumatic event that occurred in your past, working with a therapist who is trained in trauma therapy can help you find the healing you’re searching for. I would love to help you begin the process. Please contact me to schedule an appointment.
