The Correlation Between Trauma and Physical Health
Sometimes, when talking about mental and physical health, we tend to think of them as individual and separate. However, science shows us that they are deeply interconnected. As such, when we experience trauma, more than just our inner world is affected. Today, we’ll talk more about the connection between trauma and physical health outcomes that can occur when that trauma remains unaddressed.
Trauma and the Mind/Body Connection
Trauma is more than just emotional; it has deep physiological impacts. No matter what type of trauma you experience, the body and mind both respond, and therefore, both must be addressed when processing trauma. When trauma remains unaddressed, physical impacts include disrupted sleep, impaired immune function, and unexplained physical pain. Trauma therapy can help to address the mind, while tools like somatic therapy, exercise, and rest can help to address the body. To learn more, our recent article goes more into the signs and effects of prolonged trauma on the mind and body, Understanding the Mental and Physical Effects of Trauma. As you keep reading here, we’ll learn more about the interconnectedness of it all.
How Trauma Affects the Brain and Nervous System
When we experience stressful and traumatic moments, our brains and bodies activate the stress response, offering us a variety of ways to cope and protect ourselves in the moment. These responses are well known as fight, flight, freeze, and fawn. A healthy stress response will offer these tools and then downregulate as needed once the threat is gone. When someone experiences trauma, their system can get stuck in the stress response, causing the body to feel and act as if the danger is constant. During stressful moments, the brain communicates with the body to produce cortisol. In a moment of danger, increased cortisol is beneficial, but when the body remains in that heightened state due to trauma, excess cortisol for prolonged periods of time can have significant effects.
Physical Manifestations of Unresolved Trauma
When the body remains in a heightened state of response, physical manifestations like chronic pain, digestive issues, and cardiovascular strain may appear. When trauma remains unaddressed over the long term, autoimmune disease can develop. Emotional distress can manifest in physical form through chronic and long-term inflammation, often leaving medical providers with no clear physical cause. When dealing with our mental and physical health, more effort must be made to take a more holistic view. Treating physical symptoms without relief should cause us to orient our curiosity toward what emotional root causes might exist. At Genesis Counseling of South Tampa, we work hard to help clients address stored emotional trauma so that the body can begin healing as well. Why is this so important? As mentioned above, prolonged trauma in the body can have lasting effects. The sooner you address the mind, the sooner healing in the body may follow.
Trauma Therapy for Mind/Body Healing
Although the effects of untreated trauma can be severe, the good news is that they can all be improved. Trauma therapy helps people break out of the loop they’re stuck in and return to life where they can see the world beyond the lens of the things that have hurt them. Trauma therapy can help improve body awareness and increase feelings of physical and emotional safety. There are a variety of different types of trauma therapy, and you should work closely with your mental health therapist to determine which type of trauma therapy is right for you. At Genesis Counseling, we offer a personalized combination of the following trauma therapy modalities:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Internal Family Systems Therapy
- Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
The modality is determined privately between each patient and provider to ensure the right treatment for each person’s individual needs. In addition to these treatment methods, you’ll learn tools and skills that you can use in your daily life for coping with challenges and managing your stress response.
If you’re ready to take back your mental and physical health from the effects of past traumatic experiences, we’re ready to support you at Genesis Counseling through trauma therapy here in Tampa. You deserve to feel safe and healthy in your body and mind, and we’re passionate about helping individuals who have experienced trauma reclaim their lives, their peace, and their health. If you’re ready to take the next step, feel free to book your consultation or appointment. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to speak more in depth about treatment options available to you.
