Well, it’s a heavy topic but a necessary one, trauma has many effects in the body, links to autoimmune, gut health, physical pain and emotional pain, suffering within the person and extending outside to all their relationships. It takes a toll on everyone and everything. The first key of healing is calming yourself, containing the feelings, finding suitable care that meets your needs, learning tools to cope with the feelings can be found through a trauma informed therapist.
Experiencing can affect core neurochemical changes and body as well. The first hormones that are released when we experience a traumatic event are cortisol and adrenaline which cause lots of excitement, lets us run fast, fight hard when we feel unsafe. Then the regulation of neurochemicals; catecholamines, serotonin, amino acid, peptide, and opioid which are neurotransmitters each of which is found in the brain circuits that regulate/integrated stress and fear responses. Human studies have shown that children who have suffered traumatic experiences have shown a high dopamine release. We think of dopamine as the “happy chemical” but too much dopamine is linked to being aggressive and having trouble controlling your impulses.
Dopamine imbalances are also related to ADHD and addiction. Having low levels of dopamine can make you less motivated and excited about things. The body is a fine balance, once these chemicals in the body are altered through an event you can see why it effects a person’s wellness outcome. To understand this, you have to understand that all of the bodies chemistry depends on one another, increased dopamine means decreased Serotonin and these chemicals help the nervous system.
I don’t wish anyone to start self-diagnosing themselves. I am showing that there is so much that happens to the body and the effects that these changes have. If you have experienced a traumatic event, finding that your sleep is off, regulation of emotions is hard, relationships or your drinking has increased then I am encouraging you to seek professional help.
Have questions, just ask, info@mindhealthconnect.ca