Not only does academic science confirm this, but from my experience as a psychotraumatologist, I can also attest that traumatic experiences can lead to many negative consequences. The most well-known is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but unprocessed trauma can manifest in various other ways. Even unconscious distressing experiences can result in symptoms of poor mental or physical well-being. Unresolved trauma can interfere with different aspects of personal and professional life. Patients often search for the causes of their conditions among organic diseases, yet the root cause may be the trauma they have experienced. How can you identify trauma trapped in the body and how can you free yourself from its negative effects? What about trauma release?
How Does Trauma Physically Encode in Our Body?
Distressing experiences and difficult emotions affect not only our psyche but also our body. Few people realize how permanently trauma can become encoded in the body. It’s important to remember that trauma doesn’t necessarily have to be extreme experiences like war or assault – for some, it can be sensory overload or other objectively less intense negative experiences. Everyone perceives the world differently. What is traumatic for one person might not be considered traumatic by another.
The physical encoding of trauma in our brain depends on its susceptibility, sensitivity to negative perception of events, the occurrence of such an event, its emotional significance for the individual, and the perceived inevitability of the event and its consequences. In response to trauma, a series of electrochemical reactions occur in the brain cells, leading to the appearance of AMPA receptors on the surface of neurons, specifically on the post-synaptic surface, where chemical signals from the previous neuron arrive. These receptors can be stimulated by various stimuli and cause responses in the body similar to or identical to those that occur or occurred in response to a threat, even in the absence of a situation that would provoke such a response.
Trauma and Its Manifestation in Symptoms
The symptoms of encoded trauma can emerge long after the initial event, meaning the source of the discomfort must be traced back to the patient's past, whether recent or distant. This is particularly relevant for unconscious traumas. The symptoms of experienced trauma primarily involve bodily reactions similar to those that occur in response to an immediate threat. These may include directly felt anxiety, unexplained unease, and a lowered mood.
Physically, trauma can manifest in various ways. Somatic symptoms commonly include palpitations and an accelerated heart rate, shortness of breath, excessive sweating, and muscle tremors. Prolonged stress responses can also lead to reduced immunity and increased susceptibility to illness, as well as the potential for the development of new traumas. From a spiritual perspective, trauma can disrupt a person's energy field and the flow of energy within their body. This often manifests as various tensions in the body, trigger points, or pains of unknown origin. In summary, trauma can impact not only our psyche but also our entire body and daily functioning.
How to Heal/Release Trauma and Eliminate Its Effects
Trauma therapy should be tailored individually to the patient, considering their experiences and symptoms. There are many effective ways to address trauma encoded in the body and to release it. A classical approach is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). While CBT is recognized as a "treatment," I have doubts about its efficacy in "healing traumas." Trauma represents a specific neurobiological change that cannot be "released" solely through words and understanding events, as occurs in CBT therapy. In my view, CBT is very helpful for individuals who have experienced trauma in improving their reactions, behaviors, and decision-making processes. It supports them in "normal living with trauma." The trauma still exists and may surface in various situations, but it no longer disrupts their life as it once did.
For true trauma release, specific action needs to be taken on neural pathways and ionotropic receptors responsible for triggering traumatic reactions in the amygdala. According to current knowledge, this is only achievable through sensory therapies, not psychotherapy. While psychotherapy is extremely important, especially for significant traumas, it does not cure trauma! More recent trauma therapies include EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Havening therapy, and other techniques such as SE (Somatic Experiencing), NET (Narrative Exposure Therapy), and TRE (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises). Each of these approaches utilizes different methods to remove trauma and its effects. Sometimes pharmacological support may also be required. Complementary methods to support trauma treatment may include techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, aromatherapy, acupuncture, rolfing, genuine tantra massage, manual therapy, osteopathy, bioresonance, or radionic healing with the CRC central (contact me).
Havening Therapy for Trauma Release
Havening Therapy is a relatively new method for treating trauma, but despite its limited research, it has strong scientific support. Therapists' experience also demonstrates that it is an effective method, and it tends to be faster and gentler in its approach compared to other therapies, such as EMDR, which can be quite intense for many individuals. A Havening session begins with identifying the source of trauma through a conversation with the patient. Importantly, the patient may choose not to discuss the trauma directly but can recall it in their memory... and it works. The process includes analyzing the patient’s past and symptoms.
Next, the conditions under which the trauma occurred are recreated to activate AMPA receptors, with some conditions altered to change the encoding of the trauma. The patient is provided with a sense of safety through techniques such as Havening touch, a specific type of touch that provides a soothing sensation and induces low-frequency oscillations in the inter-synaptic spaces of the amygdala.
Due to the use of touch, Havening Therapy falls under psychosensory therapies. Sensory stimuli, in this case touch, transmit electrochemical signals to the patient's brain, affecting the removal of AMPA receptors from neurons that are responsible for activating trauma. Havening Techniques® can yield positive results after just one session, though more sessions may be needed. Combining Havening Therapy with other trauma treatment methods often yields good results. Since Havening may not remove all AMPA receptors, other trauma treatment methods can serve as complementary approaches.
Tantric Massage for Trauma Release
Tantric massages are another technique that is highly effective in alleviating the effects of trauma, as well as daily stress and repressed negative emotions. As mentioned earlier, working with trauma can involve breathing techniques, meditation, body energy work, and psychosensory stimuli such as touch. Tantric massage incorporates all these methods. It not only induces a deep state of relaxation for both the body and mind but also helps restore energetic balance and release blocked energy in the chakras and meridians.
Tantric massage also offers physical benefits—it relieves tension in the body, speeds up metabolism, regulates the nervous system, and supports trauma release. It has a particularly positive effect on regulating the vagus nerve, also known as the tenth cranial nerve. According to polyvagal theory, this nerve plays a significant role in regulating our body's functions and is closely linked to our mental state. For many people, the vagus nerve is in a constant state of stimulation due to daily stress, which can lead to psychosomatic reactions such as digestive issues, palpitations, and other physical symptoms. For individuals who have experienced trauma, vagal nerve stimulation may be even more intense, leading to strong reactions even in the absence of stressful situations. Tantric massage helps reduce vagal nerve activity and restore balance to the body.
From the experience of therapists and psychotraumatologists, it can be confidently concluded that the most effective approach to treating trauma involves combining various methods. Sometimes this includes pharmacology alongside long-term psychotherapy. Many people are unaware that overcoming a crisis and regaining joy in daily life can be faster and often does not require pharmacological intervention. Havening Therapy provides excellent results in trauma release. The integration of tantric massage, meditation, or bioresonance or CRC Central sessions I do also remotely, can enhance treatment outcomes, making them more complete and, above all, more enduring.
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