Rock climbing
Continued from Part 1
Last week I shared about how my body and I went through a difficult time. I promised I would share which therapies helped us from almost breaking up to dancing the night away, rock climbing, and sharing laughs like we did as kids.
We never know what is going to push a relationship to its outer limits. An injury, disease, death, inertia, lack of communication, it literally could be anything. For us, it was an injury.
Today I want to share the steps we took to get us back on track. Regardless of how we were treating each other, one thing we knew for sure: we weren’t giving up.
In his book, The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Van Der Kolk writes about his experience using several groundbreaking techniques that have helped people overcome trauma, anxiety, and PTSD. Along with his suggestions, I would like to add some of my own for recovering and healing fractured bodies, minds, and spirits. The list below is not in order of preference or exhaustive.
Osteopathy and Cranial Sacral Therapy – therapists move and listen to the body. They retrain/rewire the trauma and pain pathways (heightened amygdala) and return the body to a calm, connected, self-regulating state.
Light Institute Multi-Incarnational Sessions – these were helpful in gaining a footing for the narrative the injury was spewing out. By being able to stretch what was happening on an axis of many, many lifetimes made it easier to see the themes that were arising to the surface. Lots of light healing involved.
Vitamin C IV – detoxing/nourishing the body. Trauma/neglect/abuse/anxiety can set the body off sideways which in turn can have a ripple out effect on emotions and the mind. By introducing vitamin C into my regimen of self-care I was able to stave off possibilities of infection for over a year until my skin healed from the burns. I also added UV light, ozone, and L-glutathione to the IV treatments.
I would recommend that anyone suffering from trauma looks to detoxifying their bodies and adding nutrition of the highest order. We may be starving for minerals, vitamins or other nutrients even if our bellies are full.
Somatic Experiencing – attempts to promote awareness and release physical tension that remains in the aftermath of trauma.The focus is becoming present to the discomfort/dysregulated (i.e. is aroused or frozen, demonstrated by physical symptoms such as pain or numbness) and then iteratively helped to return to a state of regulation. Very powerful and effective.
Meditation– becoming aware through conscious choices and redirecting awareness. This is a tool that can be extremely useful and can be built upon. However, during times of extreme distress, it wasn’t easy to come back to this. In fact, I did my best not to sit and meditate.
Mindfulness – this was far easier than the usual meditation practice. I observed the sensations in my body and listened to it without judgment.
Nature – walking, sitting in the sun, listening to the wind, river rafting. Letting go of expectations was made easier by being in nature. This, in turn, provided the much-needed relief.
Acupuncture – helpful for rewiring and revitalizing the body and bringing ease, calm, comfort, and sleep.
Massage – helpful for re-aligning body, releasing tension and fatigue. Sometimes, massage in of itself cannot heal deep emotional blocks or trauma. But it can be a powerful place to rest, reacquaint with oneself and feel held. Listen to your body to see if that is what it wants. Sometimes, physical touch can be a trigger for people with trauma.
Yoga/T’ai Chi – any movement performed mindfully will be restorative, supportive and energizing.
Advocates – having people around you that understand what your needs are and how you want to move forward with your healing process. People who will speak up for you when deciding which treatments to pursue or when you feel like giving up they embrace and encourage you.
You – no matter how bad you feel, or how defeated you are by life and life’s follies, no matter how alone or lonely the experience may be, you have to show up every single day. Make that commitment to yourself for your welfare and well being.
Money (honorable mention) – I am going to tell it to you straight – money helps heaps. It helps in being able to try different therapies and getting as much or as many treatments as you need. It helps in being able to tell the doctor in the network covered by your insurance company to bug off when they don’t take care of you.
Money worries can also contribute to existing trauma-related anxieties or fears. Facing financial challenges can make us retreat further into ourselves. If you have even an ounce of imagination or desire left within you for healing then apply your imagination to creating ways to get the treatments that resonate with you that you need.
If you can’t afford to see a therapist, then watch youtube videos on the subject, read about the subject. If you cannot afford books then turn to the internet; there are plenty of free resources. Write to the person you want work with; read their blogs or ask them for suggestions or resources that may help you.
Our healing will take work and some elbow grease. More times than not the knight in the shining armor or Florence Nightingale will not show up. So, it is up to us.
I found doing the Somatic Experiencing, Osteopathy, cranial sacral therapies and the multi-incarnational sessions were instrumental in releasing the thick, gel-like cloud of trauma. Each one of these therapies brought pieces of me back to me.
I also noticed that with some of these healing modalities, it was difficult to get traction because I was so far out to sea because of physical pain. I would go through the motions of sitting for meditation or doing yoga and still feel knee deep in the weeds.
Eventually, I found the correct combination of therapies that worked for me. It has taken me since 2010 to arrive at these shores. Step by step, day by day, I worked on my recovery until moments of relief became hours and days.
With these treatments, something began to heal on a deeper level within the body/mind and I began to say yes to going out. I found myself going from watching my son rock climbing to rock climbing myself. I began to feel a desire to dance and play without the drag that I used to feel.
Happiness began to bloom within my being. And best of all, I began to dream about traveling.
It is my hope that if you are in the midst of a healing journey that you will find the right resources for your healing and that the sharing of my journey shines a light in the right direction for you.
If you would like to talk to me or need guidance for your journey of healing, please feel free to contact me and set up a free Discovery Session. Please share this post and the previous post with anyone who may need encouragement or support as they transform trauma.