How Does Emotional Trauma Affect the Body?

Hey beautiful,

Welcome. Today I want to share a bit of my body story. Specifically how trauma affected my body. And, more importantly, how I was able to heal it and move past it.

As usual, this is your reminder that there will be lots of triggers. Always consult with your physician before trying any new diets or attempting new therapy forms.

Ok, let's get started…

When you are holding on to trauma in your body, there are usually some pretty visible signs. You may experience profound exhaustion, confusion, sadness, or anxiety. You may feel easily irritated, agitated, or even disassociated.

And if you're thinking? "Well, yeah…but you can also feel a lot (if not most) of these things if you're just having a bad dad. How do I know these are symptoms from my trauma?" then read on.

It might be obvious to some of you reading this, but the truth is it took me nearly a decade to figure it out.

The first thing you need to be aware of is how you're responding to your everyday setbacks. For example, let's say your partner forgets to pick up his plate after dinner. A normal response might be for you to get annoyed and remind him to please pick up after himself.

A trauma-based response might sound a lot more dramatic. You might start yelling. You might throw the plate across the room or cry hysterically because you feel like you are being taken advantage of. Or you might feel like your home is a pig-sty because of that one plate.

When we allow trauma to stay trapped in our bodies, even the slightest setback can throw off our nervous system.

What's worst is that if you're like me and were raised to keep quiet ( I was raised to keep secrets, not have an opinion, and never talk back no matter the circumstances), you are caught in what feels like a game of ping-pong.

You may get really upset, but deal with your emotions by overeating or drowning your sorrows with drugs or alcohol.

All of which negatively affect your body. But the unknown territory of dealing with your problems "the healthy way" is so foreign that you can't even imagine going there. What would you even say? How would you even act? What happens after the conflict is resolved? Are you now forced to be happy? That seems uncomfortable and fake.

Or does it sound like something you might like? Because I'm here to tell you. Once you get past the initial awkwardness, healing your body by healing your trauma is actually a much better place to be in.

And it's actually not as hard as you may think to get here.

Here's a shortlist of my 5 favorite things to do to release trauma from the body.

Journaling with your subconscious. This one is not as much about releasing the trauma as it is about figuring out what [is it] specifically that needs to be released.

You start off by thinking about something that's really affecting your body, like overeating. With your dominant hand, write down the problem. Journal about what you eat and how it's making you gain weight, creating disease in your body, etc. Now, with your non-dominant hand, ask for the solution. The writing may get really sloppy. Don't worry about it. Just allow it to come through.

When I did this exercise, I started writing in Spanish (my native language), which made me realize I was hurting my inner child with my drinking. So don't be surprised if something completely unexpected comes up.

Rage Dancing. This is when you put on the heavy metal, the cursing music, and just allow the shadow side of you to come out and rage. Get yourself in a safe place and grab a pillow to kick, punch and scream into. Allow any trapped anger to come out.

Shake Dancing. This is a much less intense version of rage dancing but just as effective. Essentially, all you will do is put on some music and shake your body. And with every part of your body you shake, you will pretend that anything trapped in there is coming off you.

Shake your head, neck, shoulders, arms, torso, legs, and feet until you feel the memories and pain literally falling off you.

Meditation. Meditation is a great tool to help you ground yourself. Once you get the hang of mediation, you will feel deeply connected to your body. You will start to feel safe in it and learn how to love it and nurture it.

And while there are thousands of meditation styles (and you'll have to find the right one for you) I strongly recommend womb healing meditations. Especially if you've experienced sexual trauma, birth trauma, and if you are having money problems. 

EFT Tapping. This is one of my absolute favorite ways to release trapped energy. EFT tapping has been a God-send to me because it allows you to go through the whole cycle of your pain. You call out your trauma, disempower it, and replace it with a solution.

In fact, I think this is such a powerful tool; I have created a FREE class on how to release your trauma using EFT. Please come join us here. I promise you have nothing to lose and so much healing to gain.

Ok, beauty, so that is it for today. Check out the podcast here if you want to hear more on this topic. I go into a lot more detail on releasing trauma from your body.

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I love you so much, and I can't wait for you to visit again!

XO,
Edna