The Physiological Impact and Treatment of Trauma

Negative Impact of Trauma on the Body
Research from neuroscience, developmental psychopathology, and interpersonal neurobiology tells us that trauma has a physiological impact:

• recalibration of the brain's alarm system
• increase in stress hormone activity
• alterations in the system that filters relevant information from irrelevant
• compromises the brain area that communicates the physical, embodied feeling of being alive

Hope & Healing

Methods and experiences that rely on the brain's own natural neuroplasticity can palliate or even reverse the damage so survivors can feel fully alive in the present and move on with their lives:

• Top down - talking and re-connecting with others, allowing ourselves to know and understand what is going on with us, while processing the memories of the trauma
• Taking medicines that shut down inappropriate alarm reactions, or by utilizing other technologies that change the way the brain organizes information
• Bottom up - by allowing the body to have experiences that deeply and viscerally contradict the helplessness, rage, or collapse that result from trauma
• Or any combination of the above

Reference

Van Der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. New York, New York: Viking Penguin.