Traumatic and overwhelming events usually have one thing in common: they are too much, too fast, too sudden, so that those affected cannot process them (sufficiently). If the enormous energy that the body raises in these situations to secure our livelihood through fight or flight cannot be used to defend ourselves, we enter a state of numbness. This is a natural mechanism designed to ensure our survival. We all experience it to some extent regularly in our lives. However, it is not designed to last for a long period of time or even to become "normal state". 

When we get stuck in this state of survival, so-called "stress symptoms" develop, which can range from increased edginess, anxiety to physical ailments to depression.

By working through a overwhelming or even traumatic event in small, manageable steps, the energy held in the body is brought back into flow and is accessible again in everyday life. It is not necessary to relive the overwhelming events. Rather, the body (and the head) is given the time it needed then and needs now at the crucial moments necessary to be able to process the events. We work in the here and now, slowly and without pressure. In an atmosphere that provides enough safety so that what happened can be renegotiated from an empowered and self sufficient position. The focus is on working with the nervous system.

The basis for this work lies in the method of Somatic Experiencing® developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine.

The lotus flower grows out of the mud, without the mud there can be no lotus flower.

This quote from Tich Nhat Hanh expresses the fact that trauma not only brings horror and suffering, but that every trauma also has the potential for growth. But: Not every beautiful flower needs mud to grow. Lotus blossoms do not grow on every mud hole. It takes more.

Peter Levine sums it up beautifully when he says, "Trauma is hell on earth, trauma healed is a gift from God."

Trauma brings with it suffering, sadness, anger, overwhelm, helplessness, loss of joy in life, and much more. Often for a long time. However, when it can be processed and integrated piece by piece, it creates growth that opens up spaces that were sometimes hard to imagine before.

For every person who has ever had to go through a traumatic event, I wish that he/she can process it for themselves, integrate it, accompanied by a safe and empathetic person.

Coming back to a life that allows you to feel colors, sounds and smells again and makes joie de vivre tangible – that is trauma healing for me.