What Most People Get Wrong About Trauma

Body + Mind

It’s not breaking news that the mind and body are profoundly integrated. Modern science has given us countless examples of how mental pressures and illnesses can negatively affect our physical bodies and research just keeps proving this true over and over again. We see that mental health patients deal with myriads of chronic and preventable health problems due to the physical impact of trauma, anxiety, and depression on their bodies. As Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. writes in The Body Keeps the Score, “We have also begun to understand how overwhelming experiences affect our innermost sensations and our relationship to our physical reality - the core of who we are. We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present.”
Did you catch it? The author of one of the leading books on trauma just redefined what trauma is: it’s not just the adverse event that happen to you – it’s also the imprint that devastating event has left on you.

On of the evidences of this is the ways our bodies actually change after trauma has entered our lives. Hyper-vigiliance and fear can create muscular tension that causes pain, depression can spur on coronary heart disease, anxiety can cause inflammation, and loneliness can cause cancer cells to reproduce at higher speeds. Truly, our mental health is just as precious as our physical health. 

Calming the Physical

Because trauma happens to us, we’re usually not in control of the circumstances that bring about these differences in our mental and physical health. But not being in control of the source of trauma does not mean we can’t control the affects long term trauma has on our bodies. Learning mindfulness practices helps calm our central nervous systems, allowing our blood pressure and heart rate to drop, our oxygen intake to increase, and our brain waves to shift from alert to relaxed. While shoving our worried, anxious thoughts down does nothing in the way of long term healing, commanding and training our bodies to unwind aids us in healing both mentally and physically.

A Tool For You: Mindfulness

Whether or not you’re currently experiencing anxiety or depression, building a toolkit of ways to practice mindfulness now will help you stay regulated in the moments to come when life turns sideways. There are a few things to keep in mind as you get started.

1. Be aware.
   Name the things that are weighing on you. Be honest about your mental health struggles and share them with someone trustworthy. Make lists if the adversity seems overwhelming so you can add names and language to what is causing you pain or discomfort.

2. Recognize your inner doctor.
   No one knows your body like you do. You know your pain and your exhaustion and your feelings of carefree happiness like no one else on earth. So take note! Follow your gut. Do you need a half hour of still meditation or an hour of brisk walking? Know that your body is always trying to heal itself, so learn to listen carefully to what it’s communicating.

3. See stress as an opportunity.
   Use the occasion of stress in your life to practice active awareness and inner healing. Stress is inevitable but knowing that you have the means to overcome it’s worst affects is empowering and encouraging. This wisdom can also lessen the anxiety you’ll experience moving forward into new seasons of stress. 

Verified Reliable Sources for the Content in This Article:
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Minding the Body, Mending the Mind by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

Put It Into Practice

Easy Access to Mindfulness Practices

Mindfulness Videos
There is a mindfulness practice out there for every kind of personality. Whether you decide to try breathing techniques or yoga regimens, you can learn to get in touch with your physical being in no time with the thousands of online resources available. Try YouTube for easy, accessible yoga flows that you can do from the comfort of your own home. SarahBethYoga includes lots of flows for beginners up to experts. 

Mindfulness Podcasts
There are also dozens of mindfulness podcasts to calm your central nervous system at a moment’s notice. Try faith-based podcasts to have Scripture read over you as you meditate. Revelation Wellness has beautiful mindfulness episodes that will help you focus and pray. Create a rhythm to incorporate these practices into your life two or three times a week so that you have a tangible, healing way to deal with trauma the next time it rears its head.

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