Sometimes when we experience anger, depression, addiction, sexual behaviours or issues, jealousy or low self-esteem there is a strong chance our nervous system has not fully integrated trauma that happened earlier in our lives.

Trauma can be single events such as a car crash, medical procedure, sexual or violent assault, falling, animal attack, witnessing violence, military action and many more things that put us in a flight/fight response.

Trauma can also refer to more sustained and subtle events that we were not able to process or were not aware of at the time.

For example, a child that experiences any behaviour from a care giver that is less than nurturing or perhaps isn’t attuned to as an infant will possibly have a nervous system that doesn’t quite regulate in a way that is helpful to them.

A romantic or any other kind of relationship that was psychologically abusive, controlling, “gaslighting” or toxic in other ways can leave a lasting effect and impact on our nervous systems and how we operate in the world.

Very often trauma can show up in the body as pain or injury that is perhaps inexplicable in medical terms.

Through a process of psychotherapy and with particular attention to the nervous system using a technique called Somatic Experiencing, it is possible to heal from this and to move forward to a full and thriving life.