Have you ever been in a consult with a healthcare specialist and found them dismissing your concerns as “all in your head” and something to “just get over?”
We hear stories like this everyday from clients seeking trauma-informed, respectful healthcare – clients who have gone through dozens of professionals in an effort to find someone who is able to give them the time and dedication they need.
A traumatised nervous system disconnects us from the body’s ability to self-regulate, relate to and interact with others, and can disrupt everything from sleep to libido. When our natural survival mechanisms are compromised, our physiology becomes dysregulated and fights to return to a baseline of safety.
A holistic embodiment approach to trauma recovery orients the way we address the impact of trauma, while prioritising the need to create a safe environment suited to our nervous system’s capacity to heal.
What is trauma?
It’s important that we view trauma as a subjective, relative event that can take place in a person’s life, either as a single or repeated occurence. Regardless of the way trauma is experienced, it will show up in each of our bodies differently, mediated by our age, physical ability, physiological resiliency, community support, and prior lifestyle habits.
Trauma is the result of the body’s inability to act as it needed to during the traumatic event/s. When our nervous system becomes activated due to our environment, and we are unable to complete the action deemed necessary by our body to be safe in that moment, the chemicals our body released during the nervous system activation become trapped in our body. This is why in order for most trauma treatments to be effective, they must prioritise somatic work over cognitive therapy.
I’m receiving treatment and seeing little improvement. Why is this?
What some treatment modalities fail to recognise is the importance of looking at nervous system capacity prior to and during treatment. If your nervous system does not feel safe to practice regulation strategies and talk through the emotions attached to the trauma, then it will activate a series of defence mechanisms. This may look like shutting down, avoiding the topic, and/or suppressing your emotions.
So, we need to first create a baseline of emotional safety so that we can regulate the somatic discomfort and psychological distress that may arise due to working with trauma.
This is why it is so important to curate a team of health professionals who are well-versed in the interpersonal nature of healing from trauma and are therapeutically attuned to what your body needs to heal.
How do I create the conditions necessary to heal?
I get this question a lot – especially from people who experienced trauma related to chronic exposure to dysfunctional environments.
First and foremost, you need to address your immediate safety. Do you have a safety plan in place that is able to be executed at a moment’s notice by yourself and a liaising health professional? Are you living / working in an environment where you are able to speak and behave without fear of punishment? Are your close relationships fulfilling and supportive?
If you haven’t already established connections with qualified health professionals, then I would strongly encourage you to do so. Trauma is healed within a network of safe interpersonal contacts, each playing a vital role in re-establishing an adaptive nervous system across many contexts. Here at Revital Health, we offer a warm therapeutic model of functional naturopathic care; approaching your treatment holistically and integratively with your healthcare team.
Finally, it is important that your baseline physiology is at an optimal level to begin trauma work. This usually involves getting blood results from your GP and having them interpreted by a qualified professional who knows which markers to alert you to for improving. Other physiological markers that may be observed include whether pre-existing illnesses are well-managed, what medication and supplements you currently take, and your lifestyle behaviours.
