7 Empowering Ways To Heal Past Pain And Trauma, Based On Decades Of Research
There are many choices when it comes to healing past trauma so people can find the method that works best for them.
Egor Litvinov | Canva If you've experienced past pain or trauma, you likely are looking for healing and recovery. Before you can truly get there, you need to know a few things. First, trauma occurs when your nervous system becomes overloaded and can no longer fight or flee, and can only freeze. Second, trauma is an individualized, subjective experience.
What one person perceives as overwhelming and traumatic may not be so for another. This does not invalidate the experience or traumatic symptoms that follow. Despite how the individual perceives it, serious pain and trauma create a disconnection between the body and the mind.
Individuals with childhood trauma, particularly early childhood, are more predisposed to later experiences of mental health conditions, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
7 empowering ways to heal your past pain and trauma, based on decades of research:
1. EMDR therapy sessions
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This involves tracking eye movements while mentally focusing on the traumatic experience in very brief exposures. EMDR treatment can also be useful in alleviating traumatic symptoms and distress.
The American Psychological Association (APA) explains that, "[u]nlike other treatments that focus on directly altering the emotions, thoughts and responses resulting from traumatic experiences, EMDR therapy focuses directly on the memory, and is intended to change the way that the memory is stored in the brain, thus reducing and eliminating the problematic symptoms."
Counselor Linda K. Laffey explained, "EMDR treatment is particularly effective because it helps spur a psychological transformation of your most disturbing, frightening, and upsetting experiences. This allows for the elimination or release of unhelpful thoughts, sensations, and beliefs that you may have consciously or unconsciously linked to painful past events.
"Compared to traditional therapies, EMDR treatment may feel very different. It is not a prolonged experience. It does not reinforce specific facets of your trauma. Distressing thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations may occur, but after noticing them briefly, the bilateral stimulation will move you on."
2. Somatic Experiencing
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This can be a very effective trauma treatment because it works to address the physiological memory of the traumatic event that is stored in the body. Somatic Experiencing focuses on the completion of interrupted fight or flight responses and on nervous system regulation.
Wellness coach Lisa Newman explained that, "[r]ather than focusing on the specifics of what happened, somatic therapies focus on the response and the solution. These techniques, in general, work on grounding, self-regulation, trust, and personal boundaries. They help reduce negative coping strategies, reduce stress and overwhelm, increase self-compassion and self-care, as well as address co-existing physical symptoms."
An optional element of Somatic Experiencing can be touch, which increases your tolerance for and shores up containment of difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions.
3. Yoga therapy
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Doing this in addition to trauma treatment is useful because this body-based approach works to address the emotion stored in the body by developing mindfulness, self-awareness, and inner peace. The APA shares that "a growing body of research supporting yoga's mental health benefits, psychologists are weaving the practice into their work with clients."
Relationship health writer Steph Autrie describes her experience with yoga as therapy. "The transformation I began to experience once I started yoga was slow. With every breathing exercise we did at the beginning of class, I could feel myself getting lighter. With every end-of-class savasana, I could feel myself attaining a sort of peace.
"Suddenly, I was managing my chronic depression and anxiety just fine. Suddenly, I no longer had to worry that I might devolve into a raving lunatic over some small slight or disappointment. Despite my brand new existence as an enlightened being, I wanted more. I wanted to feel this way all the time."
4. Pharmacotherapy
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This is the use of medications to manage traumatic reactions, making them less intense. Medications do not make the pain disappear, but they can be used in combination with therapy to manage sensations to allow for better working through your trauma.
According to the National Center for PTSD, "Medications prescribed for PTSD act upon neurotransmitters affecting the fear and anxiety circuitry of the brain. Evidence for PTSD pharmacology is strongest for specific selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Currently, only sertraline and paroxetine are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for PTSD."
5. Exposure therapy
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This is a form of behavior therapy that works to reduce the fear of the traumatic event through gradual exposure. Exposure therapy has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, improve social adjustment, and organize trauma memory.
Counselor Laffey advised, "Exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are common talk therapies designed to help sufferers work through descriptions of their remembered pain and traumatic experiences. Talk therapy generally assumes a couple of things.
One, "You need increased exposure to memories you are avoiding to overcome them, and [two] you might be helped by sharing details of your trauma so your negative thoughts and beliefs may be identified, challenged, and changed. There is nothing wrong with talk therapy treatments. They often bring relief. However, there are also a lot of people who don’t find relief by reliving and rehashing the most painful parts of their lives."
6. Cognitive-behavioral therapy
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Cognitive behavioral therapy helps work towards changing incorrect or irrational thoughts and increasing your knowledge, skills, and ability to manage traumatic triggers.
"Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques can help you reframe negative thinking," explained therapist Miki Anderson. "Keeping a thought journal is one of the most effective ways to monitor your thoughts. Write down your thoughts and the emotions associated with them. This helps you identify recurring thought patterns and can help in monitoring your progress."
A meta-analysis that examined outcomes from a wide range of studies concluded that, "[t]he current review suggests that CBT is an effective treatment for both acute and chronic PTSD, with both short-term and long-term benefit, following a range of traumatic experiences."
7. Trauma survivor group therapy
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This helps promote social connection and support by hearing others’ stories and sharing your own. Groups can vary in nature, and it is crucial to choose one that is aligned with your experiences, needs, and journey.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs explains that group therapy can help PTSD and trauma survivors with a wide variety of benefits, including: reduced isolation, increased cognitive flexibility, learning coping skills, developing empathy for other perspectives and experiences, and giving people an opportunity to express themselves in an understanding, supportive environment.
Unprocessed trauma can be paralyzing and disrupt the quality of your life. A qualified trauma therapist will guide you through the healing of your trauma, empowering you to become an active participant in life.
There are numerous therapy approaches to work towards healing from trauma. However, it is vital to find an approach and a therapist who works for you. Trauma-focused treatment works to acknowledge and integrate the traumatic event into your life, not minimize or remove it.
You do not need to go through this alone.
Rhonda Kelloway is a trained divorce and family mediator and a co-owner and principal therapist at Life Care Wellness, a group psychotherapy practice in Glen Ellyn and Chicago, Illinois. She is a trauma specialist utilizing a Somatic Experiencing framework, EMDR, and a variety of traditional psychotherapy approaches in her work.
