Experiencing trauma can have an impact on your body that lasts long after the traumatic event has passed. Lingering trauma symptoms can include feelings of stress and anxiety. Additionally, addiction can be a sign of unresolved trauma. Grounding practices include a mix of techniques that can go a long way toward helping you process trauma and alleviate lingering symptoms for good.
The Lingering Effects of Trauma
First, let’s discuss the subtleties of trauma effects. The effects of trauma can be both short- and long-term. Trauma also affects everyone differently. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the “impact of trauma can be subtle, insidious, or outright destructive.” Short- and long-term effects can include stress, anxiety, confusion, sadness, emotional dysregulation, and more.
Trauma as Energy in the Body
If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, this can affect you mentally, physically, and emotionally.
A 2022 study published in Brain Sciences found that negative body memories, like the frightening experiences that come along with trauma, can be “stored in memory and influence behavior.” From there, they can contribute to the development of mental health problems, chronic pain, and more.
High Cortisol Levels and Stress
The body can continue to express the effects of trauma through the high production of cortisol, a stress hormone. Unfortunately, cortisol can build up in your body and cause long-term physical and emotional damage. Cortisol is an anti-inflammatory hormone whose main function is to prevent damage in the body. It also motivates you to respond quickly to threats. After a psychological or physical threat, cortisol levels will increase to give you energy and help you cope with the situation.
The problem? This increase in cortisol is only good for the short term. According to a 2014 study published in Physical Therapy, “excessive or prolonged cortisol secretion may have crippling effects, both physically and psychologically.” When a person experiences a lot of stress or trauma-related experiences, this stress hormone can build up and live in your body until you heal.
Grounding Practices and the Body
Since trauma can live on in the body, it’s important to focus on your body to effectively recover. It’s also common for trauma survivors to feel a disconnection between themselves and their bodies. This is why it’s so important to learn how to cultivate safety, peace, and love for yourself.
Grounding practices can help you come back to your body in a profound way. Technically, the term “grounding” literally means sitting on the earth or having some type of direct skin contact with the earth. This practice can be extremely powerful on its own, but grounding can also include any technique that allows you to feel safe and present in your body.
The Benefits of Grounding
According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Inflammation Research, grounding has many benefits, including improving sleep; normalizing cortisol levels in your body; reducing pain, inflammation, and stress; accelerated wound healing; and more.
One hypothesis for why grounding is so effective has to do with free electrons on the earth’s surface that can spread into your body when you connect to the earth. This can be considered a type of “energetic reset” that also has antioxidant benefits. Additionally, the benefits seem to be greater the longer your skin stays in contact with the earth.
Grounding Practices to Explore
Touching your skin to the earth isn’t the only way you can ground. Many other grounding practices can also help you release stale energy, stabilize your emotions, and allow you to feel safe and in control.
Body Scanning
One of the simplest grounding practices is also one of the most effective. Body scanning helps you become more aware of your body as you scan it from head to toe.
To do a body scan, find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. Begin by taking some deep and intentional breaths. Then, you can begin checking in with each part of your body starting from top or bottom. Notice if you feel anything like pain or tension, and simply become aware of it without judgment. This is how you form a deeper connection with your body and regain a sense of safety and control.
Mindfulness and Meditation
The benefits of mindfulness and meditation for overall wellness have been well documented. These practices can also help you ground, connect with your body, and cultivate stronger feelings of safety while healing trauma.
Mindfulness means you’re paying attention to the present moment by using all five senses. Doing this can help you ground yourself while taking your mind off of worry, stress, and fear. Meditation is a form of mindfulness that helps you stay calm and present in your body.
Conscious Connected Breathwork
The ancient Eastern practice of breathwork is also well-known for its wellness benefits. Breathwork includes different patterns or rhythms of intentional breathing over a certain period of time.
Getting out of your mind and focusing on the breath can go a long way toward helping you heal from stress and anxiety. Just one breathwork session alone can have profound effects. This practice allows you to come back to your body instead of being in the mind where fear can easily take hold.
Grounding Practices and More at The Guest House
Here at The Guest House, we understand how important it is to feel safe in your body, especially after experiencing stress and anxiety. Our trauma-specific program is designed to help you heal your mind, body, and soul as one.
We offer a wide range of holistic therapies like conscious connected breathwork and meditation that are highly effective for releasing anxiety and stress. At The Guest House, you will find a renewed sense of peace as you learn to heal your life one step at a time.
Trauma can linger in the body well after a traumatic event has passed, leaving you feeling anxious and stressed. Grounding practices can help you release trauma on an energetic level and bring you back to a state of inner peace. At The Guest House, our trauma-specific program is designed to help you heal in the most effective way for your unique struggles. We offer a wide range of holistic therapies like meditation, breathwork, and more that allow you to ground into your body, refocus your mind, and nourish your soul. No matter what you may be struggling with, you will find a renewed sense of hope, safety, and peace at The Guest House. Call us at (855) 483-7800.