Trauma, Biology and Hyperarousal

According to an article "The Biological Response To Trauma", it is stated that trauma is different from stress because it has long lasting effects biologically. While trauma is different from stress, the daily buildup of stress becomes the same as trauma.

Pierre Janet in 1989 recognized that overwhelming or traumatic experiences are accompanied by strong emotions. These strong emotional experiences interfere with normal processing of information and follow through action. Janet believed that hyperarousal was responsible for memory problems in people who had been traumatized as a result. According to van der Kolk & van der Hart in 1989, hyperarousal causes memories to be fragmented from consciousness. They are then stored as visual images or body sensations. At some point in the person's future, these stored fragments will then return as physiological reactions, emotions, nightmares and behavior reenactments.

Hyperarousal is a state of tension, both muscular and emotionally produced by the body through hormones during the fear response. It is also known as the fight or flight reaction. Symptoms of hyperparousal include reduced pain tolerance, anxiety, an exaggerated startle response, insomnia, and fatigue. (Source: medical dictionary - free dictionary.com ).

Hyperarousal can also make it difficult for a person to not only fall asleep but to stay asleep. Often an individual will feel more irritable or have outbursts of anger. They may have a difficult time concentrating on daily tasks and thought processes. Often, these traumatized people feel as if they are always on guard watching for danger that may be lurking at every turn. They are easily startled and jumpy to any situation that feels exaggerated and overwhelming.

According to Janet, trauma is responsible for continued exaggerated responses to other stresses that people encounter in their day. After severe traumatic experiences, the dream life or thoughts for that person takes them continually back to the traumatic moment or event. It is like the brain keeps replaying this over and over until there is a moment of resolution. Freud claimed that trauma caused an extensive rupture in our barrier against stimuli. In other words, what would be normal for a person to deal with in their day, now becomes a situation that feels exaggerated and overwhelming.

Pavlov, a Russian Psychologist, felt that the mind was a part of the living body, not as something which was completely separate. In his work, he called a cluster of innate reflexive responses to environmental threats, a defensive reaction. After repeated responses to environmental stimuli, the reaction would become conditioned as if it was the norm. In other words, having a response to some noise, or individual or event going on around a person could invoke a reaction that was more of a defense mechanism while other people would have no reaction at all.

For me, hearing a cat meow or the thumping bass sound from a car stereo, causes an immediate reaction in me. In the case of the cat meow, I want to protect and save the cat that this is coming from and in the case of the car stereo, I want to silence its source. If these sounds do not stop, I become extremely agitated as if I am reliving events that happened many years ago during my childhood. It is as if, the current event is the same as the event from a long time ago. In my mind, it is difficult to tell the two apart. For much of my life, I did not realize that there was a connection between hearing these sounds and events from my past. At best, all I could do was notice what happened in my mind and body when I heard these sounds. I have since learned how to deal with these things but for a long time, they were some very dangerous and explosive situations that I lived with.

Hyperarousal is unfortunately a state that many of us participate in during our days. Often we do not even recognize it because this state has become the norm to our lives. It affects every part of us from how we interact with others to the decisions we make and the enjoyment or growth we experience. It also keeps the body in a revved up state so that many of our body systems are working over time and keeping us ready for the danger that our subconscious mind perceives is close by. Working to become aware of our fears and embrace them is a major step in releasing all of these long held body sensations and memories. If we continue to go through life as if everything is ok, than we are only robbing ourselves of all that life can be. For these events are stored within our body at the time of impact and because of that, they can only be released from the body through the mind.


Reference: http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/vanderkolk2/
Anxiety Research (U.K.), Volume 4: Pages 199-212
The Biological Response to Psychic Trauma: Mechanisms and Treatment Of Intrusion and Numbing



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Trouble Sleeping - Look to Electronics

In the CNN Technology Section on May 13, 2010, there was an article posted by John D. Sutter, called "Trouble Sleeping? Maybe It's Your Ipad." While I'm sure CNN was trying to capitalize on the word "Ipad" , there was a very good message in the article that needs to be explored and researched.

The article talked about strong light that whether it came from the sun or electronic devices can reset a person's internal sleep clock. An individual that was referenced in the article turned all his electronic gadgets and lights off in his house at sunset for one month. For this person, it worked and instead of falling asleep at midnight, he was going to bed at 9 pm. During the day, he felt so rested that his friends remarked on his early morning perkiness. He affirmed that getting the extra slept really made a difference in his state of mind.

More and more, many of us are using electronic devices with bright lights and illuminated screens on them. Often we are using them right up until we go to sleep at night. There is a growing concern that these electronic devices may actually be fooling our brains into becoming confused as to what is daytime and what is night time. If you add into the mix, a person who already has sleep problems or who is stressed, than it can make insomnia much worse. Even if you use one of these electronic devices close to bedtime, it can actually stimulate the brain enough to make it more aware and delay your ability to sleep. That is according to Phyllis Zee, a neuroscience professor at Northwestern University. It may also affect your circadian rhythm which is the clock in your brain that determines when you sleep and when you wake up.

Because devices like the ipad, iphone, laptop computers and the Amazon Kindle illuminate bright light that is so close to the eyes, it has a strong impact on what happens in the brain. Unlike a TV, where the light is filtered and spread across a room, it has a lessor impact than these newer electronic devices do. The big distinction is how much light is coming directly into the eyes.

People are biologically wired to be awake when the sun is out and to go to sleep when it is dark. When the receptors in our eyes are flooded with bright light for an extended period of time, a message is sent to the brain that it is time to be awake. Normally when it is dark or around 9 pm at night, the brain secretes melatonin. Melatonin helps make people sleepy and it is responsible for regulating the internal sleep clock in people. If bright lights are shining in our eyes, than melatonin production may not happen as it is supposed to.

In addition, our eyes are very sensitive to blue light. Blue light is common during the day but not in the evening. Computer screens and phones tend to put out a lot of blue light and even though they may not be as intense, they could still greatly affect melatonin production and secretion. It is hard to determine just how much light is needed to reset the person's internal sleep clock. Several factors such as how bright the light is, what hues are present, how large the light source is and how far it is from the person's eyes all have an impact on the body's rhythms and internal sleep clock. What the person does during the day plays a major role. Take someone that works outside all day in the sun versus an office worker who is in a more artificial light environment and there will be a difference in how they are affected by these light sources after dark.

Of course, it is important to note that some researches are very skeptical of the entire premise of this article. They do not feel that the bright lights from these electronic devices have any impact on how a person sleeps unless they are suffering from insomnia. I say, if you're skeptical - try the experiment that the person did where they shut off the lights and devices at dark. See if it works. If after a month it doesn't work, than you should be skeptical as well.

In the article, there are many different options that may help alleviate some of these situations or lessen the impact of bright lights on your sleep. Please refer to the article link above for more detailed information and options. I have only tried to highlight some of the main points in the article but the article is worth reading.

Our bodies do work towards a balance and when we influence and impact them, something has to either happen within our body to bring it back in balance or alter functions to compensate for the impact. That can be evidenced by many things we do from staying up all night long or being stressed out or drinking too much caffeine and not enough water, etc and etc, and so forth. There are numerous ways in which we impact our bodies every day and some of them we don't stop to think about.

Our nervous systems are designed to be very resilient and absorb much of the impacts and stress we place on our body. However if we continually bombard our mind and our body with undue stresses, than at some point the body says to the mind - hey, enough! So finding balance within ourselves and working to rid ourselves of the stress we take in each day will help this. The most important part though is paying attention to our body and becoming more aware of how we impact it and how we actually live in our bodies. Remember, we only get one body in this lifetime so the more we take care of it and learn about it, the more we will get out of life!



*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Home Remedies with Essential Oils

Here's something I got in a newsletter recently from the Young Living Essential Oils distributorship that I am part of. These essential oils do wonders as I use them in not only my own health and massage practice, but I also use them in making my own cleaning solutions. If you have questions or want to know how to purchase these, please contact me and I'll be glad to assist you. Young Living has some of the most pure and best essential oils on the market. You can not beat the quality of them.

For Aches & Pains (instead of pain killers, try...)

• Peppermint - erases headaches like magic due to its analgesic properties. Topically apply 1-2 drops of Peppermint and Lavender to your forehead, temples and back of neck.

• Peppermint and PanAway ease stressed muscles and joints. Make a custom massage oil by mixing six drops of either essential oil with one or more tablespoons of V-6 Pure Vegetable Oil complex (or other high quality non scented massage oils. Massage onto the affected area or just apply topically and cover with a moist, hot towel. Feel the relief soak in deep.

• Valor essential oil blend is a favorite of chiropractors and massage therapists because it balances the body's electrical energies. Chiropractors who apply Valor on the spine before an adjustment tell us it makes adjustments easier and helps them last longer.

For Digestive Upsets (instead of the pink stuff, try...)

• Peppermint essential oil - is a simple way to deliver an age-old remedy for indigestion, gas, bloating. Make a soothing tea with one drop Peppermint in a cup of warm water or apply 2-3 drops topically to the abdomen.
• Lemon essential oi is one of the best remedies for heartburn. Place several drops in water and sip slowly. By ingesting Lemon essential oil, the stomach stops excreting digestive acids, thereby alleviating heartburn.

For Cold & Flu Symptoms (instead of antihistamines, try...)

• Thieves is indispensable for minor respiratory conditions. This very versatile oil can be inhaled, applied topically and taken internally. Apply to soles of feet, then inhale deeply (being careful not to get this hot oil near eyes and mucous membranes). One drop mixed well in a 12 ounce glass of cool water, sipped slowly, supports the immune system.
• Fevers - Dilute one drop of Peppermint essential oil with V-6 Pure Vegetable Oil Complex and apply to soles of feet. workes great with children.

For Itchy, Ouchy Skin (instead of spray-on chemicals, try...)

• Lavender has been soothing distressed skin for millenia. When applied topically to sunburn, windburn and other minor burns, it helps to hasten healing of damaged tissues. To moisten minor burns and reduce inflammation, use LavaDerm Spray, which combines Lavender essential oil with soothing aloe vera.
• Insect bites and itchy skin - because of their outstanding antiseptic properties, essential oils are ideal for treating the itchiness and irritation from most kinds of insect bits. Apply Purification, Lavender or Peppermint topically on location 2-4 times daily: 1-2 drops neat or diluted with 1-2 drops V-6 Pure Vegetable Oil Complex.

For Insect Repellent (instead of Deet, try...)

• Dilute 6-10 drops of Purification, Peppermint or Lavender in 4 ounces of water and spray on exposed skin to repel insects and their bites.

For Sore Gums & Mouth try...

• Peppermint's natural menthol helps to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Apply with a toothbrush or make a mild gargle with 1-2 drops of Peppermint in 3 ounces of water.
• Gum Infection - Thieves essential oil blend eliminates the bacteria that cause periodontal disease. Place a small drop on a soft toothbrush and apply gently to gumline. Thieves contains hot spice oils such as cinnamon and clove, so sensitive users may wish to dilute first with 2-3 drops of V-6 Oil.

For Insomnia & Restlessness

• Peace & Calming and Lavender are great favorites for those who have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. Apply 2-3 drops topically to the temples, back of your neck, then inhale the fragrance from the palms of your hands for a few minutes. Now, enjoy a peaceful night's sleep.

Important Note: When using essential oils internally, it is vitally important to choose therapeutic grade essential oils. Select only those oils which are Generally Regarded As Safe for internal use by the US Food And Drug Administration.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog post is intended for educational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical care or to prescribe treatment for any specific health condition. No responsibility is assumed and no liability assumed for any person or group for any loss, damage or injury resulting from the use or misuse of any information herein.