by Joan Summers

Experiencing a traumatic event does not mean we will have PTSD. We are programed to process these events. If the process is interrupted, however, the energy of our response to the event becomes frozen and can turn into PTSD. The severity of the traumatic event varies with age and support systems. 

Common examples of traumatic events are physical, emotional and sexual abuse or neglect; witnessing abuse; abandonment; routine medical procedures; natural disasters; car accidents, cyber attacks and feeling helpless and isolated.

Symptoms can include anxiety, flashbacks, panic attacks, insomnia, heart racing, anger, depression and suicidal thoughts. These symptoms are the body trying to release frozen energy from a past event. Our body is signaling the brain to respond to a life-threatening situation. Something has triggered the energy that is stuck.

There is hope. The healing process of finishing what our body started during that original event is the key to releasing stuck energy and reorganizing the brain’s response. One way to work through that process employs gestalt methodology, which encourages people to bring the mental, emotional and physical elements of the experience into the present moment, without reliving them, as opposed to perceiving events through a filter of past experiences.

Gestalt sessions can involve a variety of elements and modalities, such as the partnership between the coach, the client and the horse in equine gestalt, and combination sessions that interweave intuitive services, reiki and coaching.

Joan Summers is owner of Step Into Joy Healing Arts. For more information, call 267-272-9343, email [email protected] or visit StepIntoJoyHealingArts.com. September 2018