Sometimes Safety Can Feel Like Exhaustion
I think we all know within the depth of our bones, that we cannot compartmentalize the way that humans experience trauma. Trauma impacts our physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual sense of safety in the world.
This type of physical and emotional violation to the body often times elicits feelings of intense fear, powerlessness, and hopelessness. Trauma oftentimes overwhelms a survivors internal resources, so all of the things that are most important to them like control, connection, and meaning have become compromised. The trauma in many ways becomes imprinted on their lived experience. You find me saying this often but I believe that PTSD is the body's way of communicating that we have this undigested sensory residue that wants to be processed in some way.
In yogic philosophy, trauma causes something called vasanas. Vasanas are emotional imprints on the body. They often times get hardwired and deep rooted. Trauma symptoms can manifest when these vasanas remain lodged in the body- undigested. This can impact our nervous system, endocrines system, our physiology and can cause chronic pain, physical symptoms, and illness. So often these are somatic reenactments of the trauma people have experienced- and for many, they are survival skills. And they deserve so much gentleness and care.
When we teach in a trauma-informed way, we can create a space for survivors to slowly unpack what rest means for them. And sometimes safety can feel like exhaustion because folks finally have permission to rest. The tears, the yawns, the sighs- they are all ways the nervous system communicates with us. I find that so much of my work these days is helping folks rest in ways that feel safe.
Gentle reminder: you are worthy of honoring your body's responses without shame or stigma.