At
my crisis line training tonight, we discussed trauma and the trauma
response. Part of managing trauma is managing triggers from trauma. I am
not saying that surviving sexual abuse/domestic violence is the same
experience I have from feeling abandoned. Clearly, they are vastly
different. However, I found the information useful in understanding my
own experience and ways of managing triggers.
Consider this:
Your brain stem is formed first in the womb. It controls basic bodily functions (heart beat, breathing, etc.). Your limbic system is formed next. It controls your sensory processing, processing short-term memories and moving them into long-term memory storage, decides if you are in danger, and tells you how you feel. Your neocortex is formed afterwards, which is your "thinking" brain- it controls higher level thinking and reasoning.
You limbic brain "remembers what it was seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, when it decided you were in danger. These sensory memories can get 'stuck' in this part of the brain and become triggers or cause nightmares."
In addition: "Trauma memories can also get 'stuck' in short-term memory storage. Instead of being processed and filed under 'past things that happened to me,' I may continue to experience a trauma memory as though it just happened (like a short-term memory) every time it comes into my mind. This may be the case even many years later. Because [the] limbic brain is non-verbal, just talking about it is not enough for re-processing."
Whoa! This just makes so much sense to me with how I am still having flashbacks and intense emotional reactions to just thinking about the messy and traumatic break-up from this summer. I feel encouraged to try to process my feelings in some other ways besides journaling and talking (like drawing or sculpting) to see if those non-verbal outlets might help relieve my triggers and reactions.
Having grown up in a highly psychology-trained household, my mom and I both have come to the conclusion that verbal counseling is not helpful for either one of us. We know how to act like the "good patient" and our minds are capable of tricking us out of any of the benefits of that type of counseling.
ReplyDeleteI have had remarkable success with alternative types of healing work like Reiki, acupuncture, yoga & meditation, and network chiropractic work. There are a lot of other types too. I recommend giving it a try. Some healing needs to come from a place within us that is not the brain, but rather, releases energy blockages from other parts of the body. IF you want recommendations for people I've had work from, I'm happy to share!