more about trauma

Trauma can be  defined as any event, series of events or circumstance that happens at a  level that is too much, too fast and/or too intense for a person to  process. New research confirms that the body often holds the cumulative  effects of trauma, both in structure and in function. Click below for  more information. 

Growing  evidence shows that, in the event of a traumatic experience,  information processing happens at basic levels in the brain, and does not occur in the higher-functioning areas of the brain which assist with understanding the event. People who have experienced a trauma whose  impacts remain unresolved often struggle with an overwhelming sense of  unpredictability, disorganization and lack of safety. Many of the  symptoms listed above are rooted in an individual's sense of a lack of  control, safety and/or predictability.

Harvard  University's Center on the Developing Child has created a video that  demonstrates the formation of neurological pathways.  

Many  individuals who have experienced significant trauma have developed  neurological pathways, or patterns of delivery for sensory input from  the body's receptor system (taste, touch, smell, hearing, touch) to the  brain, that were developed in response to the initial trauma. Once those  neurological pathways were created, they were available to be re-used  for other traumas and also for lesser stimuli such as a slamming door or  emergency siren, causing the individual to have an extreme response to a  non-threatening event. 

Emerging research indicates that therapeutic interventions involving sensory input can be  effective in the treatment of youth who have experienced trauma.