When traumatic events occur in the lives of people, they often become stuck in survival mode. Instead of having room in their lives for the love and nurturing of others, they tend to spend their lives fighting off enemies that remain unseen. This is one of the tragedies of trauma.
In addition, when the mind is busy defending itself against these invisible assaults, other priorities fall by the wayside. The imagination, the ability to attend to the needs of others, and even learning all take a backseat to survival.
The question is, why does this take place, and what can be done to reverse this process? Is it even reversible?
The Body-Brain Connection with Trauma
Charles Darwin found that there is a strong body-brain connection for those who have lived through traumatic events. We tend to think of strong emotions as being kept within the mind, but they often venture out further. They are felt in the heart, and they are also felt in the gut. This is experienced because of pneumogastric nerve. This nerve is responsible for managing emotions in all animals on the earth, humans included. It also connects many organs to each other, including the intestines, the lungs, the heart and the brain.
The most powerful emotions are often experienced as heartbreaks, or gut-wrenching feelings. To say that the body and the brain aren’t connected to each other is certainly false. Almost everyone has experienced emotions in areas of the body other than the mind.
Still, for trauma victims, the pain is often something that can’t be observed with the naked eye. It is internal pain, and the assault of it takes place over and over again.
Healing the Internal Pain of Trauma Victims
Darwin was on the cusp of something great when he came up with his theory. However, it was something that wouldn’t be expanded upon until years later. This came in the form of The Polyvagal Theory, which refers to the many different branches of the pneumogastric nerve.
The Polyvagal Theory describes why:
- An act of kindness evokes such a positive reaction within us.
- A soothing tone from someone puts us at ease.
- Knowing that we are understood by someone causes us to feel safe and secure.
- Being ignored can incite feelings of anger or rage.
- Being dismissed can lead to a mental collapse.
It also explains why when we are understood by someone, it can start to move us away from living in fear, or from disorganized thinking patterns.
Human beings are social creatures. In order for healing to take place, humans need to feel that they are being truly heard and seen by the others around them. This calms the body down and creates a visceral feeling of safety. For those who struggle with trauma, they constantly feel as though they’re on an island all their own. They fail to connect with others on a daily basis. This is just as true for someone who suffered at the hands of an abusive spouse as it is for a small child who was bullied in school.
It’s possible that the first step toward healing your trauma is within your grasp. You want to be heard, understood and listened to. You want to feel as though you matter, and you may even want to believe that you’re not on the island all on your own. Trauma therapy can help you get the process started.
As a trauma therapist, it has been a goal of mine to help all of my clients realize that they’re not alone. The situations they’ve lived through do not necessarily have to define the remainder of their lives, and healing is possible from trauma. If you would like to talk more about how trauma therapy can bring about healing in your life, I would enjoy talking with you about how I can help.
Please contact me for an appointment.
