(Not well.)
Erin Gilmore has said that line a few times and it always makes me grin. so many times (especially recently) as that is my response at least once a day…
Our virtual social club was graced with a talk all around trauma. The first thing you might think when you hear that word is, “not me” and that my friend it totally fine. Traumas don’t have to be huge, life altering events-it can be tiny little traumas (I can relate to this!) that occur your entire life. We sat down with Erin for a virtual social club and talked everything trauma and paths to healing. Recap below!
One of my favorite teachers, Judith Lasater says that Yoga is the residue left on the central nervous system. And my favorite therapist Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk says that trauma is the residue left on the central nervous system. (Erin Gilmore)
WHAT do they mean? It’s about how you feel after the experience. It’s the lasting effects on how you operate and perceive the world.
What are some acute events? Something that happens once.
Natural disasters,GLOBAL PANDEMIC, incidents of physical or sexual violence, or accidents.
And Chronic events? Continuous.
Abusive relationships, neglect, longtime exposure to indirect trauma (witnessed trauma), developmental trauma, or being a partner or child of an alcoholic/addict. Bullying. Divorce (being a part of or child of). Infidelity
The issues are in our tissues. The cells, tissues, and the nervous system remember past trauma. Your stories and past experiences build up in the body over time
No matter the type of trauma, one time or ongoing, experienced, or witnessed, the biochemical responses that occur in the body are the same. Note to self, don't compare your situation to others and wait until you think things are really bad to pay attention. Validate yourself now and allow yourself to realize that your trauma is real, and important to pay attention to.
Paths to healing:
Competency! Find things that celebrate your skills, and focus on cultivating those talents as a form of treatment
Relevance! Instill a belief that you are relevant to your own healing process
Imagination. Anything that can reconnect you w/reimagining new possibilities is a good therapy... anything.
Separate the SELF from the trauma. It is not your identity, explore things that help you disconnect from the ego (theater, dancing, anything that puts you in the FLOW and you're just not caring)
Moving, singing, dancing restores the feeling of “I BELONG” SO IMPORTANT
Yoga has been found to be more successful than medicine with trauma
Mindfulness and Meditation: Traumatized people don't do well with mindfulness on it’s own, only works when paired with self-compassion
Breathing! When we breathe out longer than we inhale, it trips the vagus nerve to quiet the part tied to flight and fight and switch to the part tied to relaxing, socially connectible, "normal" states.
“You’re the best provider for yourself that you’ll ever meet. You know you better than anyone. You’re the cause of your suffering and you’re the key.” (EG)