Trauma or Stress?
How do you know if you are just ‘stressed’ or actually in a state of trauma?
Trauma and stress are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct differences.
Stress can be described as an emotional and physical response that humans have to a stimulus in their environment. It is a normal part of life, and while it can be challenging, it is generally more manageable than trauma, if you have the resources you need at the time to ACT. Stress requires ACTION. While we are taking some kind of action, we are not in overwhelm, but rather in action to process the stress response and get a result.
Trauma, on the other hand, is the psychological and emotional response that occurs when an individual experiences a highly stressful and emotionally event that becomes OVERWHELMING. Trauma is typically much more intense and overwhelming after the stress cycle hasn’t fully had a chance to complete. Trauma can have a much deeper and potentially more destructive effect like physical illness, shutdown, and unhealthy thoughts generated by the Nervous System’s response.
The effects of trauma can vary greatly depending on the individual and the event they experienced. For some, the effects may present to be more psychological, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or anxiety. Others may experience physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, or difficulty sleeping.
To know if your body is in a Trauma state, we can look at:
- Body sensations eg; numbness, procrastination from overwhelm, low energy
- Unhealthy thoughts eg; I’m not good enough
- Chronic physical conditions eg; chronic fatigue & fibromyalgia
Trauma healing is a process that requires safety & re-connection of the Body-Mind.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) help to move trauma through the body so that the body gets out of freeze mode & can function well again.
While the process may seem challenging to ‘go there’ to support the body to release trauma, it is essential to develop strategies to prevent future automatic trauma response & there are safe ways, like EFT, that honour the process and create change on the psychophysiological level.
If you know that you have times of overwhelm, anxiety or fear that seems to stop you, get in touch and I am happy to walk with you to heal what the body is remembering deep within. Sometimes we just need a helping hand. As a Trauma-Informed Clinical EFT Practitioner… I’ve got you!