The Mountain Is You

TRAUMA IS NOT IN YOUR HEAD. IT IS IN YOUR BODY.
This is the first and most important thing you need to 
know in order to overcome it: Trauma is a legitimate, 
physical issue. You store those emotions, energies, and 
patterns at a cellular level.
Thankfully, we can use the ripples at the top of the water 
to trace back down to the problem at the bottom. You can 
begin to use your body to help you heal.
FIRST, IDENTIFY WHAT CAUSED THE TRAUMATIC 
EXPERIENCE. 
You do this by feeling into yourself and noticing where 
you are tight or tense. Our bodies harden to protect us. 
When we have a broken leg, our fascia tightens like a nat-
ural cast so that we do not bend ourselves that way again. 
Similarly, when our hearts are broken, our emotions tight-
en so that we do not let ourselves feel again.
Of course, eventually, we have to walk. We have to love. 
We have to experience life again. We have to slowly soften 
the pieces of us that are trying to protect us so that we can 
move forward.

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181
THE MOUNTAIN IS YOU
180
BRIANNA WIEST
Healing trauma is not just a matter of psychoanalyzing 
it. It is a matter of literally working through it physically. 
The next time you feel yourself overreacting to some kind 
of stimulus, you will notice that your body is starting to 
tense up and create a fight-or-flight response. To heal 
this, you have to force yourself to take deep, soothing 
breaths until the part of your body that was once tense 
is relaxed again.
You will need to self-soothe in different ways: meditat-
ing, breathing, drinking enough water, getting enough 
sleep, using aromatherapy, sound therapy, or whatever else 
works for you.
You absolutely must work to take your brain and body 
physically out of panic/survival mode.