Trauma Is In The Nervous System

Is your body still re-living past trauma? Do you suffer from trauma symptoms or PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?  Often we know in our minds that the trauma is over, but our body can be stuck in time re-living the past. 

In this episode I'll cover the following:

• What Trauma Is
• What Causes it 
• Symptoms of Trauma
• How Trauma Impacts our Nervous System
• Why Just Talking About It Isn’t Helpful

One of the leading experts in the field of trauma is Dr. Peter Levine who developed a method of healing from trauma called Somatic Experiencing. Somatic Experiencing is a three year training that teaches practitioners to help people heal from all types of trauma. Peter Levine has made major contributions to helping people heal from trauma by incorporating the body and nervous system in the healing process.

I learned about Somatic Experiencing after my first month long meditation retreat, which was part of my Masters Degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy. By immersing myself in meditating 8 hours a day, my way of coping with past trauma crumbled. Taking a break from my daily life and sitting in silence broke down my coping mechanisms. I didn’t realize I had unresolved trauma until then. I thought well I survived a 40 foot fall, my body recovered from the injuries, I didn’t notice any signs of trauma, so I went about my life as usual. Then years later I’m sitting in silence all day for a month and all the holding patterns I developed to get me through life disintegrated. I realized that I had thought I was fine because I was numb and disconnected from my body.

Peter Levine says “Trauma is not in the event itself; rather, trauma resides in the nervous system.” When we perceive threat, the body produces a tremendous amount of adrenaline to survive. Ultimately, the body wants to feel a sense of completion with using up this energy to protect itself. When we have an impulse to fight, flight or freeze that doesn’t get to move through us to completion then we can experience trauma symptoms.

At the end of this episode I’d like to offer a summary:

• Trauma is not in the event, it’s in the nervous system.
• Traumatic symptoms are not caused by the event itself. They arise when residual energy is not discharged from the body. This energy remains trapped in the nervous system where it can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds. 
• Our body is our window into the nervous system.
• When we know how to regulate our nervous system we embody our power.
• In order to heal from the contraction of trauma, we need to access and experience our expansion.
• We don’t need to dread the process of healing from trauma. It can be a transformative experience where we reclaim our energy, our power, a positive connection to our body, and the ability to feel at home in our body - the vehicle for our consciousness. 

Thank you for listening.
With gratitude,
Danielle

Danielle Carron holds a Master's Degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University as well as Master's Degree in Holistic Nutrition. She trained in Internal Family Systems with Richard Schwartz, Somatic Experiencing with Peter Levine and Diane Poole Heller, Shamanic Healing with Malidoma Patrice Some, Functional Neurology with Know the Brain, and Quantum Field Meditation and Healing with Joe Dispenza. Danielle Carron teaches her own integrative model called Embody Your Power.