Simply put, when a person experiences something traumatic, adrenalin and other neurochemicals rush to the brain and print a picture there. The traumatic memory loops in the emotional side of the brain, disconnecting from the part of the brain that conducts reasoning and cognitive processing.
Emotion Trauma and The Prefrontal Cortex
Normally, the amygdala will sense a negative emotion, such as fear, and the prefrontal cortex will rationally react to this emotion. After trauma though, this rationality might be overridden and your prefrontal cortex will have a hard time regulating fear and other emotions.
But when we're placed in very stressful situations, like during traumatic experiences, some brain changes can result in lasting physical and mental health challenges. That said, positive change is possible. The neuroplasticity that enables brains to change in response to trauma also allows them to heal.
Exposure to trauma can be life-changing – and researchers are learning more about how traumatic events may physically change our brains. But these changes are not happening because of physical injury, rather our brain appears to rewire itself after these experiences.
The normal healing and recovery process involves the body coming down out of heightened arousal. The internal alarms can turn off, the high levels of energy subside, and the body can re-set itself to a normal state of balance and equilibrium. Typically, this should occur within approximately one month of the event.
Behavioral Signs of Unhealed Trauma
Trauma can also lead to behavioral idiosyncrasies. For instance, you may avoid places or activities that make you think about the event. You may withdraw from your friendships and become uninterested in the activities that you enjoyed in the past.
Trauma is not physically held in the muscles or bones — instead, the need to protect oneself from perceived threats is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala.
The effects of exposure to trauma in childhood have repeatedly been linked to the development of maladaptive personality traits and personality disorders [1,2,3,4]. In contrast, much less is known about personality related problems that may arise in adulthood.
van der Kolk writes that there are three avenues for recovery: “top down, by talking, (re-) connecting with others, and allowing ourselves to know and understand what is going on with us”; “taking medicines that shut down inappropriate alarm reactions"; and “bottom up, by allowing the body to have experiences that ...
For some people, the tremors are big movements in the muscles. For others, they are tiny contractions that feel like electrical frequencies moving through the body. TRE® is not painful—in fact, most people enjoy the sensations.
PTSD symptoms (i.e. nightmares, anger, flashbacks, insomnia, or mood changes) are reflections of the brain trying to cope with trauma. Symptoms of PTSD do not go away on their own but are responsive to treatment. Symptoms do not always show immediately; sometimes they appear years later.
Emotional Trauma Symptoms
Not everyone responds to trauma in exactly the same way, but here are some common signs: Cognitive Changes: Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks of the event, confusion, difficulty with memory and concentration, and mood swings.
The Brain's Response to Trauma
According to a 2006 study by NIH, trauma mainly affects three important parts of your brain: the amygdala, which is your emotional and instinctual center; the hippocampus, which controls memory; and the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for regulating your emotions and impulses.
A plethora of complications from traumatic brain injuries, ranging from minor cognitive delays to debilitating and life-threatening symptoms such as seizures and coma, can follow the victim for years after the injury. You need to know that brain injury recovery time can take anywhere from a few weeks to ten years.
Complex trauma refers to experiencing chronic trauma with long-term emotional and physical symptoms. This kind of trauma may be the most severe- it can ultimately affect someone's development and sense of safety in the world. When a child endures complex trauma, they may experience severe psychological distress.
The five stages of healing – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance – provide a framework for understanding the emotional journey of healing.
This is called psychogenic pain – when physical pain is linked to emotional stress. Psychogenic pain isn't a flighty new-age concept. In fact, quite a few studies have looked at the relationship between physical pain and emotional stress.
Many people experience dissociation, or a lack of connection between their thoughts, memory, and sense of identity, during or after a traumatic experience. A specific type of dissociation—persistent derealization—may put individuals exposed to trauma at greater risk for mental illnesses and functional impairment.
Crying is not a bad thing. In fact, it's how your body releases pent-up energy after a traumatic or distressing event. During your recovery period, let yourself feel your emotions. After crying, you may feel like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders.
To sum up, since hip muscles are where emotions are trapped caused by events that switch your fight or flight mode, working on deep tissues in hip-focused postures like pigeon pose can release both physical and emotional stress.
Neck Tension = Fear and Repressed Self-Expression
Neck muscle tension is also related to trust issues.