What is Trauma?
There are two main ways that we, as humans, can experience trauma. One type is physical injury - our body has to work hard to heal our tissues and bones, and sometimes we are left with scars that stay with us for the rest of our lives. The second type of trauma we can experience is emotional. Emotional trauma can occur from a single devastating event, such as an assault or natural disaster, or it can occur from years of seemingly minor events that when combined add up to a lot of emotional hardship - like growing up in a household where a parent/caregiver displays behaviors such as selfishness or extreme criticism. Similarly as with physical trauma, the memories and difficult emotions created by these traumatic experiences embed in our body's cellular memory, and physically we must work double-time to process them. Just as our bodies manifest scars, our emotional trauma leaves marks.
When we experience trauma, a very common physiological reaction is for our defense mechanism of "fight/flight/freeze" to become impaired. This plays our through our nervous system. Our Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) controls and regulates rest and digestion, and conversely, our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) controls and regulates our fight/flight/freeze response. When we experience trauma, our SNS gets set on overdrive - creating a "hyper-vigilant" state. Our bodies try to convince us that the trauma is still happening, or could happen at any time - so we need to constantly be prepared to fight or flee. That means its harder for our PNS to activate and allow us to rest and digest our food, thoughts, and life.
BUT, no need to despair! There are many ways to help process and heal from these traumas.
The Chinese Medical Approach to Healing Emotional Trauma
Chinese medicine uses acupuncture and herbal medicine to readjust the balance between the SNS and the PNS. Research has shown that acupuncture treatment down-regulates the SNS and activates the PNS so that we can calm down and have a better ability to rest and heal from emotional tension. In turn, this gives us more space to release the traumatic memories stored in our body's cellular memory.
The organ systems and meridians most affected by trauma are the Heart and the Kidney. The Heart system manages our emotional self as a whole, and the Kidney system correlates directly to our experience of fear and shock. Trauma can disrupt the circulation of these two systems and/or inhibit the connection and flow between them, and acupuncture and herbal medicine are often required to reestablish their health and function.
Many people choose Chinese Medicine's approach to healing trauma because it does not require the same type of active, verbal participation that talk therapy employs. While discussing and acknowledging trauma during the treatment process can speed recovery, with acupuncture it is not entirely necessary. Many people feel symptom relief and a renewed sense of calm without mentioning the details of their traumatic experience. In my practice I encourage patients healing from trauma to also seek the care of a licensed therapist or counselor. An integrative approach is almost always best.
Treatment Options
The NADA Protocol:
Starting in 1974, the South Bronx's Lincoln Recovery Center spent 10 years developing the basic five ear-points NADA protocol, initially for the treatment of addiction. During that time the Black Panther activist organization began using and popularizing the treatment for narcotic drug withdrawal with good success. After seeing significant potential for widespread benefit, they determined a need for a national-level organization to expand training capacity and awareness of the value of acupuncture as a tool of recovery. The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA), a not-for-profit training and advocacy organization, was thus established to encourage community wellness through the use of a standardized auricular acupuncture protocol for behavioral health, including addictions, mental health, and disaster & emotional trauma.
The NADA Protocol has been used in thousands of programs around the world to address addiction epidemics, environmental disaster and human-caused trauma, and acute pain management. Those receiving the NADA Protocol do not have to wait to feel its benefit, as parasympathetic nervous system (the "rest and digest" aspect, as opposed to the sympathetic nervous system, which is the "fight or flight" aspect) is stimulated generally within minutes. Survivors of traumatic events and natural disasters report ear acupuncture to be useful in alleviating symptoms of Post Traumatic and Acute Stress Disorders. Participant surveys demonstrate increased mental clarity, ability to cope, alertness, ability to sleep, reductions of pain and muscle spasm, depression, anxiety, and intrusive recall. This very simple acupuncture protocol can have a calming and transformative effect without requiring the client to talk through their feelings or experience.
Five Element Acupuncture:
The Five Element acupuncture system is based on a classical interpretation of Chinese Medicine and subsequently developed for the West in England by J.R. Worsely, born in 1923. The methodology involves simple needle insertion of acupuncture points on the head, back, abdomen, and legs. Five Element acupuncture includes various types of trauma-releasing protocols that work on anxiety and fear reduction, mood stabilization, sleep imbalances, and physical pain associated with traumatic events.
Herbal Medicine:
Herbal Medicine has been helping humanity process and heal from trauma for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Oriental Medicine practitioners are trained in herbal patent medicine (time-tested herbal formulas developed in China that come in powder or pill form) and custom/individualized herbal formulation. There are many single herbs and formulas that provide relief from the symptoms of trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and depression.