Big Trauma Isn’t The Only Trauma That Affects Your Ability To Regulate

If a baby cries, I panic. But I’ve never been a parent.

If a car backfires, I jump. But I’ve never been shot at or been in combat.

If a person raises their hand suddenly, I freeze. But I’ve never been assaulted.

I feel ridiculous, I’ve never experienced major trauma so why do I behave like I have?

I’d describe myself as an average human being… I have an average job, an average life, and I wouldn’t say I had a “bad” childhood, just the normal stuff that everyone goes through.

I’ve tried to find the answers but I can’t stand going to therapy, all the talking just makes me angry and frustrated because we talk about stuff I already know!

Why am I always so angry, so tired, and ready to leave tough situations?

Any time I experience these reactions, it leaves me so fatigued I can barely concentrate. But I can’t get away from these feelings.

Almost any environment triggers me in some way. I hate going to work, I don’t enjoy spending time with my family, and going out doesn’t feel good anymore. My friends and family have become tired of my angry outbursts or when I cancel plans.

I feel like I’m constantly bouncing between being “normal” and being hyper aware of my surroundings just waiting for the next thing.

Normal Talk Therapy Has Never Helped

I changed therapists a few times thinking it was just a bad fit, but none of them helped. After seeing so many therapists, I gave up thinking someone would fix me.

I accepted that I’d always feel on edge, ready to fight or run the minute a child screamed in the mall or my boss sighed at me in a disappointed way.

Discovering Stored Trauma And The Vagus Nerve: How Does It Work?

In one of my mindless scrolls on the internet, I came across a video of someone explaining how trauma is stored in the body.

I nearly kept scrolling because I didn’t think I had any trauma, I had a normal childhood.

Except they said they were always angry but they didn't think they had anything to be angry about, so I kept watching and learned about the vagus nerve.

Here’s some of what I learned, the vagus nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It connects everything. The vagus nerve takes in all the sensory information₁ from your organs and sends it straight to the brain.

 Any time you were hurt, shouted at, manipulated, spanked, or physically deprived of love and affection that information went straight to your brain and made permanent changes₂ in the way you think, react, and how your brain functions.

“The body bears the burden” — Dr Kim DiRe’

Basically, your vagus nerve and brain have stored every bit of trauma in your history and you carry that with you every day.

Reading about this, it just clicked with me, it made complete sense.

What Does Stored Trauma Look Like?

 There are many symptoms of a person with stored trauma or a damaged₃ vagus nerve:

Acid reflux and IBS

Headaches

Dizziness

Struggling to orient yourself

Fatigue

Ringing in your ears

TMJ

Bursts of anger

High blood pressure

Bloating

Stomach pain

All of these somatic symptoms are usually dismissed as eating too much or having a bad day at work.

But they could be symptoms of stored trauma and a damaged vagus nerve. 

I started looking for places I could go to and therapists who practiced somatic therapy or somatic healing. No one was local to me. Then I found Neurotoned and Dr Kim DiRe’.

Neurotoned: Life-Changing Is An Understatement

The program is completely online, I don’t have to travel to a therapist and get comfortable in a whole new environment.

I feel safe and secure at home which makes it the perfect place to do my exercises.

The exercises are broken down so that they’re easy to understand and follow. There’s no “therapy-talk” that confuses me and makes me feel uneducated. I feel safe and uplifted when I use my guided vagus nerve exercises.

The best part of this program is that it’s self-paced! I can do 10 to 20 minutes of somatic exercises at any time of the day, I don’t need to fit into anyone else’s schedule.

My Healing Happens On My Time

The guided videos help me unlock my trauma by using my own body and their techniques to help me heal myself.

It’s going to be a journey but I will always have access to all of the vagus nerve techniques I will need to heal myself on Neurotoned because the program offers lifetime access.

If Dr DiRe’ and Neurotoned make any updates or additions to the program I will have access to them too with the original program I bought at no extra charge.

This program fits my needs perfectly and has helped me unlock and release my trauma.

For more academic reading visit our recommended sites:

1 CPTSD Foundation

2 Ohio Domestic Violence Network

3 The Institute for Functional Medicine