Helping The Brain Heal From Trauma

Our brains are made of up many parts, and when it comes to trauma, having a better understanding of just what’s being affected can help us not only better understand what’s going on, but know how to heal.

In this post, we are going to walk you through the main parts of the brain that are affected by trauma, and what you can do to help heal them.

Although many areas of the brain are affected when you experience trauma, there are 3 main sections that we’ll talk about in more detail.

1. The Amygdala

The amygdala is located deep within the brain and is considered a “primitive” part of the brain as it controls emotions and instincts. This is also the area of your brain that can send you into fight, flight, or freeze mode if it senses danger.

When a traumatic event happens, it imprints onto the amygdala. Once this occurs, the amygdala remembers the sensations of the event, not the “logical” parts of it. Because of this, the amygdala can “false alarm” or fire allowing fear to jump in the driver’s seat when there is no real danger imminent.

2. The Hippocampus

The hippocampus is located just below the amygdala and is in charge of memory. Trauma leads to reduced activity in the hippocampus, diminishing the ability to distinguish between the past and the present.

When this happens, your brain can’t tell the difference between the actual traumatic event and the memory of it. Your brain processes the memory or trigger as needing the same fear response as the actual traumatic event in an attempt to protect you.

3. The Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex is the “youngest” part of the brain as it fully develops last. This is located behind your forehead and is the regulation center for your emotions and impulses.

When something traumatic happens, your ability to bring in your PC to help regulate emotion and impulses gets blunted as your amygdala “hijacks” the brain. This can cause your brain to remain in “hypervigilance mode” and create a state of strong emotional reactivity.

So, you may be wondering, how do we actually work towards healing the brain after it’s experienced trauma?

Here’s how you can heal the brain from trauma:

1. EMDR

EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.

EMDR therapy helps your brain connect the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, allowing a release of emotional experiences that are trapped in the nervous system.

EMDR uses many different forms of bilateral movement whether through tapping, eye movement, or buzzers.

This bilateral movement causes the traumatic memory that is looping in the amygdala to integrate with the prefrontal cortex. The bilateral movement and brain movement increases the ability of the prefrontal cortex to check back in and be able to find the rationality in the traumatic event.

EMDR is also popular due to its high levels of efficacy and efficiency.

2. Sensorimotor Therapy

Sensorimotor techniques can be used to help the brain connect to the body and access the deeper parts of the brain like the amygdala.

A few techniques you can work on with a therapist or try on your own could be:

-Mindfulness exercises

-Breath work

-Muscle relaxation techniques

-Exercise

-Yoga

-Prayer

-Listening to soothing music

Getting in tune with how your body feels can help calm your fear center and re-engage the prefrontal cortex.

If you’ve experienced trauma, it’s important to know your brain can heal and change. Our brains are highly adaptable (yes even as we get older!).

The work is difficult as you are restructuring the brain and how it works, but it really is possible to heal the brain from trauma.

Interested in trauma therapy?

Click the button below to find one of our therapists that can help you begin to heal from the past.