The Importance of Addressing Unprocessed Trauma
/“But that happened when I was a child, I should be over it by now.”
“I don’t understand why I keep getting into relationships with the same type of person."
“I have chronic back pain, but doctors can’t find a cause.”
Quite often, people think that because time has gone by, and they’ve put a difficult experience behind them, that it no longer has a hold. However, thoughts or comments like these can often be the initial signs of personal trauma that has gone unprocessed. Trauma is an emotional response to an intense event that threatens or causes either physical or emotional harm. It can be a single event or multiple events over time. Some examples of traumatic events or situations are: emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse; neglect; being separated from loved ones; bullying; effects of poverty; witnessing harm to a loved one or pet; natural disasters; and accidents. Humans need some level of stress in their lives to help their brains develop and to build new skills. However, when a stressful experience overwhelms the natural ability to cope, we experience trauma. And even when we are not personally at fault, we are responsible for our own healing. The challenge of healing is especially difficult if someone experiences trauma during childhood. Luckily, children are resilient, and they take cues from their parents or caregivers. If the adults surrounding the child remain calm and responsive to the child’s needs, the psychological scars will be minimal. Other factors that determine the impact of traumatic events include frequency, relationships, coping skills, perception of the level of danger, and sensitivity.
Before addressing how healing can take place, it’s helpful to understand the changes that occur in the brain following trauma. The most important job of the brain is to ensure survival. Traumatic events which threaten that survival cause major shifts in the nervous system. If the trauma is not resolved, stress hormones that are used for protection will continue to circulate (these are known as “fight”, “flight”, and “freeze”). Some traumatized individuals find that they are too hypervigilant to enjoy everyday pleasures or are too numb to absorb new experiences. Many times there may be sensory triggers (sounds, smells, feelings, places, tones of voice, postures), that a person may not even be aware of, that remind his or her brain of the original event. When this happens, it reactivates and mobilizes disturbed brain circuits, and massive amounts of stress hormones are secreted. Research shows that trauma produces actual physiological changes as well as compromising areas of the brain. These effects can lead to hypervigilance and repeating the same problems while having trouble learning from experiences.
Often, more severe or disruptive trauma symptoms can present as a mental health issue such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, or ODD. Even if you learn to ignore the issue and block out physical distress signals, it may show up as somatic symptoms such as migraines, chronic back/neck pain, IBS, chronic fatigue, and some forms of asthma. Many traumatized children and adults can’t describe what they are feeling because they can’t identify the meaning of their physical symptoms; emotions may be registered as physical problems. Additionally, if the emotional pain is left unprocessed, it can make it difficult to establish adult relationships that are stable and trusting. People who have been traumatized often become stuck; personal growth is halted because they can’t integrate new experiences into their lives. This is the body’s way of saying that something needs to change. Discomfort almost always signals a place in life where we have an opportunity to rise up and make significant changes.
The good news is that an improved understanding about how the brain handles trauma has lead to advances in treatment approaches. Using the brain’s natural neuroplasticity (capacity to develop new connections), it’s possible to halt or reverse damage caused by trauma. The three approaches that have been found to be most effective include talking and connecting with others to process trauma, taking medications that shut down the inappropriate alarm reactions, and allowing the body to have experiences that contradict the original feelings of helplessness, rage, or collapse. Mindfulness is also an essential part of trauma recovery because it strengthens the part of the brain that enables a person to observe what’s going on, predict outcomes, and make choices. Healing starts with becoming aware of sensations and the way the body interacts with the environment. It’s important to first notice and describe the feelings in the body (i.e.- heat, muscle tension, tingling, etc.) not to identify the emotion (anxiety, anger, etc.) and then to notice the sensations associated with relaxation. Becoming aware of the breath and body movements is another component of recovery. It’s important to note that “healing” is not returning to who a person was before experiencing the trauma, but rather, becoming someone he or she has never been before—stronger, wiser, and kinder.
Written By: Jennifer Herbert, MS, LPC
