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How past wounds affect your body and mind

User Profile: pamharley003
pamharley003 March 21st

When we dwell on past trauma and wounds, it alters your body and mind to be in a "fight, flight, and freeze" state. This will linger to fatigue, stress, and memory issues. Physically our bodies will store the tension we are having; we will feel chronic pain in our bodies and affect our autoimmune systems.

Some trauma survivors will have a hard time dealing with these emotions, such as anger, anxiety, sadness, and shame. Trauma, like childhood memories, is often hard to overcome because we did not know how to deal with them when we were younger.

5 ways trauma changes your body and mind:

The alarm system goes into overload: Our brain begins to treat everything as a threat to you. This will make you feel on edge, being constantly jumpy, your body becoming rigid where it's still and tightening our muscle system.

Memory is unpredictable: trauma transforms the part of our brain that will organize and store the memories. This is where you may have trouble remembering things in your past. This can make it hard for you to trust your own sense of time and reality.

The body begins to hold stress: Trauma will not only affect our minds but our bodies as well. The trauma settles in our muscles and tissues. You may begin to feel a tightening in your chest and affect your digestive tract.

Nervous system: this will affect our nervous system from resetting itself. This is where the fight, flight, and freeze motions come into effect. You may begin to feel your heart rate go faster, feel like you're frozen in time, and make you feel overwhelmed.

Your brain will train for the worst: Your brain begins to look for the worst case possible to happen. Your brain needs to rewire itself so you may calm down in certain situations and move along in a peaceful state of mind.

Trauma leaves all kinds of traces in your life. It will affect not only your body and mind but also your sense of self and how you will heal from this. Healing is where you begin to retrace emotions, feelings, and so on and work them out. Journalizing is a great way to deal with these situations. When you write down what is upsetting you, it gives a clearer picture into how to work the problems out.

What is one way to work out past wounds?

How do you feel when your able to fix something that has gone wrongg in your life?

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User Profile: Amanda84
Amanda84 March 21st

@pamharley003

Not dwelling works for me.

Processing difficult feelings.

Not sharing with everyone.

Everyone doesn't need to or deserve to know your story.

Asking for help if needed 🩵🤗

Knowing my past doesn't define me!

User Profile: The24hrClimber
The24hrClimber March 21st

@pamharley003 I wanna try the CBT method I learnt at uni but it feels like such a long process still I should try maybe with time it will become easier.

User Profile: purpleTree4652
purpleTree4652 March 21st

@pamharley003

I have PTSD.  All the therapy that I've tried doesn't make it go away.  

User Profile: eternalHero77
eternalHero77 July 17th

@pamharley003 I think to some degree I have been able to overcome alot in the sense of when people come out abusive towards me or towards others I not only no longer sweep it inder the carpet but I no longer will allow it being done to me. If anything negative comes up its not so much for me living in the past but rather I have met people who are in abusive situations and feel there is no way out. If after talkin’ to them and trying to offer suggestions if they still see it one way and I think by hearing my story could help then I say a bit of my life which often will help and person finally decides to get help.

@pamharley003

I don't know how I didn't see this post until now.

Pam everything thing you broke down in how we process traumas and how the mind/ body responds is describing my situation completely!! I have done 1.5 years of CBT, Internal Family Systems and then a few sessions with a couple of other therapists. This all has helped a lot in terms of forgiveness, some healing in past trauma (especially shame). But the reason I still come back to seeking help has all come down to my coping response to the anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, heart racing and holding something inside. I just haven't found the success I have been wanting in this regard. It has caused me a lot of anguish.

Thanks so much for explaining all that you did in this post ð¥°ð«¶ !!!!!