You Can Use Yoga To Combat Psychological Trauma

Finding treatment for a physical injury is pretty simple. You go to the doctor, receive a diagnosis, and begin a course of treatment that results in healing. Psychological injuries can be far more difficult to treat.

Trauma can have a lasting and debilitating effect on a person's life. While talk therapy has long been the go-to treatment option for psychological trauma, there may be something just as effective at helping a person overcome the effects of trauma. Yoga is being used as a tool to help combat psychological trauma.

Fight-or-Flight Response

Anytime the body is faced with a potential trauma, the fight-or-flight response kicks in. This causes the body to go into a heightened state of awareness. Hormones are released that help prepare the body to take immediate action to escape a physical threat.

Psychological trauma can cause the body to stay in a state of constant stress. The same hormones that aid in survival in a dangerous situation can cause physical distress when they linger too long. Yoga can be helpful in making trauma patients more aware of their own physical state.

Yoga and Stress

Yoga has been used for relaxation and exercise by many people. The targeted stretching and mental clarity achieved through yoga can be beneficial in creating a mind-body connection. Trauma patients have difficulty identifying the difference between actual stress and trauma-induced stress.

Using yoga to improve the mind-body connection helps to make trauma victims more aware of their body's response to the trauma. Yoga poses can be used to help release stress from the physical body, which will help to clear the mind and make processing a psychological trauma more effective.

Healing

Psychological trauma can make it difficult for a patient to verbalize or remember the root cause of the trauma. This impedes the ability of a therapist to help the patient work through the surrounding emotions.

Traumatic yoga is rooted in the theoretical approach known as attachment theory. The attachment a patient has to the feelings trauma creates within the body are released through guided yoga sessions. Many people report feeling a greater sense of self and an improved ability to differentiate the effects of psychological trauma from the everyday stress they may be feeling in their lives.

Don't be afraid to explore alternative treatment options to help you overcome your psychological trauma. Yoga can be a beneficial tool in helping you take control over your trauma in the future.