How Does Trauma Manifest Itself

Exhaustion, perplexity, melancholy, worry, agitation, numbness, dissociation, disorientation, bodily arousal, and dampened affect are some of the first reactions to trauma. The majority of reactions are typical in that they influence the majority of survivors and are socially acceptable, psychologically effective, and self-contained. Continuous anguish without moments of relative calm or relaxation, significant dissociation symptoms, and acute intrusive recollections that persist even a return to safety are all signs of more severe reactions. Persistent exhaustion, sleep difficulties, nightmares, dread of recurrence, anxiety focused on flashbacks, sadness, and avoidance of feelings, sensations, or activities that are remotely related with the trauma are all examples of delayed responses to trauma. Exhibit 1.3-1 shows some typical reactions.

Can you manifest trauma?

Perhaps you've heard of people crying during yoga, massage, or acupuncture sessions because of a vulnerable place that, when activated, causes an emotional release.

Though some people talk about trauma being “stored” or “imprisoned” in the body, this isn't a scientific term.

This could be because the brain subconsciously identifies this region with a certain memory.

According to Mark Olson, PhD, LMT, owner and director of the Pacific Center for Awareness & Bodywork, activating certain parts of the body may awaken these memories.

“Emotions are constantly formed – subconsciously or consciously — in response to the reactivation of memories or unmet goals, according to Olson. “Touching the X area is merely a reliable stimulation for reassembling the pattern associated with that traumatic event.”

Touch can elicit emotions, or a memory can trigger sensations in a specific section of the body. While this is normally linked to a physical location, Olson believes it all takes place in the brain.

Others, on the other hand, think that trauma and painful emotions can become lodged energy in the body, despite scientific proof to the contrary.

Trapped emotional vibrations force adjacent tissues to vibrate at the same frequency, which is known as resonance, according to Bradley Nelson, DC.

“Each trapped emotion resides in a specific area in the body, pulsating at its own special frequency,” Nelson says in his book “The Emotion Code.”

He believes that this will cause you to attract more of that feeling, resulting in a build-up or blockage.

How does trauma manifest in adulthood?

The Impact of Trauma on Stability, Guilt, and Shame Feelings of shame and guilt, feeling distant and unable to relate to others, problems controlling emotions, heightened anxiety and despair, and anger can all be symptoms of childhood trauma.

How does trauma manifest itself in the classroom?

Trauma-related symptoms can have a direct impact on a student's capacity to study. Students may be distracted by intrusive thoughts about the event, making it difficult for them to pay attention in class, study, or do well on a test. Violent exposure can result in a drop in IQ and reading skills. Some students may choose to skip school entirely.

Youths' ability to relate to people and successfully manage emotions might be harmed by exposure to violence and other traumatic situations. This can lead to poor behavior in the classroom, which can result in limited instructional time, suspensions, and expulsions. Lower grade point averages and graduation rates are long-term consequences of exposure to violence, as are increased rates of teen pregnancy, unemployment, and poverty.

How does the trauma will experienced as a child manifest itself?

A traumatic incident is a terrifying, dangerous, or violent experience that puts a child's life or bodily integrity in jeopardy. Witnessing a tragic situation that puts a loved one's life or physical security in jeopardy can be upsetting. This is especially crucial for young children, whose perception of safety is based on their attachment figures' perceived safety.

Traumatic events can cause significant emotional and physical reactions that might last for a long time. Terror, helplessness, or panic may be experienced by children, as well as physiological symptoms such as heart pounding, vomiting, or loss of bowel or bladder control. The intensity of physical and emotional responses may overwhelm children who are unable to protect themselves or who lack protection from others in order to avoid the consequences of the traumatic experience.

Even when adults try their hardest to keep children safe, accidents still happen. This threat can occur from the outside (natural disasters, vehicle accidents, school shootings, or community violence) or from within the family (domestic violence, physical or sexual abuse, or the untimely death of a loved one).

Does crying release trauma?

Even when a situation endures, crying makes us feel better. Emotional tears, in addition to physical detoxification, help to heal the heart. You don't want to keep back your tears. Patients have been known to express, “Please accept my apologies for crying. I was making every effort not to. “It makes me feel sluggish.”

When I hear this, my heart breaks for them. I understand where that sentiment comes from: parents who were uncomfortable with tears, a society that tells us we're weak for crying, and, in particular, a society that tells us we're weak for crying “Powerful men don't cry,” says the narrator. These ideas irritate me. A powerful man or woman, according to the new enlightened paradigm, is someone who has the strength and self-awareness to cry. These are the folks who amaze me, not the ones who put on a show of machismo.

Try to let go of any outdated or false notions about sobbing. It's healthy to cry. Crying is good for you. This aids in the emotional release of melancholy and tension. Crying is also necessary for resolving sadness when waves of tears wash over us after we have suffered a loss. Tears assist us in processing loss so that we can continue to live with open hearts. Otherwise, we are doomed to be depressed. I told a friend that when she apologized for curling up in the fetal position on my floor, weeping, unhappy about a failed romance, I said, “Your tears were a blessing to my floor. There's no need to apologize.”

For years, I've been this passionate about sobbing. When my supervisors and I examined films of me with patients during my psychiatric residency, they saw that I smiled when a patient sobbed. “They'd respond, “That's not suitable.” I disagreed then, and I still disagree now. My patients were depressed or mourning, therefore I wasn't smiling. I was smiling because they were bravely using tears to treat depression or other tough feelings. I was pleased with their progress. I, too, enjoy crying in my life. I cry whenever I have the opportunity. I wish I could do it more often. It's a blessing that our bodies have this capability. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Allow your tears to flow to cleanse yourself of stress and negativity.

How is trauma stored in the body?

Many researchers believe that pain and trauma are episodes that are never fully resolved. Single traumatic occurrences, such as a car accident, constant bombardments that necessitate emotional defenses, or over-training of isolated muscles that lock the body into a recognized pattern are all examples of these. Traumas are anything that keeps us stuck in a physical, emotional, behavioral, or mental pattern. The process of recovering from trauma entails the body regaining its equilibrium and releasing itself from restrictions. All too often, the healing process is interrupted, preventing the traumatic incident from being fully resolved.

Many factors contribute to the inability to complete traumatic occurrences, resulting in stasis and a cascade of physiological protection systems designed to keep the trauma from disrupting daily functioning. Trauma occurs when an experience exceeds our ability to handle and cope with its effects, because our bodies and emotions can only handle a certain level of stress safely. The trauma's energy is stored in the tissues of our body (mainly muscles and fascia) until it can be released. This stored trauma usually causes discomfort and deteriorates a person's health over time.

Emotions are the vehicles that the body uses to rebalance itself following a trauma. Feelings are the result of the body's attempt to finish a series of incomplete experiences. We may process these sensations, release accumulated traumas, and increase our ability to handle stress with greater ease by developing our inner resources.

When we are exposed to trauma, our bodies go into overdrive to protect us. When a person is exposed to too much stress, the neurological system becomes overloaded, preventing the trauma from being processed. The body's instinctual fight or flight response is halted as a result of the overload, and the traumatic energy is stored in the surrounding muscles, organs, and connective tissue. When trauma is stored in our tissue, our brain disconnects from that area of the body in order to block the experience and prevent the traumatic memory from being recalled. Any part of our body that is not connected to our brain will not be able to stay healthy or heal itself. Degeneration and illness are the foreseeable outcomes of stored trauma.

There is a lot of scientific evidence that memory is stored in places outside than the brain. The following are three examples of the body's exceptional memory abilities:

1. Memory T-cells improve immune system response by storing knowledge about prior attacks by specific foreign antigens.

2. Muscle memory boosts top-level athletes' and musicians' capacity to perform at their best even while under duress.

3. Genetic research has shown that the matrix that makes up our bodies' cells (DNA) includes a sophisticated information storing mechanism.

When you consider how intelligent our bodies are, it's no surprise that our muscles and fascia can store memories.

1. Inner resources to deal with the experience that were not present at the time the encounter occurred.

2. A place for traumatic energy to go when it has been discharged. When you're tense and stressed, there's no room for the trauma you've hoarded to move in.

3. Reconnection of the brain with the part of the body that stores the trauma.

When massage and verbal therapy are combined, a trauma can be successfully resolved. Many types of speech therapy are excellent for building a person's inner resources for dealing with a traumatic incident. Certain bodywork approaches efficiently reduce stress and tension levels, allowing for release and function to link the brain with the trauma it has stored.

Bodyworkers are crucial in bridging the gap between locked memories and the physical body. Hands-on procedures for beginning traumatic memory release are known as myofascial release or myofascial unwinding. Myofascial work locates and physically releases the constraints that hold traumatic memories in muscle and surrounding fascial tissue. Memories may arise and release as a trained therapist holds and unwinds these tissue tensions, causing the body to spontaneously “replay” body motions connected with the trauma memory. The nervous system's frozen components are unfrozen as a result of this discharge. Such a shift signifies the reconnecting of the brain with the trauma-affected tissue, allowing for transformation and healing.

Bodyworkers who use myofascial release techniques operate in the enlightening gap that exists between physical and mental health. While those trained in verbal therapy should build the emotional tools to cope with a traumatic experience, bodyworkers can effectively fill the gap of overall health in traumatic recovery. Because most massage therapists do not provide psychological counseling, it is recommended that they practice release techniques with a client who has sought or is presently seeking help from a mental health expert. The work of the client, mental health practitioner, and bodyworker is combined to meet all three of the components required for unlocking and healing from repressed trauma. Traumatic events can be brought to a close with this holistic approach, allowing the body to rebalance.

How do you heal yourself from childhood trauma?

1. Recognize and acknowledge the trauma for what it is. Childhood trauma victims frequently spend years minimizing or rejecting the experience by pretending it never happened or succumbing to feelings of guilt or self-blame. The best way to start healing is to accept that a horrific event took place and that you were not to blame.

2. Take back control. Helplessness can last long into adulthood, making you feel and act like a constant victim and leading you to make decisions based on your previous suffering. When you're a victim, your present is ruled by your past. However, once you've overcome your pain, you have authority over the present. There will always be a conflict between the past and the present, but if you're willing to let go of the old barriers and crutches you used as a child to navigate your trauma, you may reclaim control of your life now and heal your pain.

3. Seek help and avoid isolating yourself. Many trauma survivors have a natural instinct to withdraw from others, but this will only make matters worse. Connecting with other people is an important part of the healing process, so make an effort to maintain your relationships and seek assistance. Consider speaking with a trusted family member, friend, or counselor, as well as joining a support group for childhood trauma survivors.

4. Look after your health. If you are healthy, your capacity to manage with stress will improve. Create a daily regimen that allows you to get enough sleep, consume a healthy diet, and exercise on a regular basis. The most important thing is to avoid alcohol and drugs. These may provide brief comfort, but they will almost certainly intensify your despair, anxiety, and isolation, as well as your trauma symptoms.

5. Understand what accepting and letting go really entail. Acceptance does not imply acceptance of your trauma, nor does it imply that you like or agree with it. Acceptance implies that you've decided what you'll do with it. You have the option of allowing it to govern your life or letting it go. Letting go does not imply that something has magically vanished. Allowing yourself to let go means no longer allowing your terrible childhood memories and sentiments to keep you from living a decent life now.

6. Substitute healthy behaviors with bad ones. Negativity and continually mistrusting people are two examples of bad habits, as is turning to alcohol or drugs when emotions become too much to handle. It's difficult to overcome bad habits, especially when they've been used as crutches to keep you from reliving the agony and suffering of your childhood. A support group or a therapist can assist you in learning the skills you'll need to break unhealthy behaviors and replace them with positive ones.

7. Allow yourself to be patient with yourself. When you've been significantly harmed as a child, you'll struggle to let go of out-of-control emotions, hopelessness, defense mechanisms, and distorted perspectives. It will take a long time and a lot of effort to let go of these emotions. Be patient with yourself and acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how minor they may appear. It's the small triumphs along the way that will finally help you win the battle of childhood trauma healing.

What happens if childhood trauma is not resolved?

Trauma experienced as a child can have serious and long-term consequences. When childhood trauma is not addressed, an adult's experience of fear and powerlessness persists, setting the groundwork for future trauma. Even if your trauma occurred many years ago, there are measures you can take to overcome the suffering, reclaim your sense of emotional equilibrium, and learn to trust and connect with others again.

How do you know if you have forgotten trauma?

Make sure to discuss anything unusual you're experiencing, both physically and psychologically, during your initial appointments. While some trauma symptoms are obvious, others are more difficult to spot.

• tight or painful muscles, inexplicable discomfort, or stomach problems are examples of physical symptoms.

What does childhood trauma look like in adults?

Adults' experiences and interactions with others can be impacted by childhood trauma as a result of shame and guilt. Disconnection and inability to relate to others are also symptoms of childhood trauma. Adults who experienced childhood trauma were more likely to have difficulty controlling their emotions, as well as higher levels of anxiety, despair, and rage, according to studies.

How trauma affects the brain and learning?

Working with very obese people in the 1990s, Dr. Vincent Felitti noticed that a stunning proportion of his patients had had serious childhood traumas. His work eventually led to a tens of thousands-patient mega-study that revealed the long-term impacts of “adverse childhood experiences,” or ACEs, such as child neglect or abuse, or a parent who is addicted or incarcerated. Those children are more likely to grow up to be unwell, violent, skip employment, and marry frequently as adults.

Since then, it's become evident that trauma's harmful consequences do not fade away until adulthood. It starts early and has an impact on students and teachers: in fact, kindergartners who have had difficult experiences perform worse in reading and math than their peers, even when other factors such as household income and parental education are taken into account, according to a study published this year. Traumatized 5-year-olds are also three times more likely to have concentration issues and two times more likely to act aggressively.

Traumatic experiences, according to neuropsychologists, can affect the brains of youngsters. The brain activates its deeply innate “fight, flight, or freeze” reactions in times of high stress or trauma, while turning down the parts of the brain where learning, especially around language, takes place. When this happens repeatedly, especially in youngsters under the age of five, the brain is permanently altered. It basically adapts to survive in the most adverse environments.

“It's a reasonable response to their circumstances,” says Amanda Moreno, an early childhood development professor at Chicago's Erikson Institute. “However, it comes at a huge cost to education, particularly given how we do schooling in our nation, which is quite standardized.”

5-year-olds who have been abused are three times more likely to have attention problems and two times more likely to be aggressive.

“You will see kids struggle with all aspects of language, word retrieval, writing… memory suffers tremendously,” says Kathi Ritchie, a veteran Illinois special education teacher. They have a bad habit of forgetting things. They don't remember content-area concepts that were given to them; the next day, it's as if they were never taught,” she says. “Then there's the behavior,” says the narrator.

Ritchie has observed that youngsters who live in a constant, fear-activated state of hyper-awareness are prone to wrath. They can be viewed as stubborn, rude, or too violent in their subconscious efforts to protect themselves. Others may appear to be zoning out or drifting off, according to her. “It may appear that children are closing down, but their brain is telling them that they must remain secure.”