A large part of the population experiences a traumatic incident at some point in their lives. Reactions to an adverse ordeal vary from person to person. However, there are some predictable ways that trauma and the brain define how a person responds.
Increasing awareness of this interaction makes it more acceptable to seek treatment. Furthermore, addressing symptoms and learning new skills rewire a person’s brain. This can improve their chances of lasting recovery.
Understanding the Body, Trauma and the Brain
Adrenaline and other neurochemicals rush to a person’s brain when they experience something traumatic. As a result, these chemical reactions imprint a picture of the occurrence there. Eventually, this becomes a devastating memory that reels in the brain’s emotional side.
The result is a disconnect from the other side of the brain that handles reasoning and cognitive processing. These chemicals prohibit the brain’s reasonable side from helping the emotional side escape memories of the trauma.
Consequences of Trauma and the Brain
The brain changes a person’s perspective after they endure a traumatic experience. They may perceive normal situations as dangerous because of misinterpretations. There is no distinction between what is normal and what is threatening. For example, war veterans may misinterpret the sounds of fireworks as gunshots.
Hopes of a New Type of Therapy
One of the new therapies is called Brainspotting therapy, it is a new way of treating adverse experiences embedded in the brain. It is designed to help a person access the origin of and process the reality of trauma. The goal of brainspotting is to help a person overcome the adverse effects of trauma in their life.
Trauma can manifest in physiological and emotional pain. During sessions, the therapist uses a pointer to help a person find eye positions that correlate to memories and negative emotions. By staying with these eye positions, and with the guidance of a therapist, thoughts, memories and emotions arise and are processed and released.
Other Approaches to Treating Trauma and the Brain
Other approaches to treating trauma include Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Trauma Resilience Model, EMDR, The Havening Technique and of course, talk therapy. These approaches specifically work to calm the brain and one’s physiology. Once our nervous systems have regulated, talk therapy can be very beneficial.
Talk therapy rests on the belief that talking about the specific trauma is the best way to get past the experience. Talk therapy engages the thinking part of the brain and does not address the sensory responses in a person’s body. The result is an incomplete therapeutic experience that may exacerbate the person’s condition or leave them feeling disheartened.
After someone has processed their trauma with one of the above mentioned modalities, they feel better and are able to access healthier thoughts. This is where talk therapy can then help them make meaning out of what happened. As they begin to understand the stress that the trauma caused in their life, they can begin to develop compassion for themselves and what they went though. With a combination of approaches, people often feel more peace, control and freedom in their lives.
Let Us Help Calm Your Traumatized Brain
Of course, knowing what is really happening inside and what you can do about it will begin to change the negative perceptions left by trauma. The Trauma Counseling Center of Los Angeles wants to help quiet the confusion in your brain.
We provide boutique counseling services to heal your traumatized brain. We support your healing with therapies such as:
Finally, there is no shame in seeking the treatment you need. Let us help you understand why. Contact us at 855-997-7101 and begin changing your responses to future experiences.
