Approach to Balance
Trauma
Home | Cactus Flower | Appendix A / Bio Medical- Vibrational Med- Alt-Comp Med | App B Homeopathic &Chiropratic Medicine; Sound Therapy | App C HTMA & Peer Programs | Trauma | Cellular Memory Release | Journaling | MI & Violence / Criminal Justice | Anger | Mental Illness & Spirituality | Mental Health & Buddhism | Forgiveness | About Us | Contact Us | Comments | Links | Recovery Aids /Books

Healing Trauma  Some New and Promising methods 

TRAUMA

The effects of unresolved trauma can be devastating.  It can affect our habits and outlook on life, leading to addictions and poor decision-making.  It can take a toll on our family life and interpersonal relationships.  It can trigger real physical pain, symptoms, and disease.  And, it can lead to a range of self-destructive behaviors.  But trauma doesn’t have to be a life sentence.  (Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine, pg.3)


In virtually every spiritual tradition, suffering is seen as a doorway to awakening.  In the West, this connection can be seen in the biblical story of Job, as well as the dark night of the soul in medieval mysticism.  The transformative power of suffering finds perhaps its clearest expression in the four Noble Truths espoused by the Buddha.  Though suffering and trauma are not identical, the Buddha’s insight into the nature of suffering can provide a powerful mirror for examining the effects of trauma in your life.  The Buddha’s basic teaching offers guidance for healing our trauma and recovering a sense of wholeness.  (Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine, pg.4)

Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD)

 

Effects of PTSD on the five major brain functions

 

Cognition

Persistent intrusions of memories related to the trauma(s) that interfere with ability to attend to other incoming information. Loss of ability to modulate physiological responses to stress in general which results in decreased capacity to accurately use bodily signals as warnings and guide for action. There will be a tendency to over-judge danger.

 

Perception

Generalized problems of attention, distractibility, and stimulus discrimination that can interfere with perception and thus alter or distort cognition.

 

Emotions

Active attempts to avoid specific triggers of trauma related to emotions. There is an experience of generalized numbing of responsiveness and difficulty in controlling emotions. The personal meaning of traumatic events develops over time and often involves feelings of irretrievable loss, anger, betrayal, and/or helplessness.

 

Behavior

Compulsive exposure of self to situations reminiscence of the trauma such as aggression, violence, choosing abusive relationships, sexual promiscuity, and substance abuse.

 

Socialization

Difficulty in relating to family and others.  Poor use or overuse of psychological defense mechanisms such as denial, rationalization, and projection. Difficulty in developing a personal identity. Development of social anxiety disorder

 

 
Mothersunion.jpg
photo by Bob Bennett

 

During the war in Vietnam many returnees had complaints of intrusive combat memories and nightmares. Some had anger and paranoia when they described vivid images of the horrors of war they experienced. Schizophrenia was often the diagnosis. Many were.. and some still are, trying to recover from what is now known as Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD). This was not recognized by either the American Psychiatric Association or the Veterans Administration until the early 1980's. Not limited to combat participants, PTSD can also result from severe trauma, including the trauma a child can experience when a parent experiences a psychotic episode from the effects of mental illness.


PTSD includes heighten fears and anxieties, recurrent images or thoughts, intrusive flashbacks, emotional numbing or constriction, loss of interest in normal activities, and withdrawal from other people. It causes people to have difficulty in the affect or emotions and the level of emotional arousal they experience.


Black and white in their ability to experience emotions, they respond quickly to events with intense anger, fear, anxiety or panic. Or, they freeze and shut down completely.  For children this can lead to academic problems, social problems and aggression against themselves. In adults, tolerating anger expressed by others is often a serious problem. Terrified of anyone being angry at them, feeling hurt and fragile for days when anyone shows the least disapproval, they can be triggered by everyday events into an emotional overreaction.


Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a new form of treatment which doesn't require a person to talk about incidents in great detail in order to bring dramatic results. Originally developed with children in mind, many adults have also benefited from this treatment. In this treatment a person's eyes are guided in smooth patterns while the person remembers the traumatic episode.


High levels of corticosteroid, which is secreted by the adrenal glands during the fight or flight response (in reaction to fear, pain, and/or emotional stress), also causes the hippocampus, when present for extended periods of time, to shrink. This is also believed to be involved in the loss of memory in those who have undergone severe trauma.


One study of combat veterans with PTSD has found an eight percent (8%) reduction in right hippocampal volume compared with veterans without PTSD. Another study found a twenty six percent (26%) shrinkage in left hippocampal volume and a twenty two percent (22%) reduction in right hippocampal volume in combat veterans with PTSD as compared to combat veterans without PTSD. Women with a history of severe childhood sexual abuse were found to have a seven percent (7%) reduction in left hippocampal volume.


Cognitive therapy, however, has been shown to reverse memory dysfunction in youth with PTSD. Phenytoin, (Dilantin®) tianeptine and dihydroepiandosteroid (DHEA) have shown, in animal studies, to reverse stress induced hippocampal atrophy. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been shown to increase dendritic branching within the hippocampus.


(Excerpts from Mental Illness A Guide to Recovery, by Bob Bennett; original sources: The Journal Vol. 4 No. 3 -Veterans-1993. Dual Diagnosis in Veterans by Robert A.

Greenstein, M.D.; The Journal Vol. 7 No. 3 Offspring Sept.1996.; Marilyn ... and other offspring by Diane T. Marsh, Ph.D.; Trauma and Hope for healing by David Ogren, Ph.D.; Journal of American Psychiatric Nursing Association Vol. 1, No 6 December 1995 The Neurobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. by Carol A. Glod, RN, CS, Ph.D. &

Geoffrey McEnany, RN, CS, Ph.D.; Child Psychiatry and Human DevelopmentVol. 29(2), Winter 1998; Traumatic Amnesia, Repression, and Hippocampus Injury due to Emotional Stress,; Cortisosteroids and Enkephalins by R. Joseph, Ph.D.; Biological Psychiatry 1999; 45:797-805 Does Stress Damage the Brain? by J. Douglas Bremner, MD; Functions and Dysfunctions of the Brain; Recovering from Psychosis by Mary D. Moller,; MSN, ARNP & Millene Freeman Murphy, Ph.D. LMFT; Shambhala Sun; Why We Do It, by Tsoknyi Rinpoche, January 2004; Biology and Human Behavior: The Neurological Origins of Individuality. Professor Robert Sapolsky, Stanford University; The Great Courses, The Teaching Company )


 

Watsu®


Watsu is a water treatment where the practitioner holds the person undergoing treatment,encouraging that person to relax and not to think. "Relax, loosen your muscles until the flesh seems to be falling from the bone", is what I was told as I began this treatment. Then, slowly at first, the person is moved, or glided around in the water, often a swimming pool filled with water from a hot spring. The treatment generally lasts about an hour. All the while the practitioner is directing energy, a white healing light, at the person undergoing treatment. At times the person undergoing treatment may be submerged under the water, or moved quickly on the surface, all the time being held. At times, during this process, I cried, I laughed, and I howled like a wolf. I have no idea where these emotions came from, but at the end of the treatment, I felt more relaxed than I ever felt in my life, and months later, I still felt at ease.  About six sessions over two years essentially eliminated my PTSD symptoms.  A number of practitioners, having learned this technique from sources other than the trademark holder refer to it as water shiatsu or simply as a water treatment.   


http://www.waba.edu/ for locating a Watsu® practitioner.



EMF - Electro Magnetic Field Balancing®
 http://www.emfworldwide.com/  


I find EMFB to be an interesting modality most useful in consolidating gains made during recovery.  It also appears to facilitate spiritual growth and may have other benefits as well.


Every electrical current produces an electro-magnetic field. As the human body has electrical currents, it also produces an electro-magnetic field. Cellular memories of past traumas are contained within the electro-magnetic field.  This modality helps to clears and balances electromagnetic charges which are no longer serving a useful purpose in the human energy field.

  • Experience how this electro-magnetic field is the physical bridge between our soul and our physical being.
  • Experience greater balance and alignment of body, emotion, mind and spirit.
  • Connect not only with your own electro-magnetic field but also that of the Earth... and experience your own personal connection.
  • Learn self-help techniques to support this process utilizing toning, postures, intents, acupressure points, flower essences, etc.


The recipient is on a massage table while the practitioner carries out a series of graceful Tai chi-like movements.  Most of the movements involve the passing of the practitioner's hands through the portions of the Universal Calibration Lattice of the client that completely surround the body to a distance of two feet all around.   During some parts of the session the practitioner will gently place their hands on the body to facilitate the flow of energy.  Each session results in a strengthening of the UCL, allowing it to permanently carry a greater electrical charge.  While the procedure for each session is the same every time, the calibration (or strengthening) is unique to each person receiving the session.  The calibration is determined by their inner wisdom, an expression of their personal electromagnetic configuration.


Phase I - Wisdom and Emotions
This session releases stress and establishes a new pattern of freedom and well-being.   Experience the energetic balance between head and heart.


Phase II - Self Direction and Support
This session gracefully releases the energy restraints of what we call the past, and promotes awareness of Self support and Self direction.


Phase III - Radiate Core Energy
The radiating of core energy encourages the increased flow of spiritual intelligence into your daily life.  Experience new understandings and insights into your soul's unique expression.


Phase IV - Energetic Accomplishment
In this balancing, a connection and communication with future Self is established through the Future Potential Prism, channeling future potential energy into the co-creation of present reality.


http://www.emfworldwide.com/  

 

Shiatsu Benefits People with Schizophrenia

Massage Magazine October 14, 2009


Studies have suggested a possible role for shiatsu, a bodywork technique from Japan whose name translates to "finger pressure" in addressing a variety of mental and physical ailments. Researchers in Israel set out to see if shiatsu can provide clinical benefit to individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Twelve people at an inpatient psychiatric ward at Herzog Memorial Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel, received shiatsu treatments provided in a course of eight 40-minute biweekly sessions over four weeks.


On all scales of psychopathology and side effects, including depression and anxiety, the subjects showed a statistically and clinically significant improvement by the end of treatment, according to an abstract published on http://www.pubmed.gov/. This improvement was maintained at the 12-week follow-up.

"These findings, while encouraging, must be considered preliminary and require confirmation and cross-validation in larger-scale controlled studies," the researchers noted.


http://www.massagemag.com/News/print-this.php?id=7949

 

The National Council on Disability (http://www.ncd.gov/) has released a report to focus attention on the nation's health care disparities among people with disabilities. The report, The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities, provides recommendations to ensure that health reform responds to the basic needs of people with disabilities by making coverage available and affordable to without limitations based on pre-existing conditions.

Journey to Wellness               Recovery from Trauma, Mental Illness, and Overwhelming Stress