Releasing Trauma and Stress in the Body

You have trauma stored or "wired" in your body and brain.

No, you are not crazy or bad.

You are not damaged or broken.

You are not unlovable or unchangeable.

Often this rewiring in our brain after trauma is our body and brain's attempt to keep us safe, even if it is a result of our amygdala (also known as our "fear center") being overactive and maladaptive. Encountering trauma changes the brain on a chemical level. Trauma often presents many physical symptoms, including chronic pain, increased startle response, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, and dissociation.?

Experiencing trauma increases the likelihood of mental struggle, including depression, anxiety, suicidality, and in some cases, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PSTD).?

Experiencing trauma can make people feel like they are in a constant self-battle to regulate their nervous system. Trauma impacts the mind and the body, which is why people don't "just get over" their trauma.?

However, our trauma does not have to be permanent and we can experience relief! With the proper tools and support, we can rewire the 'plastic brain,' reduce trauma symptoms' impact and improve functioning.

According to trauma psychotherapist Katie Watson LMSW, LCSW, here are five suggested ways to release trauma from the body:

1. Seek Safety

Safety is necessary for managing stress and trauma, and trauma survivors must find a safe environment and support when healing from a traumatic experience. Safety is often the first step for our nervous system to work towards regulation and out of our survival response (fight/flight/freeze/fawn).

Utilizing curiosity and investigation can encourage identifying what safety looks like after a traumatic experience. For example, our nervous system may feel safe with certain people and environments.?Try asking yourself questions related to safety experience to determine the who, what, when, where, and why.

I often tell my clients that "safety is up to our nervous system, so it doesn't have to make logical sense but can make sensory sense."

2. Trauma Psychotherapy

Finding a therapist specializing in trauma is a highly beneficial route to trauma healing. You can find a trauma psychotherapist utilizing search engines like PsychologyToday.com.

I highly recommend interviewing the prospective therapist by scheduling a phone consultation before your first session. When you have a consultation, please ask questions about the type of therapy or modalities they use to understand better if they are the right fit for you. If the therapist does not specialize or have experience with the symptoms you are experiencing, you may ask them for a referral!

For example, if you have tried previous talk therapy methods and would like to try individual therapy methods that are evidence-based, such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy), it can prove to be very impactful in releasing stored trauma.?

3. Group Therapy and Peer Support

Trauma is diverse, meaning there are many forms of experienced trauma. Due to the wide range of trauma experiences, seeking peer support, a relevant workshop, or participation in group therapy can be beneficial for sharing and releasing the emotional and mental load of trauma.

"Professionally, I have witnessed the direct benefit of specialized group therapy working with clients with unique trauma experiences. For example, first responders can experience healing by discussing their occupational contact and trauma observation with others who have experienced similar high-stress situations." - Katie Watson, LMSW, LCSW, CCTP.

4. Physical Shaking

Have you ever felt yourself physically shaking after a traumatic event? In graduate school, I read an article called Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers which discussed stress stored in the body; this article was beneficial to viewing biological responses to stress. Trembling or shaking is a limbic system response. (This is the part of the brain involved in our emotional and survival response). Shaking can be used as a stress reduction practice or coping skill.

For example, in nature, animals shake their bodies after a traumatic pursuit when prey escapes a predator. Shaking is another example of how we experience and release trauma from our bodies, and shaking is a natural way for our body to release stress.?

Actively and intentionally shaking out our body in movement, meditation, or dance can assist in regulating your nervous system and relieve stress.

5. Crying

Some people try to prevent themselves from crying due to tolerance and discomfort. If you start crying, try to let yourself cry until it stops naturally, as your body is experiencing a chemical and hormonal release. When you sob, you take many quick breaths of cool air. Breathing in cooler air can help regulate and even lower the temperature of your brain (Healthline, 2017); as a result, sobbing improves mood because our nervous system prefers a “cooler head.”

Further, a 2014 study found that crying activates your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), allowing you to self-soothe (Gra?anin, Bylsma, and Vingerhoets, 2014). Our parasympathetic nervous system is how we rest, digest, and reproduce. That same study stated that crying could lower blood pressure and decrease manganese levels (which can cause anxiety) (2014).

It is courageous to lean into emotional tears and allow release. Emotional tears won’t ‘solve’ our trauma, depression, or anxiety, but it is scientifically and biologically proven that they can enable us to experience some relief and release.

For more information on the benefits of crying, please refer to our article: Why Emotional Crying is Healthy.

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