Are you feeling stuck in therapy? Are you feeling overwhelmed by the effects of trauma in your daily life, in spite of going to therapy on a regular basis? Your therapist may not be the right fit for you, or they may not have the information they need to treat trauma effectively. It’s important to seek a licensed trauma therapist that has the training and education they need to provide you with trauma-informed care. The effects of trauma can spill over into nearly every aspect of your life, emerging in the form of PTSD and C-PTSD, harsh self-criticism, unfulfilling and toxic relationships, flashbacks, rumination, physical illnesses, codependency, anxiety, nightmares and sleep disturbances, and many other difficult symptoms. These symptoms often lead to feelings of isolation and a deep-rooted sense of shame. To cope with the effects of trauma and PTSD, you might be regularly attending therapy with a licensed therapist, only to feel discouraged by a lack of progress. Sometimes, recalling the traumatic events in talk therapy can worsen the symptoms of trauma, reactivating your nervous system’s trauma response. This can lead you to experience a sense of hopelessness and frustration. You bravely took the leap of going to therapy with the hope of finding relief from your pain, only to feel as if therapy isn’t working-now what? Trauma and the Nervous System: Why Talk Therapy May Not Be WorkingTrauma impacts an individual as a whole-mind, body, and spirit. The mental health field is becoming increasingly aware of the mind-body connection and the effects trauma has on the brain and nervous system. Popular therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) can be highly beneficial when processing trauma. However, most CBT and DBT interventions require you to access the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain located behind your eyes and forehead. The prefrontal cortex is in charge of helping us to regulate our emotions. The prefrontal cortex is also in charge of executive function, decision making, problem-solving skills, and planning, which can be impaired by trauma. Trauma causes changes to the brain that can make it difficult to complete day-to-day tasks, connect with others in relationships and maintain a social life, and regulate your emotions. Trauma impacts an individual as a whole-mind, body, and spirit. When you experience trauma, your nervous system adapts to help you survive the situation. If you’ve experienced prolonged exposure to trauma, such as childhood abuse and neglect, this is especially the case. Your brain and nervous system may have adapted to exist in a chronic state of fight or flight in order to protect you, meaning your brain and body became geared towards survival in a dangerous environment. In an effort to keep you safe, your brain and nervous system might exhibit symptoms of hypervigilance, meaning you may scan your surroundings for potential threats, be highly aware of other’s facial expressions, body language, and changes in tone. It is common to experience anxiety, high blood pressure, and increased heart rate in this state. On the other end of the spectrum, you might experience symptoms such as dissociation, brain fog, chronic fatigue, and depression. You can experience symptoms on either end of the spectrum as your nervous system responds to your environment throughout the day, or you may identify primarily with one end of the spectrum. Regulating the Nervous System Helps Heal TraumaWhile therapeutic approaches like CBT and DBT are beneficial in treating the effects of trauma, if your nervous system is dysregulated, your brain and body may not have the tools needed to process the trauma. If you have attempted talk therapy and it hasn't worked well for you, it may be that the interventions aren’t meeting you where you are at this point in your healing journey. Healing the nervous system in turn helps to heal the brain, reducing chronic fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, rumination, and many other effects of trauma. Learning the tools you need to soothe and regulate your nervous system puts you back in the driver’s seat and gives you a sense of empowerment. When you have the tools to regulate the nervous system, you can more easily cope with triggers, stress, difficult emotions, conflict, and experience deeper connection and intimacy in your relationships. When your nervous system is regulated, therapeutic interventions such as CBT and DBT are beneficial in cognitively processing the trauma. Talk therapy interventions can be helpful when working through cognitive distortions, false core beliefs, and any behaviors you may have unconsciously adopted as a survival strategy. When you have the tools to cope with stress and triggers, cognitive therapy interventions become less activating and more beneficial. Using the Mind-Body Connection to Heal TraumaSeeking a licensed trauma therapist who specializes in body-based approaches to therapy can help to heal and regulate the nervous system.
Therapeutic modalities that are body-based include but are not limited to:
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Hi, I'm Hazel!I'm an Associate Licensed Counselor in Birmingham, Alabama and provide Trauma Recovery Coaching worldwide!
I earned my M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Montevallo. My special interests include trauma healing, abuse recovery, and attachment work. Archives
October 2024
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Disclaimer: All content is for informational and educational purposes only. The opinions stated within my content are mine and they do not represent the ACA, APA, any other individual, therapist, institution, or organization.