Body Scan Meditation for Healing and Recovery of Childhood Trauma
Discovering the inner workings of your brain and body as a survivor of childhood trauma is one of the most critical steps that you can take in healing. Disassociation is a common side effect of the impact of abuse, and through meditation practice, child abuse survivors can being the healing procession.
What is disassociation from childhood trauma?
In clinical terminology, disassociation is a mental health disorder that creates a separation between cognizant understanding of one's self and the automatic actions which one does. Through disassociation, there is a lack of connection in actions, thoughts, memories, and emotions. In a sentence; disassociation is when the brain and body are out of sync.
In a simple context, being disassociated is like sitting in a burning house, not realizing that you have a pack of matches in your hand, This could hold of misremembering past events, zoning out in conversations and interruptions in daily activities.
Childhood trauma is a catalyst in becoming disassociated because escapism and disconnecting the brain from the body is not only a survival mechanism but a natural reaction to traumatic experiences. Trauma is not exclusive to childhood trauma survivors. Many victims and survivors of accidents, wars, and tragic events often find themselves disassociated.
One of the reasons that the mechanism of disassociation is deployed as a coping mechanism during abuse is so that we can survive trauma.
What are the signs of being disassociated?
At its baseline, being disassociated can lead to saying and doing things that you may not remember or recall doing, even at the moment(s) that they are occurring.
Feeling like your brain is not inside of your body or feeling like you may be watching yourself experiencing life versus being present is a crucial sign of disassociation.
What are the signs of being disassociated from abuse:
Inability to remember specific events
Blank spots of time in frames in memories
A feeling of separation from yourself.
Spacing out and daydreaming
Getting lost in active conversations.
Sudden changes in mental and emotional reactions
Lying for no reason
Being unaware of actions
Having out of body experiences
Here are 24 more examples of the implications of disassociation in childhood trauma survivors.
(Re)Connecting From Childhood Trauma Through Meditation
There is no question that the efficacy of meditation for reconnecting the brain and body is becoming more and more evident. Through meditation, the brain and body connect rekindles through a series of thoughts around one's awareness of the self and environment. Re-connection to one's self is an essential methodology in healing childhood trauma because, in essence through meditation, the re-wiring of the brains natural state is beginning. We know that disassociation happens due to an interruption in the brain from abuse. It's fair to say that by re-connecting the brain to the body that we can reserve the damage of trauma and become associated again.
Using Body Scan Meditation for Child Abuse Healing
Body scan meditation is a practical tool in the healing journey of child abuse survivors because it is when we reconnect to ourselves that we begin to take the most significant strides towards newfound health. Meditation has been implemented in a multiple of different healing practices for thousands of years. All around the world, meditation is practiced to create a new state of mind.
Recovering from CPTSD By Meditating
Stepping into a meditation practice as a childhood trauma survivor can be a scary thought and for some may take a dose of courage to start. The key to the Think Unbroken Body Scan meditation is not to seek anything other than merely existing at the moment and creating presence through the breath. Disassociation has caused us to be separated, and through this meditation and creating a daily practice, you may find yourself becoming more associated, connected, and aware. It may even be possible to reverse some of the effects of trauma through meditation and other modalities
The Benefits of Body Scan Meditation for Childhood Trauma
Release of tension
Presence of the environment
Connection of the brain and body
Lowers stress
Creates focus
Understanding of self
There’s more than one solution to healing childhood trauma
Meditation is a piece of the puzzle in healing childhood trauma and recovering from abuse but is not the only solution. If you require immediate help or care, please contact your local emergency mental health providers. If you need more resources please click here.