Have you ever felt afraid, threatened, or in danger? There is a good chance, you reacted in one of 3 ways: fight, flight, or freeze. These are the natural responses that can sometimes serve a purpose, but can also stop you from doing what's in your best interest.
Trauma is described as originating from a failure of the natural physiological activation and hormonal secretions to organize an effective response to threat. Rather than producing a successful fight or flight response the organism becomes immobilized.
Many traumatized children and adults, confronted with chronically overwhelming emotions, lose their capacity to use emotions as guides for effective action. This is called alexithymia, an inability to identify the meaning of physical sensations and muscle activation. This inability to correctly identify sensations, emotions, and physical states often extends itself to having difficulty appreciating the emotional states and needs of those around them.
Unable to gauge and modulate their own internal states they habitually collapse in the face of threat, or lash out in response to minor irritations. Dissociation and/or Futility become the hallmark of daily life.
Our brain is social – it is primed for connection, not solitude and its quality of neuroplasticity gives it the ability to re-establish, uncover and increase healthy attachment systems.
Healing takes the active participation of another being, mind, and body to repair past injuries – and that can be accomplished through a one-to-one therapeutic relationship, a group relationship or one that is intimate and loving. A loving caregiver can stimulate certain hormones, which will help support our growing capacity for social engagement and pleasure in all of our relationships.
This is an infograph designed by Ruby Jo Walker taken from Sanders, Honskinson, Porges and Levine.
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