‘The disconnection between body and soul is one of the most important effects of trauma’
It is now widely recognised that mindfulness body oriented therapies are helpful in processing trauma because this approach can help to calm nervous system activation and reconnect us with our body sensations.
Someone who is traumatised may:
- Experience flashbacks and/or nightmares
- Have physical sensations such as shaking
- Feel spaced out or numb.
- Find it very hard to talk to close friends/family and be isolated
- Be afraid that they are ‘going mad’ because they cannot control their physical reactions.
- Experience mood swings and changes in habits (e.g. drinking, sleeping or eating patterns)
Understanding why flashbacks occur and how the brain works during trauma can be a vital resource, because it helps to normalise these reactions. For this reason trauma therapy may often involve ‘psycho-education’ around how the brain reacts and include specific exercises aimed to develop resources and build resilience.
Trauma therapy is always tailored to the individual and may include trying out simple exercises to see what helps reduce physical symptoms. I will help you to identify practical, physical and interpersonal resources and explore ways to utilise these. Sometimes this might involve exercises to slow the nervous system, which Babette Rothschild calls ‘learning how to put the brakes on’ and this is a vital skill for clients doing trauma work.