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What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is when trauma stays in the body long after a traumatic event has occurred. An example is when a pedestrian is struck by a car. One of two things will happen: the person will physically move out the shock from the body while lying in the street, or the person may not be able to move out the shock from the body at all. When trauma is stored in kinesthetic memory, the nervous system becomes altered from that built-up stress. What results is someone who secretes more stress hormones than average.
Moving the shock means tensing, flexing, or rotating body parts in order to reset the nervous system after fight-or-flight mode. Many of us don’t know to do that when in a threatening situation, and many of us may not be able to move. In addition to fight-or-flight mode, there is also the ability to freeze, shutting down completely. Once again, this would be a circumstance where we can’t move the body and PTSD is usually the result.
Being aware of PTSD means understanding where PTSD stems from. Not only can veterans experience it but so can children and people in toxic relationships. There can even be long-held stress in certain cultures.
Trauma Doesn’t Mean Drama
When I started going to therapy to deal with unresolved issues, I was surprised to hear upon the first session that I had PTSD. From my understanding of it, I thought I had to have visual flashbacks like characters on TV, be a part of something dramatic. Now, I understand that being hypervigilant, jumping, and avoidance are the results of my PTSD triggers. These are more subtle than the drama I associated with PTSD. I’ve constantly felt stressed, as though past traumatic experiences were on the heels of the present moment. I could not, however, diagnose myself because PTSD looks and feels different for each person struggling with it.
According to Psychology Today, symptoms of PTSD can include, but are not limited to: behaving as if the event were happening again (flashback); dissociating from one’s body; showing physical signs of anxiety; memory issues; and lack of interest in social activities.
Practices for Overcoming PTSD
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), or talk therapy is a common practice for people with PTSD. The one caveat with talk therapy is that bringing up the trauma can re-traumatize someone in the moment. For instance, a client describing the incident to the therapist can run out of breath and feel anxious. Thankfully, there are other options to consider for dealing with trauma.
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga is one somatic (bodily) practice that a person struggling with PTSD can try. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TSY) offers choice through safe language, predictability about what the body will be exploring, and breathwork with the option of eyes open or closed. Before signing up for a TSY class, it is best to check with a therapist or primary care physician to see if it’s the best choice.
An exercise that may help overcome the unresolved trauma is to be seated and walk the legs and feet in place on top of a firm pillow. This allows someone who was unable to escape trauma to release it from the body. It’s important that this only occurs with a certified (yoga) therapist.
Another exercise is tracking sensation. This is where a certified (yoga) therapist asks the client to focus on an area of tension in the body and attribute size, color, texture, etc., to it. This keeps the person in his/her/their body through sensations.
We are All Survivors
Whether we are trying to overcome PTSD or not, we should each take the time to check in with our body sensations. We’ve each had emotional upheavals and unresolved issues. For this, we do not need a professional to witness our emotions. If we take the time to be grateful for the body we have, then we can control oncoming trauma to some degree. For instance, if we learn to be patient with an aggravated part of ourselves, whether mental or physical, we may be able to stop an accident from occurring while driving. How? Because we’ve begun to cultivate healing in ourselves with whatever made us aggravated in the first place. Not taking the past with us into the world will ripple peace outward into the community.
Resources Used:
1. Diagnosis Dictionary., (2021). Psychology Today.
2. Levine, Peter A., (2010) In An Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness
3. Van der Kolk, Bessel A., (2014) The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. New York, New York. Penguin.
