Transforming Trauma with Mindfulness

The summer heatwave finally broke, and even though it is still early August there is a whisper of autumn in the air.  Perhaps that explains the increased intensity of the work being done at my office, stlcounselors.com.  Several clients are working at a pace and depth seldom encountered before; tuning into deep hurt and transforming the meanings into motivation for a better future.

As witness and coach to such transformation, I am in a place of privilege.  The courage and conviction it takes to face one's pain and take on recovery is  inspiring.  Recovery takes energy and creates momentum like a powerful undertow in the ocean, and as such can take one to unexpected places.  Being present for such work requires that I navigate carefully to avoid being thrown off my own course. Some unknown territories might be encountered, the sort that mapmakers of old would label, "Here There be Dragons."

Caregivers cannot help but be affected by exposure to the suffering of others.  Trauma therapy demands attention to self-as-therapist to avoid letting personal issues impact the client's recovery process, and also to avoid becoming traumatized oneself (secondary trauma).  The same is true for any support person who cares for a family member or patient, whether at home, or at a facility; self-care is crucial to maintaining the ability to continue to work effectively.  If not, the chances of burnout, or breakdown of emotional and physical resources, is high.  For the sake of patient and provider, self-awareness and self-care are crucial to successful recovery and care-giving over the long haul.

Mindfulness practices are increasingly recognized as the most effective way to attend to well-being.  Though it seems simple, setting aside time to be quiet and focus inward is the perfect counterbalance to the hectic external focus of care-giving.  Attention to breathing allows the heart and mind to calm; creates mental space where priorities shift and resources emerge; releases one from demands and pressures of service to spend a moment in peace and gratitude.  It fills the well, so there will be more available when resources start to run dry.

There are as many ways to practice mindfulness as there are creative minds, but breath awareness is essential to every practice.  Sensory attention can offer easy access, one sense at a time; listening to your environment without holding onto, or thinking beyond, what is heard; or feeling the textures and temperature of air to skin, skin to cloth, nerves to tissue.  For some people it is helpful to label the object of awareness, then let it go until another thought, sound or sense arises.  By doing so, we can step back from familiar ways of thinking and routine behaviors, to open up to new possibilities.

Trauma is defined by avoidance of recurrent, intrusive thoughts and actions.  Mindfulness is a practice of attention and letting go, thus it is the perfect counterbalance to trauma.  More than that, mindfulness changes biological and brain based patterns that have negative implications for healthy functioning.  It allows us to stop swimming frantically against the current, instead finding ways to access existing energies toward positive change.

Perhaps, through mindful practice, we will discover those "dragons" are actually more like dolphins that aid our efforts to safely reach new lands of strength and serenity.  For survivors and caregivers alike,  it may be is time to redraw the old maps.