How does trauma affect the human body and what are effective

treatments for releasing it?

Abigail Allsopp

Senior Project Advisor: Heather Prekup

12th Grade Humanities

Animas High School
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3 April 2019
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Part 1: Introduction

“An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic

event at least once in their lives and up to 20 percent of these people go on to develop

posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD” (PTSD Fact Sheet). Post traumatic stress can lead to

different types of ailments both mentally and/or physically that people have to deal with

constantly in everyday life. This could include having anxiety that you deal with everyday and/or

having severe depression. Some symptoms of PTSD can include body symptoms such as;

numbness and or tingling, shortness of breath, trembling and shaking, pounding heart, lump in

your throat, and feeling like you’re out of your body. These are all examples of physical

symptoms. Emotional symptoms of PTSD could include; having thoughts of terror, fright, panic,

and edginess, feeling as though you are going to be rejected or criticized by someone, or that you

are going to be harmed in some way. People may also feel they are incompetent to change the

situation or that they are going “crazy”. People that suffer from PTSD often relive the trauma

they endured over and over again.

Even though many people can experience trauma without long lasting effects, the mind

and body have a very strong connection. Research shows that physical and/or emotional trauma

can affect one’s psychological and physical health negatively. Therefore, the most effective

trauma treatments would work to heal both the body and mind together, which can include

EMDR, DBT, Chinese medicine, movement therapy, meditation, and many others.

Part 2: Historical Context/Background Knowledge

What is trauma? It depends on the person. Experiences affect each person differently, and
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this includes traumatic events. Two different people can experience the exact same event at the

same time, but be impacted in very different ways and at different levels. There are many

definitions of trauma, which has changed a lot throughout the years. Google's dictionary defines

trauma as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. Traumatic experiences can be anything

from a plane crash, divorce, car accident, loss of a family or a friend, or even as extreme as war.

You can also experience a traumatic event and not end up with any long lasting effects. The

official definition from Diagnostic and Statistical MAnual of Mental Disorders The Fifth Edition

( DSM-5) states that a Traumatic Stressor is known as “Any event (or events) that may cause or

threaten death, serious injury,or sexual violence to an individual, a close family member, or a

close family member, or a close friend.” or “Trauma-and stressor- related disorders include

disorders in which exposure to a traumatic or stressful event is listed explicitly as a diagnostic

criterion. These include reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder,

posttraumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, and adjustment disorder”.(reference).

One of the first symptoms of trauma to have been observed over centuries was what was
known is ‘hysteria’, which is characterized by uncontrollable outbursts of emotion or fear. This
included irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc. Following hysteria, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder) became the common diagnosis when symptoms of trauma were observed. Medical
professionals and psychiatrist really began noticing the symptoms of this ailment more
frequently when soldiers came home from a deployment. It was commonly called shell shock,
which was coined after WWI. After further research it was found that PTSD does not just plague
soldiers, but all different types of people with varying traumatic experiences. ​For instance in the
article “The history and treatments of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD,” the author states
that “In 1980 PTSD was recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a
psychological and mental disability and was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
Disorders (DSM-III) (Friedman, 2014). “At first the definition of PTSD was focused on soldiers
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returning from the traumas of war (Kerekezi 2011). “But in 1994 the definition was edited to
include anyone who has had a traumatic event in their life. (reference)” Not everyone who goes
through trauma develop PTSD. There are a lot of others things that come into factor. Including
how resilient you are. What other things you have been through in the past making it sometimes
better and sometimes worse. War trauma may not always lead to PTSD, but it is more common
in war survivors. People often develop PTSD when there is a big loss, a public shooting or
sexxual assult. It's usually after something very life changing has happened. Also if something is
prolonged and they go through a traumatic experience over a long period of time then it can lead
to PTSD more easily.

We started to see the connection between psychological and physical symptoms that

comes from all kinds of different traumas. René Descartes was the first coin the term “Mind

Body problem.” Which in a way refers to mind body connection. He was a 17th Century French

Philosopher. ( jdljdjjf) from University of Minnesota described the mind and body connection in

a great way. saying that “ Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can positively or

negatively affect our biological functioning. In other words, our minds can affect how healthy

our bodies are.”

There are several terms to know and understand when discussing trauma. The first is
psychological trauma, which is a type of trauma that is not physical, but all mental and
emotional. These types of events can include deeply personal emotional traumas or the results of
crime, violence, warfare, etc​.​ It impacts you in a big way though and can be something that
really affects you emotionally.

PTSD - Post traumatic stress disorder is a disorder that you get sometimes after the fact of going
through something traumatic. This is not always the reaction that you get after a tramoatic event
but it can occur.

Psychological Trauma - Is
Emotional Dysregulation - Is kinda like hysteria but a little different. It is having an extreme
emotional reaction that is out of the ordinary and not quite normal. People would sometimes
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refer to this as a mood swing. This is commen in somoene that has bibolar disorder. Having
outburst of anger somtimes even threating to hurt themselves or others around them.

Depression - Ranges from mild to servier it can often times lead to depression. This can show
with having low engergy, not wanting to participate in activites, sadness that you can not
control, depression can somtimes accure after going through a tromatic event. It does not matter
what age or gender anyone can get depression.

Anxiety - Is feeling an overwhelaing amount of nervousness and incomfotablness and having

disress. Most peopoe exsperience a little bit of anxiety in their everyday life. Some poeple have it
more sciever then others. Most of the time when people have it more sceiver then they can get
symptoms like shakness nausia, rappid heart beat, and breathlessness.

Trauma informed Care - “is an organiazational structure and treatment framework that involves
understanding, recongnizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma.”
● Psychological Trauma: ​In psychological use Trauma refers to the mental and
psychological after effects of painful events. ​PTSD: ​Post-traumatic stress disorder
is a psychological disorder where individuals suffer nightmares and other types of
emotional distress from a traumatic past experience or set of experiences.
Stimulus that reminds them of the event or events can cause flashbacks and
irritability.
o Emotional Dysregulation: ​Emotional Dysregulation is marked by extreme
emotional reactions that are not considered normal. Also known as mood
swings, emotional dysregulation is commonly exhibited by angry
outbursts and threats of violence towards the self and others. Emotional
dysregulation is seen in patients with Bipolar Disorder, ​Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)​, ​Borderline Personality Disorder​, Autism
Spectrum Disorders and victims of childhood trauma. Symptoms of
emotional dysregulation include: seeming to be "out of control" and can't
calm down, too intense emotions, extreme negative emotions, difficulty
recognizing emotional cues from others and their own emotional state, and
impulsivity.
o Depression: ​Depression is a mental state that is typified by low energy
levels, sadness, lack of interest in otherwise pleasurable activities. Existing
along a spectrum this mental state can range from mild to severe, with
suicidal thoughts/actions being a possibility on the severe end of the
spectrum. Depression can be found in all age groups, however symptoms
of childhood depression vary from adult depression, frequently including
anger. Depression is more frequently diagnosed in women than in men,
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however research indicates that the actual occurrence in males and females
is about the same. Depression can occur as a temporary response to a
traumatic event or be a chronic long-lasting condition like in ​major
depression​.
o Anxiety: ​We all experience some anxiety sometimes, but many people
don't really know what it is. According to one dictionary definition,
anxiety can be defined as a strong and unpleasant feeling of nervousness
or distress in response to a feared situation, often accompanied by
physiological effects such as nausea, trembling, breathlessness, sweating,
and rapid heartbeat.
o DSM IV: ​DSM-IV stands for the title of the book, Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition). This book is
published by the American Psychological Association and is the primary
book used in diagnosing psychological problems. You can think of this
book as the "guide" for diagnosing psychological disorders used by
clinical psychologists, counselors, and therapists. The DSM-IV has all the
definitions of disorders, criteria for diagnosis, etc.
o Trauma Informed Care
Trauma Informed Care​ is an organizational structure and
treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and
responding to the effects of all types of ​trauma​.

Part 3: Research and Analysis

● Main point/argument 1: How Trauma Impacts the Body

o Physical -
➔ Physically your body can react differently with each different experience and depending
on the person. Sometimes you will get things like your body and head shaking. hearts
skipping beats in really bad ways. Muscle tightness. Chest and heart beating very fast.

◆ “As of today, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders (DSM) describes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as having four types

of symptoms, including Intrusive Thoughts, Avoiding reminders, Negative

thoughts and feelings, and Arousal and reactive symptoms. For someone to be
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officially diagnosed with PTSD, they have to have these symptoms for a couple

weeks going to months maybe even years. (Reference)”

◆
➔ Your body will avoid certain kind of situations.
➔ You can not remember different events. Your brain is in a fog.
➔ The more anxious and stressed people are, the more tense and constricted their muscles
are, over time causing the muscles to become fatigued and efficient.

o Mental/Emotional-
➔ You have dreams about this trauma and the events that it happened in does this in a
dream since and this would be a way that your body is reacting in a more emotional and
mental type of way.
➔

o Both -
➔ Brings your body into flight or fight mode. Which can affect you emotionally and
physically. Because your body is tricking us in a way that we need to be in survival
mode.
➔ It could be hard for you to focus and or pay attention.

Quotes to use:

1.

➔ Beyond the initial emotional reactions during, the event, those most likely to surface
include anger, fear, sadness, and shame.”
➔ “Coping styles vert from action oriented to reflective and from emotionally expressive to
reticent.”
➔ “You may feel numb or detached from loved ones.”
➔ Limiting happiness and freedom because you are panic-stricken means you are still
shackled to your turama.”
➔ There is a lot of science to suggest that past trauma changes the way we perceive the
world.”
➔ “We are implanting in our brain competing thought and memories that dilute or drown
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out traumatic ones. I don’t think you can never remove a traumatic memory. Many
wonderful brilliant and great peoples lives have been formed and directed by trauma.”
➔ “Erasing traumatic memory may remove sources of wisdom that could inform your future
vocation or calling.
➔ “The more anxious and stressed people are, the more tense and constricted their muscles
are, over time causing the muscles to become fatigued and efficient.”
➔ “Most researchers disagree on a precise definition of trauma, but do agree that a typical
trauma response might include physiological and psychological symptoms
➔ “ In fact approximately 15-30% of patients with chronic pain also have PTSD.”
➔ Physical pain function to warn a person that there is still lemotional work to be done , and
it could also be a sign of unresolved trauma in the nervous system. “
➔ “The goals of such treatment are increasing awareness of the present moment experience,
including sensations, thoughts, feelings, and environmental stimuli: cultivating and
accepting non judgemental stance:reducing symptoms:developing self-exploration and
insight;developing wisdom and compatssion;and finally living in accordance with values
suchaas love, compassion,integrity and honsty.

2.

● Main point/argument 2: Effective Treatments

o EMDR
o CISD
o Somatic Therapy
o Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
o Chinese Medicine
o DBT
o HRV
o Neurofeedback
o LSD?
o Service Dogs
o CBT
o Movement? (Nothing on it yet?

Quotes to use:

1.

➔ “EMDR therapy helps your brain and nervous system respond more appropriately to
specific triggers. Trauma can change the brain system , and EMDR helps to recalibrate
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the brain’s circuitry properly nby resyncing the right and left lobes. “
➔ Movement: Focusing on alignment in the body,as well as posture that supports organized
alignment.
➔ “Body-based therapies help clients access traumatic experience that are not yet available
for verbal narration.”
“Although no formal research has been done on this model, there is clinical evidence of
its usefulness with traumatized clients. The model focuses on both body and mind, but
thatcher than focusing on verbal and analytical skills, the interaction of thought feeling,
bodily sensation, and movement is emphasized through mindfulness observation of the
“here and now’. “

2.

➔ You have suffered from a serious trauma in your life that affects your mind and body.
these solutions can help you support your brain and body was you heal the past and create
a healthier mind-body for greater happiness in the present and the future.

Part 4: Discussion and Conclusions

How does trauma affect the human body and what are effective treatments for realizing it?

● So what? (answering your research question)

Truama afffects the body in a negative way. Sometimes causing chronic pain other times
causing acute pain.

o Recap thesis statement

o Why does this matter? Why is this relevant to individuals and psychologists, etc..?

● Larger implications/going forward -- how will this impact future research or social
institutions or individuals??

o What is other research that needs to be done?

o How could this research impact schools/military institutions/any relevant

organizations you think this applies to most- therapists? etc...

o
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References

Jones , Edgar, and Simon Wessely . “Psychological Trauma: a Historical Perspective .”

Psychiatry, 2006,
www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr/publications/assetfiles/historical/Jones2006-psychologicaltrauma.pdf.

Robledo, Cuquis. “The History and Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD.” Rooted
in Rights, 12 Jan. 2019,
rootedinrights.org/the-history-and-treatment-of-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/.

Joseph , Stephen. “What Is Trauma?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 Jan. 2012,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-doesnt-kill-us/201201/what-is-trauma​.

Sweeton, Jennifer. “To Heal Trauma, Work with the Body.” Psychology Today, Sussex
Publishers, 20 Aug.
2017,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/workings-well-being/201708/heal-trauma-work-the-body​.

Hand, Julie. “Healing From Trauma: Science-Backed Methods to Help You Recover.”
Bulletproof, Bulletproof, 30 May 2018,
blog.bulletproof.com/phases-of-trauma-therapeutic-treatments/.

Babbel , Susanne. “The Connections Between Emotional Stress, Trauma and Physical Pain.”
Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 8 Apr. 2010,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/somatic-psychology/201004/the-connections-between-emoti
onal-stress​-tr​auma-and-physical-pain.

Shultz , Mona Lisa. “Healing from PTSD, Trauma and Mind-Body Anxiety.” Louise Hay, 15
Sept. 2016, ​www.louisehay.com/healing-ptsd-trauma-mind-body-anxiety/.

“Trauma.” Dunning-Kruger Effect Definition | Psychology Glossary, 8 Mar. 2019,

www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Trauma​.

https://www.sidran.org/resources/for-survivors-and-loved-ones/post-traumatic-stress-disord
er-fact-sheet/

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-is-the-mind-body-connection
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind–body_problem

● Quotes that go through out the paper -

➔ “Peace replaces fear, terror replaced by tranquility, scariness becomes serenity
uncertainty becomes confidence. Love replaces hate, Repression makes for
freedom, I bless all people with love, surround the planet with love”