Trauma can be held in the body, leading to physical symptoms years later — such as headaches, jumpiness, chronic pain, and dissociation. When you have an overwhelming experience, your logical mind might feel “over it” before your body does.
Ever since people's responses to overwhelming experiences have been systematically explored, researchers have noted that a trauma is stored in somatic memory and expressed as changes in the biological stress response.
Many may often ask themselves, “Will I feel this way forever?” The answer to this is both simple and complex. The effects of trauma that evolve into ost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will never entirely go away. However, they can be managed with proper treatment to make them less severe to live a normal life.
The normal healing and recovery process involves the body coming down out of heightened arousal. The internal alarms can turn off, the high levels of energy subside, and the body can re-set itself to a normal state of balance and equilibrium. Typically, this should occur within approximately one month of the event.
When we feel stressed or threatened, our bodies release hormones called cortisol and adrenaline. This is the body's automatic way of preparing to respond to danger, and we have no control over it. This can have a range of effects, which are sometimes called: Freeze – feeling paralysed or unable to move.
Take time to slow down and be alone, get out into nature, make art, listen to music while you cook your favorite dinner, meditate to cleanse your mind and relax your body, take a bubble bath or a nap to restore.
After practicing TRE® people often use the words 'grounded', 'relaxed' and 'calmer' to describe their feelings. After a period of several months people have reported relief from illnesses such as Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Eczema and IBS.
Getting enough sleep, spending time with your loved ones, and participating in your hobbies are all great ways to practice self-care. Exercise is another excellent self-care strategy. Working out is a physical and mental stress reliever, so it can dramatically reduce your tension and anxiety after trauma.
The functions of the amygdala, hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex that are affected by emotional trauma can also be reversed. The brain is ever-changing and recovery is possible.
Cognitive Signs of Unhealed Trauma
You may experience nightmares or flashbacks that take you back to the traumatic event. Furthermore, you may struggle with mood swings, as well as disorientation and confusion, which can make it challenging to perform daily tasks.
Intrusive memories
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event. Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks) Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event. Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.
The effects of exposure to trauma in childhood have repeatedly been linked to the development of maladaptive personality traits and personality disorders [1,2,3,4]. In contrast, much less is known about personality related problems that may arise in adulthood.
Emotional information is stored through “packages” in our organs, tissues, skin, and muscles. These “packages” allow the emotional information to stay in our body parts until we can “release” it. Negative emotions in particular have a long-lasting effect on the body.
Unresolved trauma is the result of not dealing with difficult life experiences and can have a significant impact on mental health. If not addressed, trauma can manifest in many ways such as difficulty sleeping, nightmares, flashbacks, avoiding triggers, unexplained headaches or body pains, mood swings, and depression.
Brain areas implicated in the stress response include the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Traumatic stress can be associated with lasting changes in these brain areas. Traumatic stress is associated with increased cortisol and norepinephrine responses to subsequent stressors.
Treatment for trauma
By concentrating on what's happening in your body, you can release pent-up trauma-related energy through shaking, crying, and other forms of physical release.
Practice self-care
Activities like yoga or exercise have been shown to be beneficial in healing from (or at least alleviating) the effects of trauma. Taking on hobbies you're interested in, such as painting, boxing, a dance class or just going for daily walks, can also be part of self-care.
Mindful breathing, meditation and exercise are all methods you can try now to mitigate the effects of an overactive nervous system. If you choose to work with a therapist for assistance, they might use their knowledge of polyvagal theory to bring your body back to its natural state of healthy homeostasis.
Buttocks = Anger and Rage
Anger and suppressed rage are often stored in the buttocks.
If you're feeling life is painful at the moment, it's highly advisable that you reach out to a mental health professional, or contact a crisis line and similar resources. Once you've reached out, you may also want to try some of these techniques to help you find relief from your emotional pain.
Guilt, Fishkin says, is associated with activity in the prefrontal cortex, the logical-thinking part of the brain. Guilt can also trigger activity in the limbic system. (That's why it can feel so anxiety-provoking.)
During the purification process, you'll face and address uncomfortable feelings you've stuffed away to avoid dealing with them. An emotional detox pulls up all the repressed feelings of fear, anger, hurt, sadness, and frustration to clear them away, effectively hitting the reset switch on your emotions.