"If you are bitten by a snake, you are afraid of a rope."  - Talmud

Causes of Trauma

• War
• Injuries and Illness
• Natural disasters
• Automobile accidents
• Birth

Causes of Complex Trauma

• Severe childhood emotional, physical, verbal and sexual abuse
• Neglect, abandonment and addiction
• Rape or assault
• Loss of loved ones
• Experiencing or witnessing violence

Symptoms of Trauma

• Hyperarousal – the most common signs are physical. Increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, swallowing, tingling, muscular tension, racing thoughts.
• Constriction – the nervous system shuts down our perceptions and bodies. Constriction alters breathing, muscle tension, forgetfulness and posture.
• Abrupt mood swings – trouble focusing, depression, anxiety, panic, internalized rage, anger, irritability, unresolved sadness and grief. Feeling on-guard, helpless, immobile or frozen.
• Sabotage, procrastination, avoidance, general lack of passion and motivation. 
• Exaggerated or diminished sexual activity.
• Inability to be in intimate relationships. Fear of touch, emotional bonding and commitment
• Disassociation, detachment and denial. “It isn’t important. It’s not that bad. I don’t need anyone’s help. I’m fine, okay.” Statements that cause a numbing affect.
• Sleeplessness, Insomnia, and Continuous fatigue.
• Depression, Impending doom. Meaninglessness.
• Immune system problems, digestive problems, migraines, back pain etc.
• Fear of going crazy if you let go of busyness. Fear of being alone.
• Restlessness, hyperactivity – addictive and compulsive behavior; overworking, drinking, eating, shopping, analyzing, rationalizing, excessive exercise, and any activity that stops one from feeling. 
• No time for self-care. 
• Children who have been exposed to family violence suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as bed-wetting or nightmares, and are at greater risk than their peers of having allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, headaches and flu.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Arousal Cycle of Trauma

Trauma is physiological, psychological, emotional and spiritual…

In feeling pleasure or pain, which are both arousal cycle experiences, an individual who has been traumatized cannot distinguish between the physiological, sensei reactions to the arousal of pleasure or of pain. Sensations such as palpitations, sweaty palms, hot and cold, shivers and trembling are felt in the body in the same way for both experiences. 

When traumatized, these sensations are Pavlovian: where the bell goes off and the arousal screams of danger. Therefore, the body shuts down, paralyzes and takes fight or flight. The trigger of the danger sets off the trauma, and one cannot go through the full cycle of release, because the individual cannot get through the fear, terror or anxiety. Therefore, it is an incomplete cycle and pleasure cannot be felt, only pain. When one can go through the pain and release it emotionally, physiologically and psychologically the cycle is brought back to homeostasis where the individual can receive the arousal as pleasurable instead of painful.

When the arousal cycle is incomplete because of trauma, the emotional and biochemical reactions results causes the body to use this stuck energy in unhealthy ways: migraines, addictive and compulsive behaviors, back aches, sinus conditions, gastro digestive problems, arthritis and other stress related illness can occur when trauma is unresolved.

Healing the Whole Person

Alternative and holistic forms of healing treat the whole person. Allopathic medicine, while very beneficial in trauma situations, treats symptoms rather than treating the whole person. Alternative healing methods allow us to heal on all levels. Alternative Energy Healing and Alternative Spiritual Healing Methods assist us in healing in our body, emotions, mind and spirit. Everything is energy. Mind is energy. Emotions are energy, Material Matter is energy. Energy never dies, it just changes form; ie: ice to water, water to mist. When a person is traumatized, the energy of the emotional shock is imprinted in the brain, cells, muscles and organs of the body. The brain does not know the difference between the memory of a trauma and the actual trauma. In order to heal the original core trauma, it is important to move into the emotional and energetic body to somatically, cathartically and organically transform and free up the energy from the body and mind. Talk therapy only deals with symptoms, it does not get to the cause or release the shock in the body. Once the cause of a trauma is located emotionally in the body, it can be reconfigured through creative, spiritual and energetic release that transforms the trauma and frees up the stuck stress and panic that inhibits the mind/body/spirit, which allows for change and healing.

Alternative Healing, Creative, Emotional and Spiritual processes and practices moves into the energy fields of a person's deeper psyche and core spirit. It is a new paradigm of healing trauma from abuse and complex trauma that truly assists and addresses the symptoms of trauma to heal depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic illness, eating disorders and other addictions, and mental and emotional illnesses without the use of drugs.

Not everyone is suited for this type of therapy. However, current research now indicates that these new and innovative practices can assist in dealing with trauma issues.   

Energy Healing

You are energy. This is the basis of energy medicine. The body's natural capacity to heal itself comes from the knowledge that your body is energy, and therefore speaks to you. Energy medicine is the art and science of fostering physical, emotional, psychological, creative and spiritual health. Breath alone is the start of realizing how your body organically heals through energy. The deeper you breathe, the more you relax and release stress. When you stop breathing, you stop feeling, intuiting and understanding the subtle energies that run through and around us. When you cannot access your body energy, or you deny, hold down, repress or ignore your body energy, you will cause blocks in your body that can cause a variety of emotional, mental and physical dis-eases.  The more you can feel and move this energy, the more health and well-being you can maintain.

Emotional Energy

Psychological and Emotional Energy Work is the foundation of preventative and energy medicine. As children, we are influenced and shaped by our family of origin. If our intimate bonding is traumatized by emotional, sexual, mental, emotional and spiritual abuse, we develop complex trauma that is triggered through relationships. Emotional memory gets stuck in the body in order to survive the trauma, terror, and enormous emotional energetics that a child cannot hold in their body at the time. We become fragmented, disconnected and disassociated from our authentic feelings and needs. We build defenses, rationales and split personalities in order to survive. These  sub-personalities and emotional defenses numb out the original traumatic event and emotions, and causes an individual to go numb. Dead emotions cause blocked energy and results in various psychological, physical, creative and spiritual isolation, dis-ease and disorders.  We no longer can relate to life in a healthy, passionate, safe or alive way. Life becomes a long chaotic trauma, out of control and fearful. In order to release, transform and reconfigure the trauma, it is necessary to move into the body and find the stuck energy and release it. Emotional body work, somatic work and energy work is the new paradigm for healing trauma.