Dr. Randy Keil
Last week's article discussed how traumatic moments often affect the brain and body in strong, patterned ways. Two important conclusions were noted. First, the immediate response to trauma includes overwhelming fear, and how we respond is beyond our conscious control at this time. Although it is driven more by biology than psychology, its influence on our psychological world is immense. The more basic levels of our brains seem to take over all rational thinking to ensure basic survival.
Second, some victims become addicted to a fight-or-flight approach, overreacting by trying to fight every threat or run away from the most minor threat. Masu. But for others, the brain reflexively chooses a more reptilian response and freezes up. If you have a “freeze” reaction during trauma, this is not a sign of cowardice or lack of good character. Additionally, the brain can quickly and deeply pattern itself into a “freeze” in response to the presence of a challenge or fear, and this state can persist for years to come.
Essentially, trauma affects our ability to evolve and grow by rewiring our neural circuits and inhibiting our ability to move forward by getting stuck in the past.
It is also important to accept that knee-jerk reactions to trauma are biological processes and that these reactions are not reflective of who you are. Just as the event or traumatic moment is not your fault, how your body reacted is not your fault either. So be kind to yourself about this.
Top-down and bottom-up approaches to change.
Many trauma victims seek help, but often find that medications and traditional treatments, while of some value, are not completely sufficient. But don't despair. There is hope. Several tools can help break these patterns, unlock the brain's neuroplasticity, and enable profound change. The key to unlocking these locked patterns lies in a two-pronged approach. Top-down and bottom-up strategies can help reset your nervous system, thereby reducing the feeling of being stuck in a quagmire and helping you manifest positive changes in your psychological state.
Top-down approach: Top-down models target the brain directly. Top-down approaches include understanding and changing mental processes using tools such as therapy, EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), neurofeedback, and meditation. However, EMDR and neurofeedback-based therapies have proven particularly useful in breaking stuck patterns related to trauma.
One of the challenges in changing these stuck patterns is related to time. Often, the person remains hypervigilant and reacts daily using an overactive fight-or-flight response for years to pass. The pattern is like a well-worn path that has been walked thousands of times. Neural pathways become conditioned and automatic, making change more difficult to achieve. Therefore, to encourage the brain to change these repeated patterns, good leverage is needed and this is where integrating neurofeedback or her EMDR can help. Both have the potential to break long-standing patterns.
Bottom-up approach: The bottom-up approach takes advantage of the body's natural ability to change its baseline state. It's a bit complicated, but the gist is this: If you have access to certain breathing approaches, such as heart rate variability (HRV) breathing, you can recalibrate your degree of sympathetic arousal (a fancy term for a higher state of sympathetic arousal). body). This can be changed with massage, yoga, and deep rest practices other than sleep. However, from what I have read in the literature, there is nothing comparable to the expected restorative power of HRV breathing in resetting the physiological state of trauma victims.
Finding mobility with top-down and bottom-up approaches
Therefore, if you have tried treatments and medications for years without success, it may be beneficial to consider additional strategies. But it's not an either/or issue. The brain and body require a combination of treatments.
This data argues that we need support (i.e., therapy), tools to break patterns (i.e., EMDR or neurofeedback), and methods to help stabilize the body (such as HRV breathing). doing. Trauma leaves a mark on your neurobiology, but it doesn't have to be permanent or dictate the course of your life. Incorporating top-down and bottom-up techniques into your wellness regimen stimulates the neuroplasticity necessary for personal growth and newfound freedom.
To learn more about how we make these treatments a reality, please visit CapitalDistrictNeurofeedback.com. On YouTube, you can also find free guidance on how to use HRV breathing, non-sleep deep rest (NSDR), and even his EMDR.
