Trauma

Having trouble coping up from one or several of the following incidents below?

1. Accidents/ Having witnessed one
2. Passing of loved one/ friend/ family member/ pet
3. Physical abuse
4. Sexual abuse
5. Emotional abuse
6. Natural disasters (i.e. flood, strong typhoon)
7. An experience of getting robbed or from any crime
8. Moving to another house, school, or place

You or someone you know may be dealing with Trauma, an overwhelming stress response from an abrupt change of situation in your life. These circumstances happened unexpectedly or repeatedly. You were either unprepared for it or the offender was intentionally cruel towards you or someone you know.

These can cause adverse effects in your life. It is very important for you to develop constructive ways to manage them in order to regain your quality of life. Read more below on how these experiences could affect you and how the Tomatis® Method can help.

Trauma may result in the following but not limited to these symptoms:

1. Fatigue
2. Anxiety
3. Depression
4. Lack of motivation
5. Sleep disturbances
6.  Eating issues
7. Social and communication difficulties
8. Balance and coordination
9. Sensitivity to light or noise
10. Headache
11. Sleep disturbance
12. Nausea
13. Emotional mood swings
14. Irritability
15. Limited attention span, concentration, and comprehension

Psychological/ Emotional trauma can come from a wide-range of experiences from a “single blow” occurence (i.e. natural disasters like floods, technological disasters such as plane crashes, or criminal violence like robbery) to “repeated trauma” [i.e. physical abuse (having violent partners/family members), sexual abuse, and emotional abuse (i.e. toxic relationships)].

In addition, the degree of trauma heightens when you or someone you know have experienced trauma back in childhood as it can have a severe and long-last effect.

Research shows that when childhood trauma is not resolved, a sense of fear and helplessness can carry over into one’s adult life especially towards our relationships.

Not only do these hostile happenings sever our mental state, but our ability to control our emotions (emotional regulation) also debilitate to the extent that we lose our command over our behaviour.

Some of us choose to hide their feelings, keep our partners at an emotional distance, and/or shut down when others show emotion. Others have a hard time trusting other people, get terrified of rejection and close themselves off emotionally or feel uncomfortable showing affection. While another portion can be very “clingy” to the point of paranoia and extreme mood swings.

Traumatic experiences can disturb and influence your actions. However, inevitably, they can also have a negative impact towards your partner and other relationships. This is why it is very important to gain control over your emotions and behaviour.

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of neurological disorders caused by a traumatic brain injury or abnormalities inside a developing brain permanently affecting body movement and coordination. CP related to brain damage that occurs before or during birth is called Congenital CP, accounting for 85-90% of CP cases. CP that happens after birth due to brain damage is called Acquired CP.

Generally, it affects a child’s muscle tone and control; fine and gross motor skills, balance and coordination. Each case of CP is unique from the other. It can vary in terms of type, degree, and timing of injury to the brain’s development.

Children with CP show a wide range of symptoms, including:

1. Arm/s or leg/s weakness
2. Motor skills delay
3. Too stiff or floppy muscle tone
4. Ataxia: Lack of muscle coordination especially when performing voluntary movements
5. Excessive drooling
6. Speech difficulties
7. Difficulty with fine motor tasks (i.e. writing, buttoning a shirt)
8. Tremors or random involuntary movements
9. Crouched gait
10. Spasticity: Tight or stiff muscles

The symptoms may vary and may even change over time. Generally, people with CP have some level of intellectual disability, abnormal physical perceptions, and other medical disorders.

In normal situations, the brain is responsive. Meaning, it is open to processing situations that require an appropriate emotional and behavioural response.

Whenever our brain signals danger, the brain is reactive as it activates certain areas in our brain responsible for our survival instincts (fight, flight, or freeze), emotions, learning, and even how we process trauma (amygdala).

Once the threat or danger dies down, our nervous system shifts back to its responsive status. However, for trauma survivors who have developed PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), this reactive-to-responsive brain shift does not happen. The traumatic event stays in the amygdala (a part in the limbic system) leaving the trauma survivor in a loop of constant arousal from perceiving threats everywhere.

However, if your brain has accustomed itself to trauma, you can also do something to rewire it back to a good condition by virtue of neuroplasticity or the ability of the brain to change in structure and function through the Tomatis® Method, a neurosensory-integrative approach to trauma. Learn more below!