Much of trauma healing is helping the nervous system become more
“resilient.” Rather than spend a few hours or even days drowning in a
state of terror, tension and nervousness after getting triggered, doing
one or more of these exercises can help the nervous system shift into a
different state sooner.
Each time you do an activity or exercise like the ones below, this
teaches the nervous system to be more flexible and rebound from
activation sooner.
Take Your Nervous System to the Gym
After some type of physical injury that leaves some of your muscles
weak or atrophied, you may need to go to physical therapy and exercise
the muscles to strengthen them again. After trauma, the nervous system
is completely out of whack and the resiliency muscles, so to speak, are
very weak. Practicing resiliency exercises on a regular basis is like
going to a “Nervous System Gym” and exercising the healthy functions of
your nervous system until they become strong once again.
In fact, going to a Trauma Resiliency Model or Somatic Experiencing
therapist is kind of like seeing a Nervous System Physical Therapist or
Nervous System Personal Trainer. When you see a regular Physical
Therapist or Personal Trainer, they will give you homework to do in the
gym or at home before the next week’s session. In the same way, if you
go to therapy for trauma once a week, it’s good to also practice these
things on your own between sessions to get those muscles worked out
enough to improve your functionality over time.
Link to this article
Much of trauma healing is helping the nervous system become more
“resilient.” Rather than spend a few hours or even days drowning in a
state of terror, tension and nervousness after getting triggered, doing
one or more of these exercises can help the nervous system shift into a
different state sooner.
