Well, lets first define Trauma : Psychological trauma is an emotional response to a frightening event or series of events.
When I had Bulimia / Binge Eating / Compulsive Eating, I remember trying to find which emotional burden, past trauma and emotional issues created my eating disorder. So I started Therapy. And I talked, a lot. I analysed my past. A lot. And I found reasons, trauma. A lot. Did it help for my Binge Eating Problem ? Nope, NOT AT ALL, it made things worse !!!
Now, if you are reading this post it's probably because you are looking for answers, so i'll jump directly to my explanation.
The main reason why talk therapy fails many people is that, basically, by talking about your old injuries, you'll re-trigger them or keeps them in these patterns of avoidance without addressing the deep wisdom of your body and your emotions.
Guess what, your nervous system does not function through thoughts but functions through feelings.
When I say feelings I don't mean just emotions I mean sensations and physical reactions.
For example, anger comes through heat, red face, and muscle tension.
Depression comes with physical pain, exhaustion, and sensitivity.
If you take a look at the two main parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex (I can call it the human part) is the thinking part of the brain but emotions happen in the limbic part of the brain (we can call it the primal part) and our fight flight freeze responds occurs in that primal part of our brain. This survival response is deeper it moves much faster than our thought.
That's why our emotions get stuck and the solution to unstuck them is through our body motion.
Understanding the etymology of "E-MOTION" really allows us to understand that notion.
Bulimia Binge eating disorder
When someone experiences trauma and negative emotions, the nervous system kicks into high gear. It's a completely natural adaptive response to proceed to danger, but when we get stuck in that danger/survival response it makes us sick both physically and emotionally. More than that, if we get stuck in this "survival mode" we let our unconscious survival instinct decide for us.
We get overwhelmed, make poor decisions, look for something comforting... like treats ... And if you suffer from Binge Eating Disorder, you'll try to sooth yourself with food.
When we dance, do yoga, or move our body freely, this "motion" allows us to tap into the trauma response that is trapped in our nervous system and the stuck energy in our tissues.
In simple words : Emotions = Energy in motion in your body. Emotional Blockages = Stuck Energy in your body.
More article on this subject ?
So Let's Move ! If you are suffering from Bulimia or Binge Eating Disorder and want to learn how to use Yoga to unlock trauma stored in the body is something that you might be intersted in, don't hesitate to have a look to The VIDEO BELOW !!