Everyone responds differently to shock, or outside stress. If you have had a difficult childhood it is especially difficult to manage your stress response. 

To get better, and recover from stress and/or past trauma, we need to overcome barriers. The biggest hurdle is accepting and recognizing your main response to stress. This response is from your Limbic System. 

I am so lucky to have a Fight Response my main response. I take after my dad. He was a great boxer but unfortunately quick to lash out. I call my stress response a red flag because it comes up quickly and I attack like a bull. 

Many of my patients have a Flight Response. They run from their problems. Their most common response will be “I don’t want to talk about.” They can be hectic, always busy, even spending all their time running after other people, helping them, rather than themselves, all to avoid confronting issues. 

The most difficult response to overcome is the Frozen Response. These people are the procrastinators. They withdraw into themselves. Very often they have weight problems because their Limbic System if frozen and their metabolism is slow. They are the hardest to mobilize. They lack curiosity because their thinking processes are frozen. They also bear the heaviest shame burden because they blame themselves for not doing more. They are frozen like a rock. Solid and hard to move. Hard to change. 

I believe that stress and trauma are really well managed by working with the body. The body can calm the mind. If the limbic system is calmed, then the thinking parts of the brain will start to light up. 

Try these Ways to Calm Down. If you have a Fight or Flight response, you may likely see benefits even within a week. I know I did. I did yoga in the morning, Qi Gong at night, a light exercise program for 10 – 20 minutes in the day, and at least 2 of the other exercises during the day. 

If you have a Frozen response, it could take months of work to grind the rock down to sand. We need to be fluid. 

If you have Chronic Pain, your Limbic system is very activated. Try these exercises and adjust according to your body’s abilities. 

Good luck.

Judy