TRAUMA & NLP

TRAUMA & NLP Pratima Shah

What is Trauma?

A strong, persistent, negative emotional response to a past event, or reminders of it. CAUSES OF TRAUMA:- Unwanted past painful memories physical/verbal abuse, guilt, failure, wars, terrorism, death, unhealthy relations etc.

MIND AND ITS STATESThe state of our mind is made by different events we go through in life.We perceive the events by whatever we see - Vision (V), whatever we hear - Auditory (A), whatever we feel - Kinesthesia (K), whatever we smell Olfactory (O), & whatever we taste Gustatory (G). 3 are very important VAK.

Based on everything we see, hear, smell, feel & taste, we form our beliefs.Our beliefs are of 2 types 1)universal truths 2)generalizations. We never perceive the world as it; instead we delete, distort or generalize it and then create our OWN inner representation. These representations are called our subjective experience/internal map/subconscious imprints.

These imprints build our STATE.STATE can be positive/negative.Positive state witnesses happiness, confidence, concentration, creativity, joy, wellness & motivation. A state of resolved issues.Negative state witnesses sadness, illness, fear, depression, stress, anxiety & confusion. A state of unresolved issues. Our state is formed by the events stored in our mind.

Any event in which a person experiences/witnesses actual or threatened death, serious injury/sexual violence has the potential to make a person traumatic.These events emotionally affect the person.People with traumatic experiences respond in different ways.Through the support of family & friends most people recover quickly BUT for some the effects could be devastating and long-lasting.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TRAUMAA trauma isnotan experience. It is an emotionalresponseto an experience.If the emotional response is positive, the experience is not traumatic, no matter how harrowing its sensory details. (Think of all the people who pay money to have scary, dangerous experiences such as sky diving or river rafting!)

Traumas are learnedvia repetition and exaggeration of sensory stimuli. Immediately after a negative experience, a person usually isnt traumatized yet. Thats why the treatment they receive immediately after the experience can change its outcome.

Traumas range from very minor to major, and from contextualized to general.For instance, a person may have a phobia of cockroaches, but not other insects or spiders. Someone with severe PTSD might feel distress most of the time.

Causes of psychological trauma vary. The causes are different as per our experiences based on our age and situations. The trauma of an adult is different than the trauma of a child. A child may even forget the event after a certain age but the adult may have developed symptoms of PTSD.

CHALLENGES AFTER TRAUMAInitially experiences strong feelings of fear, sadness, guilt, anger or grief. With realization of what has happened, these feelings begin to vanish.Chances of mental health issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, alcohol & drug use.All relationships with family, friends and at work are hampered.

Loss of confidence in life. An abrupt stop to life due to it and no inner motivation.Fearful & anxious about the future, hence feels incomplete and incompetent.Has difficulty in visualizing the future ahead and thus ends up being more devastated and depressed as they see no outcome of their lives.

HEALING TRAUMA THROUGH NLPNeuro Linguistic Programming a theory which brings a change in the minds of a person by changing the VAK. (Visual, Audio, Kinesthesia) A study of human communication.A study of the structure of subjective experience.The way of modeling excellence.The ability to make a person at his/her best more often.The powerful & practical approach to personal change.

Objective of the Technique of Re-imprinting To dissociate the person from past painful memories that are lying in the unconscious mind as garbage and are the cause of the trauma or various emotional & physical issues.

TECHNIC OF RE-IMPRINTINGSit comfortably in a relaxed position with your torso n shoulders erect. Imagine that there is a transparent glass wall before you at a fair distance.Beyond that glass wall there is a wooden stool. On this stool there is a TV set whose remote control is in your hand.Just imagine sitting here, you press a button of this remote and watch the event in the TV for 4 to 5 seconds.

Now imagine you are pressing a button that mutes the sound in the TV completely. Imagine the volume line on the TV screen decreasing to zero.Have you muted the sound ... (Wait for yes from the person, once he says yes. Now see the event from the beginning....is there any sound now? (Wait for reply)Now press a button of the remote and turn all the colours into black and white.....have you made the images black & white? (Wait for YES)

Now once again watch the event from the beginning...is there any sound? (Wait for NO). Is it black & white? (Wait for YES)Now can you bring the scene on the TV screen that disturbs you? (Wait for reply) Have you brought it? (Wait for YES)Now imagine you press a button and rain starts falling on the still scene and washes all the outlines off...continue the rain...bring rest of the scenes in the rain and imagine all the scenes are washed off completely...and nothing is visible to you now.

If you begin the event on the TV screen, is there any sound (Wait for NO). Is anything visible? (Wait for NO).Now finally, press a button and imagine that the TV is flying off in the sky, breaking into pieces and let it collide with the sun and burn it off.Ask about the event and get the result.

MOTIVATIONLife - the greatest gift which God the Almighty has given to all human beings. Learning begins the moment a child is born.Every child develops its share of experiences good or bad. It is not necessary to have only good experiences as life gives us a mixture of good and bad. But the point is how we relate to those experiences.

Every experience whether it is good or bad teaches us a lesson in life. But how we take the lesson depends on us only. No one can help us in that unless and until we seek help from them. Experiences like molestation, cancer diagnosis or being a witness to someones hurt or pain can be shattering for any person.

If proper emotional support is not provided during trauma to the person, it could be possible that the event may get stuck in the nervous system of the persona and lead to relationship problems, addictive tendencies or long-lasting distress. But there is also a positive angle in this situation.

According to a research many people show psychological growth and positive psychological behaviour due to such high stress incidences in their life. During this growth the negative side effects are not undone; rather they co-exist due to therapeutic or spiritual work.

GROWTH AFTER TRAUMA Relate to Family & friends Social support and relationships with others after the traumatic event are the key predictors of a speedy psychological recovery. Thus in difficult times we gain a new appreciation for our relationships we have and even learn that we can trust others to listen, care and help. Strong relations develop.

In some cases if the friends and family are unsupportive then it may have adverse effects on the person. The person feels more lonely and unworthy of love. But even then new healthier relationships can be formed due to therapy, spiritual work or groups because there are always some people who can be trusted.

Creating new possibilities Traumatic experiences can lead people towards new activities, lifestyles, and/or relationships which make life more meaningful, rich and satisfying. There are people who even choose to volunteer/advocate for change in areas related to their trauma. For instance a rape victim chooses to volunteer in a Rape Crisis Organization. There are others who even pen down their experiences or express themselves through creative arts.

Such activities open up new vistas and help them enhance their skills which make them become stronger, more whole and more connected. Their life finds a meaningful flow- where they become engaged and challenged as now they are able to channel their pain into meaningful creative work.

Personal Strength Persons with traumatic experiences lose their self-esteem due to the injury caused due to it or survivors may feel they did wrong so they received such victimization. It is natural for children to blame themselves for the parents neglect or mistreatment, and adults get stuck in this perspective. It becomes essential for the person to realize that he/she is not responsible for the victimization and this has necessarily to be a part of their healing.

When you are in danger, there are extenuating circumstances where you may not know how to shield yourself emotionally or physically as you were never protected as a child. But after the trauma we learn how strong we are and what bearing capacity we have. There are times when a person with a traumatic experience gets motivated by a personally important goal and is able to tolerate the difficult memories and emotions.

Spiritual Change The traumatic experience can be spiritually seen as a change agent to give a new direction to your life. Traumatic experiences provide the impetus to give up vices like drugs and alcohol and opt for a healthy lifestyle. Trauma deepens the faith in God and people realize the limits of personal control and pray to a spiritual force/God for assistance.

A study on bereaved mothers by researcher Daniel McIntosh suggests that religion speeded the recovery by helping people to find meaning and by connecting them to a supportive and engaged society. Prayer and meditation aids in finding a new perspective on life; to accept the present and be hopeful of the bright future.

Appreciation of Life People develop a greater sense of appreciation for life after the trauma. Connect with the simple joys of life like nature walks, time spent with family and friends post the trauma. Sometimes parenthood provides new aspirations and opportunities in some persons to live life differently. While for others, a realization that they were very near to death-physical or spiritual, makes them full with gratitude to live a meaningful life. Survival in a trauma is a second chance to refurnish your life and implement from the lessons learnt.

How to grow during adverse events

GROWTH IN ADVERSE EVENTSHow to grow during adverse events Persons, who have experienced a difficult childhood or a traumatic event, can:1)List out your personal qualities that you demonstrated to survive from these events. Even though there were mistakes made on your part, or things which you regret, remember that you did what you had to do to survive at that point of time and you should be proud of it. 2)List out all the things which make your life meaningful now, it could be your relations, your work, your faith, or even looking after your family. Find out happiness in everyday events of the life you have now.

3)List out the lessons learnt after all those difficulties you underwent. Try to find out how you can use this knowledge to help yourself and others to create something personal or of societal value.4)REMEMBER THAT HOPE AND GROWTH LIVE TOGETHER WITH GRIEF. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE Ups and Downs in life. YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO ANTICIPATE AND MANAGE THEM. LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF IN TIMES WHEN IT IS DIFFICULT TO SEE THE POSITIVE.

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