Why do some unpleasant experiences in the past continue and even affect later life? Today's article will share some little knowledge about trauma.
What is trauma?
Trauma generally refers to physical or psychological damage caused by external factors. It is an automatic, physiological and nervous system caused by an individual with overwhelming events or experiences The reaction, and the psychological reaction that arises from it.
Psychological trauma refers to the psychological reaction/illness caused by a traumatic event. Traumatic events vary from person to person, and the common feature is that a person's inner psychological resources are exhausted within a certain period of time. The classification of psychological trauma is shown in the figure below:
img2 pp p0 strong body trauma1 How to deal with trauma?
When people face stress events,The brain will start the most primitive escape program and suspend rational thinking. Our body may initiate three reactions: social participation, fight or flee, freeze or collapse .
When a threat occurs, the first state that people initiate is social participation. The social participation system relies on the tenth pair of cranial nerves from the brainstem and another vagus nerve that connects the facial muscles, throat, middle ear, and throat. When the ventral vagus nerve complex (VVC) is in operation, people will smile at the person who smiles at them, nod their heads when they agree, and will automatically use facial expressions and tones to convey our anxiety to others in emergency situations.
If the first state of social participation is invalid, that is, no one responds to us, then the limbic system in the brain will start to activate, sympathetic nerves will also start to mobilize people will join, Our muscles and heart and lung organs prompt us to prepare for battle or flight. At this time, people’s physiological manifestations include increased heartbeat, higher pitch, and shortness of breath.
If both of the above strategies fail, the party can neither escape nor stop the crisis by the alarm system (DVC). -Will sound .The areas affected by DVC include the diaphragm, stomach, kidney, and small intestine. The body may try to shut down all unnecessary functions in order to preserve itself. The body's metabolism is rapidly reduced, the heart rate is reduced, breathing is difficult, and the internal organs stop working or directly empty ( Scared to pee pants). In short, at this time the body has entered a state of freezing, stunned, or collapsed, and related perceptual feelings are also closed.
If the fight/flight/freeze response allows us to successfully escape danger, we will gradually regain our sanity. If the normal fight or flight response is hindered, or people cannot take any effective actions in the current situation (such as war, car accident scene, rape), the brain will continue to release related stress hormones, and neural circuits will continue to be active. French psychologist Piaget . Jeanne believes that survivors of some traumatic events tend to act continuously at the beginning of the event, or to act in vain .
confuse the past and everyone may have experienced trauma now
large or small, I believe We have all tried to forget the unpleasantness of the past, but our brains and bodies have never forgotten them. a tiny red flag,It may induce the alarm system in the past, thereby generating too negative emotions and disturbing the current life. We understand this brain and body response as a self-preserving strategy, but we also have to admit that such a response can confuse the past and present reality.
When I was a child, I experienced a lot of physical pain while seeing my teeth. The smell of dental clinics and the sound of electric drills are synonymous with pain and fear in my memory. At that time, parents and medical staff did not provide active and effective comfort and support emotionally. Of course, this experience has some influence later: for example, I am afraid of reading pictures of various diseases in the book; lying on the dentist's chair again as an adult will also have an unstoppable heartbeat and a sense of tension. When I went to the dentist as an adult, I seemed to be back in my childhood.
Let us give another example. Your partner may lose his temper because you did not reply to the message in time. You may be confused. This is just a trivial matter. But for the other person, Ta may have been abandoned and ignored many times. Your failure to reply to the information in time evokes the feeling that Ta was once ignored. In the current situation, the other party regards you as the person who has hurt him.
way to deal with the trauma of
such psychological trauma subconscious state will continue to develop,Some slogans call us to live in the present, and for trauma survivors, the present is still like the past. How to deal with trauma?
When we face trauma, we experience both physical and psychological reactions. But please remember that no matter what thoughts, feelings, or reactions appear, these are normal manifestations when we encounter a traumatic event.
How can we effectively deal with a series of physical and psychological reactions brought about by trauma? We will talk about ways to cope with trauma.
1. Exercise Van
_p5span 1 When (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) are closely related, people can participate in their own feelings and the surrounding environment at the same time. Heart rate variability (HRV) measures the balance of SNS and PNS. When we breathe in, we stimulate the sympathetic system and increase our heart rate; when we breathe out,We stimulate the parasympathetic system and slow the heartbeat. The exhalation and inhalation of healthy people produce steady, rhythmic heart rhythm fluctuations. "In other words, irregular heartbeat affects the way our body responds to stress, thinking, and feeling, and can even cause physical and mental illness.
Yoga: Cooperate with the movement of mind and emotion. People use yoga exercise to achieve a state of harmony and unity of body, mind and spirit.
Breathing exercises: When you feel at a loss When you are confused, anxious, or difficult to control, breathing exercises can effectively calm you down. For example, abdominal breathing exercise: Choose a sitting or standing posture that makes you feel comfortable, and press your lower abdomen first. Tighten and exhale through your nose, then relax your abdomen and let the air be inhaled naturally from your nose. You can also practice counting breaths when you breathe, counting 1 time for each exhalation. Repeat this for several cycles.
meditation: “High-intensity meditation has a positive effect on the parts that are critical to the body’s self-regulation” (Lazar, 2005; & Holzel, 2011). _p5 p7br3 p5p other common sports: walking, running, swimming, basketball, climbing, boxing or dancing, etc.Through regular exercise, you can make your whole body move, which can effectively mobilize your nervous system.
2. healthy lifestyle
have a healthy body can increase your ability to cope with trauma.
Maintain a regular sleep time: In the process of trauma, worry and fear will affect you and make you lack quality sleep. The lack of good sleep quality will aggravate your traumatic symptoms and make it difficult for you to maintain a stable mood.
Avoid alcohol: When you feel helpless and painful, you may choose to use alcohol to eliminate your worries. But this will not only not relieve your pain, but will make you fall into deeper negative emotions.
nutritious diet,Eat regularly: Reduce junk food or fast food, eat more nutritious foods, which can replenish your body's energy and reduce emotional ups and downs.
3. social support system
when traumatic experiences, maybe you always want to escape the crowds, away from the Others, but doing so will make your situation worse. If you can communicate face-to-face with others (family, friends, partners, etc.) who you trust and empathize with, and ask them for help, you will get better healing. In fact, you don’t need to talk about your traumatic experience with others, you just need to share your emotions with them so that you feel comfortable or accepted by others.
You can also participate in social activities. For example, community activities, volunteer activities, hobby activities, etc., do things that have nothing to do with the traumatic experience. Or, you can join some growth groups. In the group, you may meet people who are in a similar situation to you, and see how other people deal with trauma. You may get some help and encouragement from them. .
4. professional treatment
counseling:
-EMDR
EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.An integrated treatment method that is very effective for psychological trauma discovered by American psychologist Francine Shapiro.
That is, the consultant uses two fingers to guide the visitor's eyes to move left and right (for bilateral stimulation), while asking related questions. The principle is to "select past memories by moving the eyeball left and right and recalling at the same time, so that the visitor can connect the interrupted memory fragments, desensitize negative memories (including negative emotions) and strengthen positive memories, and eliminate various symptoms. "In other words, when the visitor receives EMDR treatment, the way to think about the trauma again will be a past and complete event, rather than a separate, fragmented, and traumatic event.
Evidence-based research shows that EMDR is very effective for treating trauma.
In 2009, the International Trauma and Stress Research Society (ISTSS) also listed EMDR as an A-level treatment for adult PTSD .
Compared with the drug treatment ( fluoxetine) group, EMDR is more effective in reducing PTSD and depression symptoms, and at the end of the treatment, the EMDR group has continuous improvement, while the fluoxetine group Symptoms reappear (van der Kolk, et al., 2007).
EMDR was used to treat war-related PTSD. After 12 treatments,The veterans who suffered multiple wars eliminated 77% of their symptoms, and the efficacy continued to be maintained during the follow-up process (Carlson, et al., 1998).
-CBT
is the full name of
. The therapy demonstrated by is also one of the very effective treatments for trauma. CBT is a structured, relatively short-range way. Its principle is mainly that cognition is the basis of emotion and behavior, and emotion and behavior will in turn affect cognition. In other words, modifying the visitor’s cognitive style or core beliefs (thoughts/concepts/attitudes/thinking about people and things, etc.) can improve the problem.
Evidence-based research shows that CBT is effective for trauma treatment.
TF-CBT has been used in 268 visitors with PTSD, and after treatment, it has significantly alleviated the trauma symptoms (Kleim, et al, 2013).
CBT is effective for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms in complex trauma (such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.) (Turkington et al., 2008; Miklowitz et al. , 2007).
In fact, there are other effective psychological counseling methods. According to different counselors, different and effective methods will be used for symptomatic counseling.
drugs:
When trauma response in an individual acute stress, the drug will be very helpful. Anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs can help individuals return to a stable life state first. When the emotional peak slowly returns to a rational state, we have more space to explore the psychological level of emotions and feelings. I would like to remind everyone that the use of these drugs requires the advice of the relevant doctors, and you must follow the doctor's advice.
In the face of trauma, drugs can help people to return to a stable state first, leaving room for discussion in subsequent psychological consultations. And yoga, Tai Chi and other exercises closely related to breathing can effectively help the body cope with stress. A stable and regular life routine helps people restore order, and the sense of stability in the external physical world will also affect the stability of the psychological level.
Diana Fosha once wrote, "The root of a person's ability to recover lies in the feeling that he is in the heart of a person full of love, harmony, and calmness: being concerned and understood" . The social support system is also vital to the recovery of trauma. Perhaps many injuries are experienced in getting along with others, and the recovery of love and hope is often through relationships with others. If you cannot find such a person who understands and supports you in your daily life, a counselor is a worthy choice.
The past does not necessarily follow the wind. The past has shaped the me of today, and the me of today lays the me of the future. There are always choices in life. Facing trauma and transforming trauma, I will walk with you.
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