Exercise helps your body burn off adrenaline, release endorphins, calm your nervous system, and relieve stress. While any physical movement can help get your energy moving, some forms of exercise are especially helpful for trauma.
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.
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.
It won't rid you of PTSD and your fears, but let your tears flow and you'll maybe feel a little better afterwards. 'Crying for long periods of time releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids, otherwise known as endorphins. These feel-good chemicals can help ease both physical and emotional pain.
A study conducted by a Columbia University has discovered that traumatic childhood experiences can cause stomach or gut problems which may manifest in adulthood as mental or emotional issues. As a psychotherapist, I often see clients who feel grief, anger, sadness and anxiety in the gut or stomach.
The amygdala is responsible for the fight, flight or freeze response that can get stuck when people experience trauma. And the insula is responsible for our ability to control our emotional responses and immune system. People who are traumatised are frequently highly anxious or 'hyperaroused'.
People who have unprocessed trauma often report having commonly known symptoms, such as intrusive thoughts of the event(s), mood swings, loss of memory and more. However, some people may be struggling with unresolved trauma without even realizing it.
Despite the controversy surrounding repressed memories, some people offer repressed memory therapy. It's designed to access and recover repressed memories in an effort to relieve unexplained symptoms. Practitioners often use hypnosis, guided imagery, or age regression techniques to help people access memories.
There are degrees of trauma. It can be emotional, mental, physical or sexual. It can occur once, or repeatedly. However, it is possible to fully recover from any traumatic experience or event; it may take a long time, but in the end, living free from the symptoms of trauma is worth every step of the journey.
How trauma can make you 'stuck' Traumatic events can overwhelm your body and mind, leaving a lasting mark on your mood, relationship, and sense of self long after the trauma has ended. When trauma impairs your ability to develop full emotional maturity, this is known as arrested psychological development.
Spleen is the most common cause of massive bleeding in blunt abdominal trauma to a solid organ. Spleen is the most commonly injured organ.
Neck Tension = Fear and Repressed Self-Expression
Fear and anxiety are also frequently stored in this area, particularly as a physical response to danger (as the neck is a vulnerable area) or strange environments. Neck muscle tension is also related to trust issues.
Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut. The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach's juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways.
The hips are an important storage vessel of emotional stress because of the psoas' link to the adrenal glands and the location of the sacral chakra.
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.)
Chan, however, says that if you feel emotional and want to cry, it is best to let it all out rather than holding it back. “Crying can be helpful in some situations, but remember that it's only a means for you to express your feelings, be it anger, sadness, anxiety, frustration or grief,” he says.
Massage therapy, the manual manipulation of soft body tissue to promote health and well-being, can provide relief from physical, emotional, and mental stress, and decrease levels of depression, anxiety, irritability, and other symptoms associated with trauma exposure (Collinge, Kahn, & Soltysik, 2012).