In the context of brain function, trauma can be defined as any event or experience that changes your vision of yourself and your place in the world.
It may occur as the result of one single event, or it could build up gradually due to a threatening or lonely environment.
The imprint of trauma exists in our society in epidemic proportions; from war and its victims, to victims of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. As everyone with trauma knows, when brain activity is altered by traumatic events it can be a heavy burden to carry. What may have served us as a necessary self-preservation response in the past seldom serves us in the present.
Trauma is broadly classed in two categories. The most commonly recognised is hypervigilance; the less widely known is freeze and dissociation. Trauma can often manifest as a combination of the two, as the nervous system shifts between one and the other.
HYPERVIGILANCE & TRAUMA
A heightened state of awareness is part of the fight / flight response, resulting in a state of chronic hyper vigilance. This state is akin to being locked into permanent ‘battle stations’; brain resources are on constant alert, causing inappropriate or even aggressive reactions in everyday situations.
PTSD article here…
FREEZE & DISSOCIATION
When a threat is utterly overwhelming and too much for the fight / flight system to cope with, the brain goes into a ‘Freeze’ state; a numbing or collapse response. This sort of trauma is experienced as a general shutdown, lack of vitality, emotional separation and detachment.
NEUROFEEDBACK FOR TRAUMA
Neurofeedback works at a deep subconscious level, breaking the cycle of trauma and post-traumatic symptoms. By identifying and training the areas of concern, we precision tailor your sessions to help you shift out of these patterns and back into a natural, neutral state.
Neurofeedback gives the brain the tools to shift your viewpoint and move past traumatic events – without having to talk about them, explore them, or relive them.
