Letting the body to reframe the experience of trauma
Trauma is not an ailment or a disease, but the by-product of an instinctively instigated, altered state of consciousness. It can be seen as a necessary and automatic response of our nervous system in moments of great distress. We enter this altered state—let us call it “survival mode”— we perceive that our lives are being threatened. If we are overwhelmed by the threat and are unable to successfully defend ourselves, we can become frozen in a constant state of survival. This highly aroused state is designed solely to enable short-term defensive actions in order to protect and sustain life. But when undergoing such instances, our body keeps a score of it for the purpose of either avoiding such threatening situations or being ready to face such an instance in future. Therapy can enable us to reframe the experience in a safe way thus retraining the body to relax the survival mode and let greater sense of aliveness in the body. When one successfully heals trauma, a fundamental shift occurs in one’s being as the nervous system regains its capacity for self-regulation and co-regulation. One experiences greater spontaneity, allowing us to relax, enjoy, and live life more fully.