Trauma Training Tip
August. Peaches. Tomatoes. Zucchini that won’t stop. Sticky. Hot. Dense. Lightning bugs. So many bugs. Nothing like it.
Our Taoist teachers named five seasons rather than four, and called the fifth Late Summer. It is a time of the harvest. A time to focus on the Spleen and Stomach and their important role at the center of our existence. For thousands of years, Chinese practitioners have observed and treated digestive issues with nutrition, herbs, energy medicine, and awareness, all of which recognize the process of digestion as being central to life itself.
It turns out Western science concurs. Not only do the organs of digestion transform food into nourishment, blood and qi – the gut biome is also the source of neuro-transmitters like serotonin and dopamine that are so critical to our mental health and of T-Cells that are absolutely critical to our immune system.
We actually have a brain in our guts that is referred to as the “Visceral Brain” or the “Belly Brain.” It informs us about our comfort in relationships and helps us make nourishing attachments. You actually do “know it in your guts” when you meet kind and supportive people. It is the foundation of our capacity for interoception – our ability to discern information to guide our days.
In life-threatening conditions, all our Qi goes to mobilizing a flight or fight response; we shut down our digestion temporarily. Repeated early traumatic stress may result in chronic shut-down of digestion or a freeze response in our viscera; both result in a loss of our capacity for interoception.
People who have lost this capacity for interoception in their early life through neglect or abuse may not know when they are hungry, tired, angry, cold, hot – or who is trustworthy. It is fundamental to managing our life that we are able to discern the information and respond to the guidance in our guts.
As adults it may be hard for our Spleen to transform food into Qi; we may have trouble assimilating trace nutrients, we may be obese, have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or gastro-esophogeal reflux disease (GERD).
Working with the Spleen and Stomach in the Late Summer season can help trauma survivors digest traumatic experiences, harvest lessons that expand their life experience, and create nourishing and comforting attachments with the people in their lives. Really important!
Alaine’s Two Cents
The rise in inflammatory illness, the rise in inflammation in our world, is directly correlated with a need for our awareness to support the function to “digest the gristle” in ourselves, our patients, and our world.
This video describes the book, Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice by Rupa Marya and Raj Patel. Here’s their description:
“Boldly original, Inflamed takes us on a medical tour through the human body — our digestive, endocrine, circulatory, respiratory, reproductive, immune, and nervous systems. Unlike a traditional anatomy book, this groundbreaking work illuminates the hidden relationships between our biological systems and the profound injustices of our political and economic systems. Inflammation is connected to the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the diversity of the microbes living inside us, which regulate everything from our brain’s development to our immune system’s functioning. It’s connected to the number of traumatic events we experienced as children and to the traumas endured by our ancestors. It’s connected not only to access to health care but to the very models of health that physicians practice.”
I will be exploring the interface of the Tao of Trauma approach to understanding the impact of traumatic stress on inflammatory illness and the insights from Inflamed in two upcoming webinars in August, hosted by Acupuncturists Without Borders on August 12th, and Somatic Experiencing International on August 23rd.
Check This Out!
Barbara de la Torre asks, in her podcast Third Opinion, MD, “Your inner doctor is calling. Are you listening?”
She invites us to Tap into knowledge you already possess about your health by adapting ancient wisdom to modern living. Liberate your perspective of health, recognize what your body tells you, and know what to do. It’s time for a healthcare revolution in each of us.
Here’s her latest podcast episode, Discover Yin Yang Principles for Your Best Health in the Modern World: Part 1 on the Language of Ancient Chinese Medicine.
She advises, “In the world of qigong and Taoist philosophy, one part of understanding the universal order, or ‘The Way,’ is to discover nature’s rhythm, abide by it, and live in accordance with its patterns. By doing so, you become healthier, more intuitive and creative. The patterns actually stay the same. It is up to you to rediscover these patterns by changing and adapting to your environment.”
This episode includes a recap from my interview with her last month — on yin yang and the Tao of Trauma approach to trauma.
Clinical Curiosity
Where is your clinical curiosity carrying you?
Send me a question or two and I will explore them with readers in this corner next month.
Q.
I have a new client who seems to have no access to interoception. They engage with life from their pre-frontal cortex, executive function. What would be your strategy?
A.
So glad they have you!
It’s tricky because it will be easy to trigger shame or confusion if you ask them to track their physical sensations. They won’t know how to answer your question and will easily go to feeling inadequate or wrong and contract even more.
They likely had to “leave” their body a very long time ago, when it wasn’t really safe to reside in their sensations. We have a system kind of like the circuit breakers in our homes, if too much energy is coming in, we shut down so we don’t burn to the ground. It’s a life-saving system.
They may be able to notice things outside their body – a favorite color in the room or a preference for a certain piece of art. Over time they may feel comfortable exploring the texture of the rug on their bare feet or how allowing a sound to come to them is experienced differently than reaching out to find it – or the difference between letting their eyes be soft and receptive and scrutinizing and hard. They may be able to squeeze their forearm and notice what happens when they acknowledge “this is my arm,” “this is my hand,” and so on.
If you are an acupuncturist, they may be able to tell you to needle “this point, not that point” as you palpate two distinct points. They may be able to focus on the table or chair under them, and notice a preference for the pillows, the arm rests, or the seat cushion – without focusing on their body, they are actually noticing their body.
As their awareness of sensations increases, you may be able to say “from the outside, it looks like your jaw is getting tighter – I wonder what you notice?” Or “you just took a big breath, I wonder what you notice after that breath?”
Waking up interoception will be cumulative. It is important to titrate your engagement. They need a sense of safety and agency to build trust on. A little will go a long way.