Healing Trauma (chapter 3)

Chapter three goes into how trauma affects the body. He starts by explaining that the thing that sets us apart from animals is the rational part of our brain. We need to understand this because he goes on to explain that prey animals have their lives threatened all the time but they are rarely traumatized. They have the ability to shake off life threatening encounters, and go on with their lives as if nothing happened.

The effects of trauma are a natural phenomenon in all animals but the problem happens when the process of shaking off this frozen energy doesn't happen. The effects of trauma can stay in our bodies with long term psychological effects if we don't recognize them and learn to release them. Peter Levine says that methods that don't focus on enabling people to reconnect with their bodies have limited success.

So what happens in our bodies when we are threatened? One of three things, we prepare for fight, flight, or we freeze. Sometimes we go through all three of those stages. Our bodies mobilize vast amounts of energy to escape or they become overwhelmed and freeze so we can play dead which also numbs us so we do not feel pain. This extra strength comes from a large increase of blood into the muscles, and the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline.

If the message to release this built up energy is never given, the brain continues to release high levels of adrenaline and cortisol, and the body holds on to this ramped up high energy state. Unless we find a way to release this excess energy, our bodies will continue to respond as if it were in pain or helpless long after we have recovered from any physical injury. So what prevents this release of energy? Why can't we release this energy as animals do?

Humans use the immobility response, or frozen energy regularly when we are injured or feel overwhelmed. Unlike the animal world we have trouble returning to normal after being in this state. The feelings that we need to steer ourselves back to the present become numbed out. This is the key. Dr. Levine believes that this is the primary factor in avoiding being traumatized. If animals do not release their frozen energy they will die. Humans rarely die from trauma, but if they do not resolve it their lives can be severely diminished by its effects. Some people describe their lives as "living death".

Dr. Levine believes that we have the ability to shake off this frozen energy just like animals do and sometimes we just need appropriate guidance to shake off the effects of overwhelming events and return to our lives using the exact same procedures that animals use. Trauma is primarily physiological. It happens initially to our bodies and our instincts and then it spreads to our minds, emotions and spirits.

If we were animals and didn't have a rational part of our brain we would move out of our immobility response without a second thought. We as humans can be frightened by the intensity of our own energy and latent aggression and we brace ourselves against the power of these sensations. This bracing prevents the discharge of energy to restore normal functioning. Undischarged energy is stored in the nervous system, setting the stage for the formation of the symptoms of trauma.

While we are frozen, any movement is frightening and chaotic. As we begin to release this energy we will feel less threatened and overwhelmed by life. As we move from fixity to flow, we experience coherency, reconnection with life, more peace and we are no longer trapped by the events of the past, some of which we may not even remember.

That part was really encouraging for me. I thought I had to make a list of all the ways in which I may have experienced trauma in my life, but the reality is that we don't need to remember what happened, we just need to recognize the symptoms of trauma in our lives and learn to release it.  The effects of trauma are stored as fragmentary experiences in our bodies not in the rational parts of our brains.

The release of energy can be dramatic and visible, or subtle and quiet. It can be intense shivering or the slightest sense of inner trembling. Afterwards, you may notice that things fall into place more easily or that you are calmer and relaxed. Things that once upset you will not bother you as much and you may be less critical of yourself, or you may experience a deepening of your sense of well being.

The changes can also be more dramatic. Chronic pain can disappear, you may be able to do things you've never tried, your relationships with others may become freer and easier. You may feel a surge of passion and personal power. When trauma heals, shift happens. Then he wishes us the best of luck in our own personal healing journey.