Trauma Healing and feeling safe.

Feeling safe is imperative when it comes to Trauma Healing. The feeling of safety is an internal experience, that must be found. It is sensed through the heart rate, respiration rate, muscular tissue, perspiration, and nervous system. Our defensive system associated with the sympathetic nervous system is all about judgement and evaluation. We scan the environment and others within that environment for a sense of safety. And when we do not feel safe, it is important to create a safe environment for ourselves, especially with Trauma Healing.

Trauma Healing and the body’s response.

Many of us are not very familiar with our body responses, or how to honour them. We often dismiss an uncomfortable feeling instead of listening to it and making the necessary adaptations and adjustments. But when we can learn to pay attention to these responses and adapt accordingly (regulate in a safe space), we begin to feel safety and security within ourselves. And from this place, we can begin to live life more fully, creatively and feel engaged.
We can also support others into returning to a safe space within themselves…..

Communication.

Honest, clear, transparent communication fosters a sense of trust and reliability and has a positive impact on dealing with Trauma Healing. When one person can clearly express their boundaries, it signals to the other that it is safe for them to do the same. In saying what we mean and meaning what we say, let’s the other person know that they can relax with us, without having to conduct a continuous risk assessment.

Consensual touch.

Asking for permission to touch or hug. Not everyone feels comfortable to launch into an embrace on first meeting. Expressing respect for others personal space and boundaries is a huge gesture when it comes to trust and safety. When we do feel safe to hug, the oxytocin which is released brings a deeper sense of trust and empathy and helps us to form bonds with others.

Eye contact

To allow ourselves to be seen and received by another in any given state also gives the signal to the other that they are fully received. When we feel received exactly as we are, it is possible to enter beautiful states of relaxation and expansion. Listening to simply be heard. To be received without interruption, judgement, opinion or advice is truly a game-changer in bringing safety within. Though eye contact is not always comfortable. The windows of the soul reveal so much. Often a sense of shame arises. Or a need to distract ourselves from the intensity and intimacy. And all of that needs to be honoured. Nothing should ever be forced. Just an honest recognition of what arises moment to moment.