How Trauma Impacts The Body
- Natasha Turnbull
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
On the 20th of February, Seed Talks held an event titled ‘The Science of Trauma and the Body: The Psychosomatic Nature of Trauma.’ Seed Talks is an events company which hosts talks across the United Kingdom. The company was launched in 2021 and focuses on topics such as wellness, psychology and neuroscience.
The event was hosted at the Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh and delivered by Dr Angela Kennedy, a clinical psychologist who has over 30 years of experience working in mental health for the NHS.
Dr Kennedy’s talk begins with an explanation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The two systems have opposing roles but work harmoniously together to ensure that your body is in balance. Firstly, she explains that the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for immediate reactions to stressful situations, this is often referred to as ‘fight or flight’. On the contrary, the parasympathetic nervous system helps the body relax after this type of situation occurs, this is often known as ‘rest and digest’. Ideally, there should be a balance between the two systems.
These systems can often be in overdrive for people who have been traumatised, which displaces the balance in your body and can showcase through physical symptoms. Dr Kennedy states that this happens because the body reacts in ways that it thinks will best protect you after a traumatic event.
Sometimes when the parasympathetic nervous system is in overdrive, this can also cause dissociation, out-of-body experiences and detachment from the trauma altogether.
Furthermore, it is explained that during trauma, your pre-frontal cortex can become less effective. Some of the pre-frontal cortex’s roles include reasoning, decision-making and planning. This part of your brain is impacted as during a traumatic event your brain enters ‘survival mode’, which often results in a person being unable to think about situations clearly.
As a result of trauma, your physical senses can also become heightened, and you become hyper-focused on your surroundings. An example of this includes smelling a certain scent that reminds you of a traumatic time in your life, these heightened senses can cause you to become re-traumatised.
Traumatisation through physical senses can be linked to your limbic system, the part of your brain which controls emotional behaviours such as overthinking thoughts and memories. The limbic system is responsible for triggering memories of a traumatic nature.
Dr Kennedy then addresses the concept of latent vulnerability. In terms of trauma, this can apply to somebody who has faced trauma in the past, yet has suppressed and unresolved emotions. These emotions can then resurface in later life when a stressful situation brings these feelings to the forefront of your mind. Latent vulnerability often impacts people who became used to violence and stress when they were a child, as in later life they can experience difficulty negotiating social situations and they can become hyper-focused on threat cues.
Such impacts in adulthood can lead to social thinning. It is explained by Dr Kennedy that social thinning is the lack of social support in adult life due to neglect or abuse during childhood as it becomes more difficult to adapt socially and maintain relationships.
Shame also has a significant link to trauma, as feelings of humiliation can cause more likelihood of disassociation and a distorted view of yourself. This impact occurs because shame grounds our place in the world. Shame can shape how people view themselves and how they believe they are viewed by others.
Dr Kennedy provides some tips on how to try and work through trauma:
- Learn triggers to dissociations
- Develop skills to stay present
- Activate safe relationships
- Keep a journal of experiences
It is also mentioned that there are three systems which control how we regulate our emotions, known as the threat, drive and connected systems. These systems influence our behaviours and emotions, as opposed to the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems which impact us on a biological level.
Finally, Dr Kennedy concludes her talk by listing various breathwork techniques. The technique you should choose depends on whether the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system is in overdrive:
Overactive Sympathetic Nervous System
Posture – Good posture can increase deeper breathing.
Soothing Rhythm – Steady and slow breathing helps relax the body.
Bubbles – Breathe deeply and then exhale as though you are blowing a bubble. This method promotes relaxation.
Alternate Nasal – Take deep breaths while alternately covering each nostril to improve mental clarity.
Overactive Parasympathetic Nervous System
Bellows – Breathe deeply and exhale quickly through your nose. This can improve focus.
Ha – Breathe deeply and exhale through your mouth while making a ‘ha’ sound. This increases energy levels.
Overall, Dr Kennedy's talk provided useful insight into how trauma can impact both the body and mind. Your nervous systems play an incredibly important role in processing traumatic experiences. Understanding this can be the first of many steps in healing from trauma and enabling self-growth.
While the road to recovery from traumatic events is undeniably complex, learning how your body operates in distressing situations can help you ground your emotions and develop your inner strength.
Comments