How the body responds to trauma

How an individual responds to a traumatic event depends on the individual.  But there are some common threads throughout all of this that define us as human beings in the way that we deal with a traumatic situation. It’s one of the many subjects that is covered by Trauma informed practice training like that from https://www.tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-courses/. If you begin to recognize these symptoms you can possibly look to mediate the effect that trauma has on your body and seek help if you need it.

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As soon as we begin to feel that we are in a traumatic situation our senses immediately shift into overdrive.  Our perception is multiplied and without knowing it our vision, hearing and other senses begin to develop an acute awareness of their surroundings.  While this is going on the nervous system is also beginning to regulate the extra amounts of adrenaline and into our body to prepare for possible conflict or a swift getaway.  Our blood pressure and heart rate also increase to deal with any sudden demand for physical activity.  Cortisol is also released.  This increases the blood sugar levels of the body and improves  metabolism whilst also slowing down the non-essential parts of the body.

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When under stress, digestion and immune response start to become suppressed as they are not needed in the short term.  Unfortunately the after effects of a traumatic event can include the presence of painful physical sensations when there is no actual injury and also mental health issues.

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