Painful past experiences are difficult to get over because we believe that we can “think” our way through our problems or we shouldn’t feel the way we feel. When we have experienced current or past trauma(s) we get stuck and cannot think our way out if it.
Adverse events or trauma experiences frequently prevent people from living wholly in the present. Often people who have experienced overwhelming experiences, trauma events, or childhood abuse and neglect will have nervous system dysregulation that shows up in the form of emotional symptoms such as symptoms of depression, anxiety disorders, symptoms of PTSD, social anxiety, and physical imbalances. People will also potentially experience relationship strain and disconnection to the people who are important to them.
According to leading trauma expert and founder of Somatic Experiencing®, Peter Levine states that, “Trauma lives in the body, not the event”. When we experience a traumatic event, it is the body’s response to the perceived threat that holds the trauma thus causing an unbalance in the nervous system.