Trauma Tips

Medical related traumas can happen to anyone. They happened to me, and you’ll hear more about mine and another client’s in today’s podcast.

In a previous trauma tips episode, I shared about subjective emotional experiences. In short, our perception of the trauma determines how we internalize what happened.

This is very true of children as well. As I have stated previously, a child cannot make logic relating to the event. In light of this, the child will internalize or act out their emotional reactions. These emotional reactions can vary in intensity depending on the severity of the child’s interpretation.

Connect with Rosalien:

Website:https://www.journeyintowellness.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miraclehealinghideaway/

Transcription

If someone has been negatively affected by a medical event, procedure, in fact any trauma, they may find themselves re-experiencing or thinking a lot about the episode long after the event has taken place. This can show up as nightmares, flashbacks, and even physical symptoms such as being triggered by something you may see, smell, or hear. If you’ve been affected, you might try to avoid places, conversations or try to not think about things connected with the trauma.

The second indicator is seen when a person may want to stay away from certain people or activities that remind them of the event. They may start to show extreme caution and not want to enjoy certain things anymore.

The third most common indicator of trauma is seen in the way a person responds to danger. You may be familiar with these three indicators: fight, flight and freeze but what about the newest one that has been included, Fawn. What does it mean to be a Fawner? Let’s start to learn more about traumas and the way we respond to them in another episode of trauma tips.

Trauma is defined as a mental, behavioural and emotional response to an event or an experience that is deeply disturbing or distressing. Contrary to my previous belief, it’s your SUBJECTIVE emotional experience of an event that determines whether it was traumatic. In other words, just because something might not be recognized objectively as devastating does not mean it wasn’t traumatic for you.

Rosalien shares her thoughts on what it means to experience trauma subjectively. 

Connect with Rosalien:

Website:https://www.journeyintowellness.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miraclehealinghideaway/

Transcription

I once understood trauma as an experience only known to war veterans, survivors of natural disasters and damaging childhoods. I was wrong.

My study and practice have led me to believe something much different. Trauma is defined as a mental, behavioural and emotional response to an event or an experience that is deeply disturbing or distressing. Contrary to my previous belief, it’s your SUBJECTIVE emotional experience of an event that determines whether it was traumatic. In other words, just because something might not be recognized objectively as devastating does not mean it wasn’t traumatic for you.

When I was a teenager, I lived on a farm. One of my tasks was to butcher chickens. To someone who didn’t grow up like I did, it might be considered gruesome. Those of you who are squeamish, feel free to close your ears.

Among other things, two of my jobs were to behead and defeather the chickens. Years later, my sister-in-law and her teenagers wanted to watch me do the task. It was their first time butchering poultry and they needed my expertise.

For me, butchering chickens was normal and a normal part of farm life. For my sister-in-law it was shocking, devastating and apprehensible. The traumatic, or not so traumatic, nature of experience was subjective.

Another example would be spankings. Some families say it’s good. Others think it’s a barbaric practice that should be outlawed. Traumas are influenced by our own ideas, personal feelings, beliefs and opinions. I repeat: traumas are subjective.

Your experience of an event may vary greatly from someone else’s.

When responding to the energy of anger - How do you respond: fight - do you want to confront the person, flight - do you want to leave, freeze - Do you shut down, or fawn - do you want to take care of them in some way. Trauma can show up in an action and gives us clues on things we need to heal.

How balanced are you in your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual self?

Rosalien shares her thoughts on what energy in motion reacts like when it comes to storing trauma in the body.

Connect with Rosalien:

Website:https://www.journeyintowellness.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miraclehealinghideaway/

Transcription

Have you ever sat down for coffee with a struggling person only to feel weighed down in their presence? Or perhaps you’ve been watching developments on the coronavirus and stumbled on the testimonials of some nurses and doctors working,they seem to describe sensing the energy of “fear” in the rooms. Just as our downtrodden friend weighs on our mood, the emotions of the sick and dying affects medical personnel working in a hospital.

If a person who is really angry or upset, walks into a room, what happens to you in the room? Do you shut down, do you want to leave, do you want to confront the person, or do you want to take care of them in some way? This is you responding to the energy of anger.

These are all ways that someone might react. Bringing awareness, getting curious as to how you feel when things happen is the cornerstone to beginning the process to healing.

The reason we are affected by the emotions of others, is because of energy. When we understand how energy works and moves, we can better understand and control our own emotions.

In Eastern philosophy they talk about organs and how emotions are held within them. Do you know anyone who is struggling with kidney issues – have they had any huge fear in their life? How about struggling with bronchitis or pneumonia, have they gone through any kind of grief that they still struggle with?

What if, these and other diseases were a result of us holding onto negative energy? When we act abrasively - like yell at a coworker or say something hurtful to our children for instance, is it an indicator that perhaps emotions are blocked within us, maybe even the emotions that we have not dealt with or released ourselves.

Take note of why and how you are feeling in certain situations. For example if you store the emotion of anger, when you get angry what does the energy act like? Do you lash out physically by hitting, emotionally with words that hurt, mentally with revenge, or use their religious beliefs against them?

Traumas come from our body responding and reacting to negative energy in motion.

Ok, I am going to share some of my story so you might be able to relate a bit and understand that trauma comes at any age and in many different ways.

My journey began as a baby. I was an identical twin and born deaf. I was the smaller of two and was held back from going home with my twin as I needed to gain weight. I later understood that this was were my first traumas began. I was taken from my twin and left in the incubator with no one close to me any longer – where did she go? I was abandoned, not good enough to go home, or maybe not even wanted.

Perhaps we have just recognized the beginning of an unhealthy relationship to weight?

I am an identical mirror twin which means that my sister and I mirror each other. For example, she is right-handed and I am left-handed. She was my big sister – three minutes older and she didn’t let me forget it! Soon, I started to be recognized as being stubborn, not wanting to listen.