Raising Awareness of Stress and Trauma
April is stress awareness month and with the next NCIM conference coming up in May about trauma I wanted to talk about stress, trauma and some practical ways we can manage these events in our lives.
Whilst trauma or a traumatic event may not affect everyone in their lifetimes (though statistics show 1 in 3 adults in England report having experienced at least one traumatic event) stress is something which does affect everyone. And stress quite often leads to trauma and vice versa. Trauma is essentially an extreme or prolonged form of stress that overwhelms the body’s ability to cope. Conversely, when we experience stress or feel threatened, our body activates the fight-or-flight response, and trauma, especially when severe or prolonged, can keep this system in overdrive, leading to chronic stress.
Unlike everyday stress, trauma can become “stuck” in the nervous system, keeping the body in a hypervigilant state or causing dissociation. This can lead to PTSD, anxiety, and physical health issues. Chronic stress from unresolved trauma can contribute to inflammation, immune dysfunction, digestive issues, and even chronic pain. We know that the mind and body are not separate – what happens emotionally has physical consequences for us. On a behavioural level, both stress and trauma can contribute to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as substance abuse, emotional eating, or social withdrawal so it’s important that we always address what has happened to us.
It’s important to know that healing is possible, though often there is not one singular path. Often it is possible through a variety of integrative approaches such as talking therapies, mindfulness, breathwork, social support, and self-care practices that promote regulation of our nervous systems – more of which we’ll learn about in our May conference.
But of course understanding and appreciating the impact of stress and trauma is the first step towards recovery and building our resilience.
How can we build emotional resilience to stress?
The way stress appears, and what we find stressful is different from one person to the next, and although it isn’t avoidable, it is manageable. It is always possible to take steps to help to self-regulate your body and your mind and build resilience to chronic stress or lessen the grip it has on you.
– Become more self-aware and recognise patterns in your stress response. You can tune into what you need or how you’re feeling through quiet reflection or journaling
– Learn to self-regulate the autonomic nervous system, for example through meditation, mindfulness, or breath work, being in nature, writing a gratitude list, having a digital detox, setting some boundaries and saying “no” sometimes
– Reconnect to your body – move in a way that brings you joy or pleasure…anything as long as you move it! (dance, gardening, walking, playing with children, exercise)
– Bring a focus to good gut health – we are what we eat through food and herbal medicine. Good gut health can have an impact on mental health and how we mitigate stress
– Tone your vagal nerve – for example by humming or singing, cold water therapy, even chewing!
– Bring a focus to getting good quality sleep – how do you prepare for bed, what are you consuming (food / information) before bed, do you prioritise your sleep, do you expose your eyes to enough natural daylight early on in the day?
– Connect with others – building relationships helps to support your immune system and creates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional and physical wellbeing. Talking with friends and loved ones can often help lower stress and provide clarity to problems.
– Work with a healthcare practitioner – holistic healthcare such as homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, somatic therapy, cranio-sacral therapy, Internal Family Systems, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, Ayurveda, nutritional therapy. All of these can have a huge impact on stress and how we are able to cope with it.
Dr Elizabeth Thompson