Understanding Trauma: A Holistic Approach
“OMG that elevator ride was traumatizing! Has that person ever heard of deodorant!?” I chuckled to myself as I overheard this conversation amongst friends…sometimes it’s weird for us therapists out in the wild.
Even though I was smiling and shaking my head, overhearing this little snippet got me thinking that the word trauma has become part of the popular vernacular, but in actuality, very few of us truly know what trauma is or what it means to be traumatized.
The word ‘trauma’ is a Greek word that literally means ‘wound’ or ‘wounding’, but in a way that overwhelms the person’s ability to cope. We often think of trauma as the event(s) or experience(s) that happen to us, but really, trauma isn't the event or experience at all, it's what happens inside us as a result of what happened i.e. trauma is the psychological wound that is sustained from going through certain experiences.
Psychological wounds are typically made up of...
Unfinished stress responses, or, an OVER or UNDER activation of energy within the inner system aka dysregulation
Disembodiment, because the intense stress and overwhelming emotions were too much for the mind, body & soul to handle all at once so the brain often employs dissociation as a defense mechanism which takes the person out of their body
Lack of connection before, during and/or after the experience aka disconnection
Limiting or trauma-related beliefs (the meaning a part of you made of the experience like, "I don't matter" or “I’m not good enough” or “Other people aren’t safe”)
As holistic therapists we aim to treat the whole person rather than just the symptoms of trauma. We believe that as humans we are complex and multi-faceted. We are not just mind, or just body…we are mind, emotion, body and soul and ALL of these dimensions get affected by trauma and therefore ALL of these dimensions must be tended to in order for healing to occur.
Take a car accident for example. While it’s tempting to think that a car accident would affect someone the most physically, it’s often the case that the trauma of a car accident reaches far beyond just the physical injuries. A person who’s been traumatized by a car accident might start experiencing intrusive thoughts and imagery from their car accident (mental), filling their body with sensations of fear and terror (physical and emotional), pushing them to think about whether or not there’s any meaning to living this human life if it could just end at any instant (spiritual).
Woah, right?! This example also details another important feature of trauma which is trauma has the tendency to bleed across all spheres of a person’s life vs. staying contained to that one moment in time.
At this point, you might find your brain wandering to the thought, “Well, I’ve been in a car accident and I wasn’t traumatized by it….so, how does that work?”
Another key facet of trauma is that it is deeply personal. It’s true that two people could experience the same thing and one can walk away unaffected while the other becomes traumatized. This is because as humans we are all different, uniquely ourselves.
Even though we are all essentially the same recipe (blood, bone, tissue, ligaments, muscles, organs, etc.), we all have different backgrounds, different formative experiences that have shaped us.
Early experiences shape our neural networking and the ways in which our neural networks are shaped can set us up to have a deep well of inner and outer resources, or….not so much. In the therapy world we call these protective factors, i.e. the things that can offer some protection against the effects of trauma.
Protective factors are things like: a strong social network filled with healthy relationships, access to services, a stable home environment, supportive work or school environments, good physical health, supportive spiritual/religious beliefs & practices, education & knowledge, economic stability and inner resources (a strong sense of self & self-worth, problem solving skills, emotion regulation skills, interoception & proprioception, self-compassion, serotonin & dopamine levels, hormone levels, etc.).
As holistic therapists we understand that a major part of healing trauma is about reconnecting folks to a sense of safety and protection, which, for those that didn’t really have that to begin with, healing requires them to build and develop those things. This is why the length of time it takes to heal trauma is different for each person and why each person will need different things from their trauma healing journey.
Viewing and healing trauma holistically is a comprehensive approach that sees beyond the symptoms to get at the root cause (the psychological wound) in order to attend to the whole person - mind, body and soul. Holistic healing blends powerful therapeutic techniques with traditional/ancient practices that not only help people process and release their traumatic experiences, but it also fosters resilience, self-awareness and a renewed sense of empowerment.
If you’ve been confused about whether or not you’ve experienced trauma, don’t hesitate to reach out to us by heading to the “contact” tab in the upper right-hand corner of our website and stay tuned! In our next blogs we will be offering information on the different experiences that can lead to trauma, as well as, how the body stores trauma and how somatic therapy can be particularly useful in healing trauma.
Curious to know more? Just head to the “contact” tab in the upper right hand corner of our website, submit your contact form or call us at 720-923-3033 and we will be in touch!