Can acupuncture treat diseases caused by trauma?
Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood, and untreated cause of human suffering.
Trauma happens when any experience stuns us like a bolt out of the blue; it overwhelms us, leaving us altered and disconnected from our bodies. Any coping mechanisms we may have had are undermined, and we feel utterly helpless and hopeless.
If you experience something shocking and do not process it properly, you may develop mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or acute stress disorder (ASD).
Vulnerability to trauma differs from person to person depending on a variety of factors, especially age and trauma history. The younger the child, the more likely she/he is to be overwhelmed by common occurrences that might not affect an older child or adult.
Trauma is not in the event itself; rather, trauma resides in the nervous system.” The basis of “single-event” trauma (as contrasted to ongoing neglect and abuse) is physiological rather than psychological.
For example, in DSM-5 the symptoms of PTSD were listed largely about hyperactivation of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. These included hyperarousal, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle, flashbacks, sleep disorders, and intrusive thoughts. However, many of my clients also suffered from symptoms of shutdown, involving the unmyelinated dorsal-vagal parasympathetic system. These individuals, rather, presented as being depressed, apathetic, lethargic, dissociated, and lacking vitality. They also suffered from various physical (functional) complaints including unexplained chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiac arrhythmias, and various urinary tract symptoms.
In addition, the client’s chronic physical symptoms often indicate dorsal-vagal shutdown. These include chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal and urinary problems, cardiac arrhythmias, episodes of dizziness, and some types of asthma, as well as certain autoimmune disorders.
Understanding the circumstances of the trauma and then using acupuncture can help you recover.