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Your Body is Your Best Friend

judytherapyspot

The automatic reaction people have towards trauma is fear that their body will fail them.  They perceive their body as their enemy as opposed to embracing their body as their best friend who is prepared to help and protect them from trouble and assisting them in succeeding in all their endeavors.

          In order to change this perspective we must examine how our body guards our physical health.  High blood pressure and cholesterol warns us that we must watch our diet and refrain from stressful situations if we are to protect our hearts and arteries.  Similarly, panic attacks, racing hearts, anxiety, addiction and dissociation protect us from perceived danger.  The amygdale in our body remembers every event that occurred in our lifetime since the time we were born and automatically alerts our system to protect us from harm using panic attacks, racing hearts, anxiety, addiction and dissociation as coping mechanisms to protect us from harm.  These events may not be remembered by the individual since it might have been preverbal, however, the somatic or body memory is still encoded inside us and the amygdale, the body’s danger detector remains vigilant that this event should not recur.   

          The brain is divided into three parts, the prefrontal cortex also known as the left part of the brain which is where the thinking and logical part is, the limbic system that is also known as the right side of the brain where the amygdale resides and records the five senses of every interaction that happens to us.  The brain stem that is at the bottom of our brain is the reptilian part of the brain and is trained to respond to danger.  This part of the brain works seven times faster than the prefrontal cortex (our left, logical thinking part of the brain.)  Therefore, the brain stem must turn off the prefrontal cortex so that it can successfully save us from harm.  The goal of trauma therapy is to turn on the prefrontal cortex (thinking left side of the brain) so that it can inform the amygdale that the odor, sound or object is nothing more than it appears at face value, it does not predict danger lurking in the midst.  The following exercise was created by trauma expert Peter Levine to help us befriend our body which would subsequently empower us with the knowledge that our best friend is helping us through every step of our life. 

          This exercise composed by trauma expert Peter Levine helps reclaim the body and appreciate how our body assists us and helps affirm that it is our best friend.  In the shower take a washcloth and point to each part of your body saying how each part helps you.  These are the fingers that help me perform fine motor skills such as writing, sewing, holding utensils… these are the shoulders that help me carry loads, the stomach where my small and large intestines reside.  The small intestine digests my food and transports the energy to different parts of my body and the large intestines prepare the wasteful particles to be expelled from my body.  This action should continue until every part of the party is addressed.  Once this becomes a habit our perspective will change and we will listen to what the body is telling us.  If a fear is irrational, ask people who your caregivers were growing up whether something strange happened to you as a baby. 

 

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