What everyone should know about
Shock Trauma
- Shock trauma is one of the most – if not the most – ignored, trivialized, denied, misunderstood, and untreated causes of human suffering. It is an internal straight jacket created when a devastating moment is frozen in time.
- Shock trauma is not an ailment or disease, but the by-product of an instinctively-instigated, altered state of consciousness. We enter this altered state – let us call it “survival mode” – when we perceive that our lives are being threatened.
- It is not the event itself that is traumatizing; it is the individual’s perception of, and capacity to respond to, the event. If one perceives a situation to be life-threatening, then that situation is potentially traumatic. People, especially children, can be overwhelmed (and thus potentially traumatized) by what we usually regard as common everyday events.
- No two people experience or manifest shock trauma in exactly the same way. What is harmful to one person may be exhilarating to another. Many factors are involved in this wide range of responses to threat, including an individual’s age, history or trauma, family dynamics, and even genetic makeup.
- Shock trauma symptoms are energetic phenomena that serve the organism by providing an organized way to manage and bind the tremendous energy contained in both the original and the self-perpetuated response to threat.
When shock trauma happens...
There is a loss of:
- Integrity, or cohesion of self
- Resiliency
- Trust
- Sense of safety
- Boundaries
- Orientation in time and space
- Control
- Connection to: Self, Others,
- Nature, Planet, God
There is an experience of:
- Overwhelming fear
- Powerlessness
- Helplessness
- Inadequacy
- Threat of death
- Exhaustion
- Apathy
- Contraction
- Tension patterns
- Fixity
When shock trauma is transformed, there is...
- Restoration of confidence
- “I can…” capability
- A sense of control
- Awareness of a wide range of choices and options
- Movement towards a sense of empowerment
- Awareness of one’s survival and an active choice toward life
- Restoration of fluidity and flow
- A sense of completion and integration
- A return to responsiveness and spontaneity
"While trauma is hell on earth; it’s resolution can be a gift from the Gods"
- Dr. Peter Levine
Continue exploring the topic of shock trauma
Symptoms
The first symptoms of trauma usually appear shortly after the event that engendered them. Others will develop over time.
Causes
The causes of shock trauma, according to Dr. Levine, can be divided into two main categories.
Children
Exploring the question: "How can I tell if my child has been traumatized?"
Bodyworker Tips
"Red Lights" For Bodyworkers:
recognizing the signs of unresolved shock in the physiology