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by Cailin O'Hara, MAcOM, LAc, Dip OM  Image Copyright 2019 Sun Tree Healing Arts If you have experienced something traumatic, it can change everything: your life, your brain, your nervous system, your beliefs. But that doesn’t mean that you’re doomed to live in fear, panic and anxiety forever. ... I want to tell you about one of the most powerful ways you can help heal yourself if you have suffered from PTSD, past abuse or traumatic experiences. (hint: we all have) It is an epiphany that I personally experienced… and one that completely changed the way I connect with myself. It showed me the way out of the loop of anxiety and relieving past trauma and into my power and the truth of who I am. It is the realization of all realizations that I think is key in healing from past trauma. But you have to REALLY feel it. Doing so can immediately shift you out of anxiety-mode (flight or fight) and into a feeling of deep self-compassion (aka reconnecting with YOU).  Most of us are not even aware that we have been traumatized, that our anxiety is actually a form of PTSD, stemming from past experiences that haunt our subconscious and become wired into our physiology. Anxiety is a response, not a problem. It asks us for our help. But we're afraid of it. It feels terrible. The more we focus on it, the more it seems to grow. It just spirals out of control. Anxiety can feel like a foreign entity that lives within us, making us feel unsafe, like we aren’t even safe in our own being. So what do we do? We run away. Sometimes literally, but generally, figuratively. We numb out, we distract ourselves, and we turn away from the feelings. But it’s the belief that our anxiety is scary, it’s the very act of running away from it, that actually prevents us from really healing and regaining our sense of peace. So, the revelation, the epiphany, the ah-ha moment that can change your life… It’s just you now. All of this running, this fighting against ourselves, the squashing of our feelings, the turning away from our own pain… it’s self-abandonment. The pain you feel is NOW. The fear you feel is NOW. The anxiety is NOW. But what caused it- those past experiences- are over. So what does that mean? It means what you are feeling now is just YOU. You're feeling how what happened to you affected you, how it hurt you, how it wounded you... THAT is what you’re feeling now: your feelings. This also means that there isn’t anything to be afraid of in the here and now, if you think about it. You are fearing yourself. You are fearing your own broken heart, your own traumatized body. And the more you push it all away, the worse it can feel. ... What's the answer? Trauma can fragment you. It can scatter you into pieces. And when it’s over, you are the one that can put you back together. You are the one that can compassionately hold space for yourself, comfort yourself, give yourself the unconditional love you need and deserve. And in no way does it mean that you’re “broken." In fact, I see it as a tremendous source of power. What if you leaned into these wounded parts of yourself? What if you had a compassionate conversation with them? What if you imaged yourself holding them, telling them it’s ok, that you love them? ... Trauma is not something you ask for, but it can teach you how to love yourself in a way that maybe nothing else can… and that kind of love can make you unstoppable. That’s what it has given me. That’s what I hope it gives you. ...
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| Find someone that you enjoy talking to because if you don't have a good connection, it's a waste of your time. You won't feel safe and comfortable opening up to someone you don't particularly like. A counselor who is a good fit for you can make your journey "through it" a much easier and enlightening one. |  |
2) Get in your body
| If you're experiencing difficult emotions or haunting memories, it can be very overwhelming. Generally people disconnect (often unintentionally) from themselves, their bodies, their environments and/or their relationships as a way to cope with these overwhelming feelings. You may get stuck in a flight-or-fight response, feeling perpetually on edge that something horrible is about to happen. You may also experience flashbacks that cause you to lose touch with where you are and what's happening around you. |  |
...
Anything that you do mindfully will help you reconnect. This means that you give 100% of your attention to whatever you're doing. This art of focusing will help you to relax and quiet your nervous system so you can come back into the present moment.
Ways to get back into your body...
Yoga/Tai Chi
Exercise/Movement
Meditation
Acupuncture
Wash the dishes :)
Yoga/Tai Chi
Exercise/Movement
Meditation
Acupuncture
Wash the dishes :)
3) Read helpful books and articles
| Books are rich with information that you may find comforting, inspiring and empowering. To know that you are not crazy or alone in your struggle gives you the momentum to move through your difficult emotions. Check out your local library! |  |
Some Book Recommendations...
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment by Babette Rothschild
Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra
Minding the Body, Mending the Mind by Joan Borysenko
The Places that Scare You by Pema Chodron
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment by Babette Rothschild
Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra
Minding the Body, Mending the Mind by Joan Borysenko
The Places that Scare You by Pema Chodron
4) Cultivate Self-Compassion
| Developing a deep sense of compassion for yourself will take practice, but I promise you it is mandatory if you truly want to heal. Compassion means you learn how to soothe yourself. It means you're kind to yourself above all else. It means you don't make life worse for yourself by telling yourself negative things, stressing yourself out or putting yourself in unhealthy situations. |  |
What does self-compassion look like?
Resting when you're tired
Soothing yourself with a bath when you're overwhelmed
Cancelling plans you aren't interested in
Listening to your needs
Resting when you're tired
Soothing yourself with a bath when you're overwhelmed
Cancelling plans you aren't interested in
Listening to your needs
...
Really simple stuff, right?
Most of us have this awful tendency to downplay our needs and our worth. If you have past trauma, this may be your tendency most of the time. You need you, above all else, in order to heal. So step up, be your own hero, and take the best damn care of yourself that you can. You will be amazed at how comforting it will feel when you finally treat yourself with the respect and love that you always deserve.
Most of us have this awful tendency to downplay our needs and our worth. If you have past trauma, this may be your tendency most of the time. You need you, above all else, in order to heal. So step up, be your own hero, and take the best damn care of yourself that you can. You will be amazed at how comforting it will feel when you finally treat yourself with the respect and love that you always deserve.
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Other articles you may like...
My Approach:
Pillars of My Practice
by Cailin O'Hara, MAcOM, LAc, Dipl OM
"The body keeps the score. If the memory of trauma is encoded in the viscera, in heartbreaking and gut-wrenching emotions, in autoimmune disorders and skeletal/muscular problems...this demands a radical shift in our therapeutic assumptions."
-Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
Treating anxiety and the effects of trauma can be tricky.
There are many methods, which generally involve counseling. Finding the right counselor for you can be invaluable when you're navigating PTSD, trauma and anxiety.
However, sometimes it's not enough.
Sometimes we need a more integrative approach to healing.
There are many methods, which generally involve counseling. Finding the right counselor for you can be invaluable when you're navigating PTSD, trauma and anxiety.
However, sometimes it's not enough.
Sometimes we need a more integrative approach to healing.
Example Patient Case
A patient is attempting to process a traumatic experience from years before. They feel like after that traumatic experience, they haven’t been the same. They don’t sleep well. They feel on edge. They experience a sensation of anxiety in their body that feels like they're shaking from the inside out. Sometimes their heart races, and they can’t feel their legs. These experiences impact their life every single day. They’ve been working with their therapist, and it helps quite a bit, but they aren’t making the progress they want to make. And sometimes, talking about their experience worsens their anxieties.
This is when they wind up in my office.
The traumatic experience could have been emotional, physical, environmental, sexual… the effects are similar in all cases. Fear, hypervigilance, sleep disturbance and feeling disconnected from yourself, your body or your life are some examples of the effects of trauma.
The traumatic experience could have been emotional, physical, environmental, sexual… the effects are similar in all cases. Fear, hypervigilance, sleep disturbance and feeling disconnected from yourself, your body or your life are some examples of the effects of trauma.
Pillars of My Practice
Healing at the Root
Pillar #1: Chinese Medicine
I practice a fusion of medicine rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
According to TCM, everything is connected: mind, body and spirit. In fact, working with the emotions and our “spirit” is considered an essential aspect of treatment for any symptom or disease in TCM. Your spirit is the essence of who you are and what makes you uniquely you. This aspect of Chinese medicine is the foundation of my practice of medicine.
I practice a fusion of medicine rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
According to TCM, everything is connected: mind, body and spirit. In fact, working with the emotions and our “spirit” is considered an essential aspect of treatment for any symptom or disease in TCM. Your spirit is the essence of who you are and what makes you uniquely you. This aspect of Chinese medicine is the foundation of my practice of medicine.
I see everything as interconnected. |
Pillar #2: Body-Centered Medicine
Another core aspect of my approach is what I refer to as “body-centered medicine,” which means I treat the body in order to affect the whole being.
This method is based on the fact that our body holds our history. It is also rooted in the idea that we all possess the innate ability to heal. Working with the body creates a powerful healing effect across all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
Another core aspect of my approach is what I refer to as “body-centered medicine,” which means I treat the body in order to affect the whole being.
This method is based on the fact that our body holds our history. It is also rooted in the idea that we all possess the innate ability to heal. Working with the body creates a powerful healing effect across all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
In order to access our own healing potential, we must restore harmony to imbalanced systems in the body and mind. |
Pillar #3: Treating the Root Cause
Why is working with the body so powerful when it comes to balancing emotions and healing past trauma? It treats the roots of emotional experience.
A primary condition we treat through the lens of TCM is called stagnation. Stagnation implies there is some sort of holding pattern that is creating a lack of movement, which then creates an array of symptoms (from pain to anxiety to fatigue and so on). Without healthy movement and flow in our bodies or minds, disease and bothersome symptoms arise.
In the case of trauma, an experience or event sends a shockwave through our entire system that has lasting effects of stagnation. We can become "stuck" or stagnated in the experience- physically, mentally and emotionally. But here's the amazing part... we can treat the roots of trauma and anxiety by unlocking these stuck places in the body.
Why is working with the body so powerful when it comes to balancing emotions and healing past trauma? It treats the roots of emotional experience.
A primary condition we treat through the lens of TCM is called stagnation. Stagnation implies there is some sort of holding pattern that is creating a lack of movement, which then creates an array of symptoms (from pain to anxiety to fatigue and so on). Without healthy movement and flow in our bodies or minds, disease and bothersome symptoms arise.
In the case of trauma, an experience or event sends a shockwave through our entire system that has lasting effects of stagnation. We can become "stuck" or stagnated in the experience- physically, mentally and emotionally. But here's the amazing part... we can treat the roots of trauma and anxiety by unlocking these stuck places in the body.
This means that the effects of traumatic experiences that have become stuck in a holding pattern in our body and minds finally have the opportunity to be set free. |
Releasing past trauma means just that-
We let it move through us, and then we let it go.
We let it move through us, and then we let it go.
Check out the final article in this series which will offer guidance on this process of letting go of past traumatic experiences. When you begin to reconnect with yourself, you will learn how to move past fear and into your own power.
Interested in working with Cailin?
Schedule a complimentary consultation.
The Body is Our Story-Teller
by Cailin O'Hara, MAcOM, LAc, Dipl OM
“…our bodies are the agents by which we exist in the world. They are also the receptacles of memories that, often vanished from our conscious awareness, are still deeply etched within our being. When those memories are triggered, we experience suffering at a highly existential level that transcends consciousness.”
Anyone that experiences anxiety, flashbacks or panic will tell you that their feelings are not only in their minds but also in their bodies.
A rapid heart rate, sweats, shakes, sensations of numbness or feeling like you're not actually in your body are all examples of this. When we experience any kind of trauma, whether it be shock, grief, abuse or a physical event (like a car accident), this creates a shock to our physical system. This abrupt stop can create holding patterns and stagnation in the body.
In effect, we hold our experiences in our being.
"Trauma victims cannot recover until they become familiar with and befriend the sensations in their bodies."
-Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
I would argue that Chinese medicine is a somatic approach to healing on all levels- mind, body and spirit. The wisdom of this medicine transcends the study and compartmentalization of symptoms alone. Chinese medicine is holistic in the truest sense. It follows the laws of nature and takes everything into account- physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
...
My Approach:
"Body-Centered Medicine"
"Body-Centered Medicine"
I refer the to the work that I do as “body-centered medicine,” which means that I engage and harmonize the body in order to heal the whole being. I consider the body to be our greatest story-teller. It holds our stories and experiences. It tells of the past in how it moves and functions. I can perceive small imbalances in areas of the body that speak to deeper root causes. It can be an ache in the back that is actually more connected to a person’s stress at work. It can be a sensation of numbness that a person experiences that is actually a remnant of past trauma. It can be as obvious as arthritis that has set in deep within an ankle that was broken decades ago.
| On every level, our body tells our story. When you don’t honor the power and innate intelligence of the body, you’re missing the point in providing medicine. |
...
In the medicine I practice, it’s the smallest adjustments that can make the greatest impacts. A subtle shift in posture lights up the mind-body connection and sends a ripple effect across all systems. Through literally and physically coming into alignment, everything has the potential to shift for the better. And the body is incredibly intelligent! It wants to be harmonious and well. It works tirelessly to achieve that state 100% of the time. Our symptoms, in fact, are often signs that our bodies are trying their very best to heal whatever imbalance exists.
The Present Moment:
The Only Place You Can Heal
The Only Place You Can Heal
When you work with the body, you come into the present moment. And it is here in this very moment that all the power to change and heal exists. When you stay lost in mental stories about why something is happening or how it happened and neglect to dial into the here and now and how it’s manifesting, change is less likely to occur.
Connecting with the body in order to heal the whole person has proven in my practice to be a deeply transformative way of healing.... |
If I’m working with someone and they tell me they have “anxiety,” I ask them what that means to them and where they feel it in their bodies. I ask them to describe where it sits within them, how it moves, if it has a color. This is a powerful way to connect to emotions and feelings. It helps the person feeling them to become more of an observer of their experience instead of getting overwhelmed by it. More so, it brings them into the present moment, quiets their racing mind, and provides essential clues about where their feelings are affecting their physiology and physical body. I then use this to inform my diagnosis and treatment.
Have you tried to work through your anxiety or past traumatic experiences only to feel more anxious, triggered or retraumatized?
I understand how that feels. I know how frustrating and overwhelming the process of healing can be when you can’t find your way through your pain or symptoms. But I have also learned one of the most effective and powerful ways to treat the spectrum of anxiety, panic, grief and PTSD.
Stay tuned for the next article in the series where I will offer a more in-depth look at my experience, my approach and how I can help you.
...
Other Articles You May Like...
Interested in working with Cailin?
Your first consultation is free.
by Cailin O'Hara, MAcOM, LAc, Dipl OM
It is said that people care less about what you do and more about how you can help them. Explaining how acupuncture treats anxiety can be complicated. Maybe you're curious or maybe you don't believe it can work for you. But if you're living with anxiety, there's one thing that's for sure: you're tired of it interfering with your life.
So...How Does Acupuncture Treat Anxiety?
This is the most commonly asked question. How does acupuncture work? Here are some basic rules, according to Chinese medicine, that may help you to understand how acupuncture can treat your symptoms of anxiety.
Rule #1: We do not diagnose you with “anxiety.”
"Anxiety" is a Western medical diagnosis. When you seek acupuncture treatment for anxiety, we (your practitioner, that is) will ask you a lot of questions about your health regardless of your symptoms. We then compile this information and diagnose you as a series of patterns, not single symptom.
Examples of Patterns Treated
in Chinese Medicine:
- Pattern A) difficult time falling asleep at night, dry eyes and hair, vivid dreams, PMS symptoms, tends toward constipation, experiences anxiety as panic attacks with racing heart
- Pattern B) wakes feeling groggy, craves sugar, abdominal bloating, mid-day fatigue, foggy-thinking, experiences anxiety as excessive worry (often while trying to fall asleep)
- Pattern C) frequent flushing in the face, headaches, neck tension, tendency toward irritability, rapid heartbeat, experiences anxiety as tightness in the stomach and shortness of breath
Do any of these sound familiar to you? Notice each pattern's array of symptoms and how they all experience anxiety differently. |
Rule #2: Your patterns represent areas of underlying imbalances in your physiology and your being.
Problems with your health- physical or emotional- arise from some type of imbalance. If one system is out of balance, it generally affects other systems. Sleep, digestion, emotions, concentration, energy… it’s all connected. Everything affects everything else and contributes to the harmony or imbalance in our systems.
Everything is connected. A single stressful experience can take a toll on all of our systems and create imbalances that can become more severe over time if left untreated. |
Rule #3: Acupuncture can access the body's innate ability to heal and restore harmony to imbalanced systems.
Your body is constantly working to maintain homeostasis and balance. When your systems are in harmony, you feel well on all levels. There are hundreds of acupuncture points on the body, and each one has specific functions for balancing specific systems. For anxiety, acupuncture can harmonize the underlying imbalances that are causing your symptoms. From racing thoughts and sweaty palms to generalized worries about daily life to immobilizing PTSD, there are acupuncture treatments that can help.
How often do I have to come in for treatments?
How long will it take until I feel better?
Will I have to rely on acupuncture for the rest of my life?
The answers to these questions will pleasantly surprise you!
Next time we'll talk about what a treatment plan looks like and just how quickly you'll start to feel better.
Stay tuned and take good care of yourself.
Next time we'll talk about what a treatment plan looks like and just how quickly you'll start to feel better.
Stay tuned and take good care of yourself.
Flowing Freely Again
Photo: Cailin O'Hara
We have all experienced pain. Nearly everyone is in some kind of pain at some time... and for some of us, it just won't stop. Today we will look at one very important principle in working with our pain. This key to working with and healing our pain comes from Chinese medicine (think acupuncture and herbal medicine), what I study and practice in my clinic. There is a reason why you keep hearing or reading about acupuncture in the news and how it helps people in pain. It does! But pain doesn't just mean physical pain... we are talking pain on every level.
But how? And why? Big questions! But first…
Let’s talk about pain.
Pain is a Signal
What kind of pain do you feel?
What is it? Where do you feel it? It is from an old injury? Is it new? It is in your stomach? Your chest? Is it a result of emotions? Past abuse? Does it keep you up at night? Does it distract you from your work? Interfere with your relationships? Is it sharp or dull? Does it come and go?
Pain is an alarm alerting us that something isn’t right in some way. That sounds simple, but think about it. Pain is a signal. It is what we do with that signal that makes all the difference in our experience of our pain. And let’s be real- what we really want to do is END it, make it stop once and for all! But for those of us who have experienced pain, which I imagine is everyone, we have learned that there aren’t many quick fixes to make pain stop immediately and for good. So what can we do for ourselves? What are our options?
Pay Attention to Your Pain
First of all, we have to dial into the pain signal, really pay attention to it, and figure out what it needs in order to make it stop. Not all pain is the same, so it shouldn’t be treated in the same way. If you bang your knee on your dresser in the middle of the night, that feels a lot different than if your back aches from working long days lifting boxes, which also feels a lot different than the hurt we feel when someone betrays us. Each of these scenarios is an experience of pain, but they are vastly different, and should be treated differently. Makes sense, right?
Once we figure out the type of pain we are experiencing, we are better able to address it. This is one reason why using Chinese medicine, acupuncture and herbal medicine can be so beneficial. The treatments for pain are not one size fits all. The treatments depend entirely on what kind of pain you’re experiencing.
Why Pain Happens
The key when working with pain is to remember this: you hurt because something is blocked. Blood, circulation, hormone production, feelings, thoughts- something isn’t moving freely. Where things once flowed freely, there is now a blockage. It could be physical, like an injury to your shoulder that causes pain. It could be emotional, like persistent anxiety after a stressful experience (PTSD is an example). The idea is that something happened, some kind of impact, and where that impact occurred is where things have stopped moving properly. In Chinese medicine, we refer to this as “stagnation.” And stagnation (of many varieties) is the most commonly diagnosed condition in Chinese medicine.
So how do you treat it?
Flowing Freely Again
We have to restore movement where movement is blocked in order for pain to fade. How do we get things moving? One of the powerful effects of acupuncture is its ability to help restore flow and balance in the body. For instance, your chronic neck ache can be alleviated with acupuncture because it helps to clear up the stiffness and congestion that are causing your neck to hurt. Your grief that sits in your chest and weighs you down can be alleviated with acupuncture because it helps to move what has become stuck.
Pain makes us feel stuck, like we can’t move freely, like we can’t live our lives in the ways that we want. It feels like our pain is holding us back. THAT is stagnation. We have all felt it in some way, probably many ways and many times. When it doesn’t go away on its own, when we can’t un-stick ourselves, that’s when the power of Chinese medicine can really come to our aid and help us flow freely again.
Feel free to email us with questions or comments. And stay tuned for part two!
-Cailin O’Hara, MAcOM, LAc, Dipl OM
Author
Dr. Cailin O'Hara, DACM, Dipl OM, LAc, is a nationally board certified Doctor of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, intuitive and coach. She is based in Phoenix, AZ, and works with clients worldwide.
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