On Earth as it is in Heaven

 

Thomas Lee Abshier, ND
—-
Christian Counselor

Naturopathic Physician

Political Philosopher
Physicist-Theologian-Author

 

—
Marriage & Personal Counseling

Medical Consultations

—

1414 NE 109th Ave.

Portland, Oregon

(503) 255-9500
naturedox@qwest.net

 

Stress Response    

 

Primary Trauma

Secondary Trauma

Types of Stress

Chronic effects of stress effects (Possible)

Stages of Stress Response

Coping with Stress

Healing from Trauma

 

Primary Trauma

• Types of trauma
• Personal & Vicarious Trauma
• Personal experience of a traumatic event has physical and psychological pain associated with it.
• The initial trauma is the primal seed from which we evaluate future similar circumstances
• Having experienced trauma thus enables other events, which are non-traumatic but similar in some way, to be considered traumatic because of the memory, emotional, and body reactivation
• A trauma that is personally witnessed can likewise create primary trauma
• Fear of harm arises because of the proximity to harm -- proximity increases likelihood of harm
• Viewing trauma may also bring up the memories and feelings of past trauma
• Media viewing of trauma can expand personal reality and thus increase the believed possibilities of harm
• Media viewing of trauma can implant images which have resonance with personal trauma,
• Resolution of Trauma
• Ultimately every trauma, whether personal, viewed, or vicarious must be put into perspective
• Until the process of placing the event in perspective is engaged, nothing will be adequate to release the feelings of the trauma
• Invasion of personal space
• Damage to property
• The violation of damage, and the violation of theft are similar
• Violence against property increases the risk, the likelihood, that you will do harm to my physical body
• Posturing, showing that I am capable of doing harm, willing to do harm.
• The object is physical, your body is physical, you can be harmed too.
• Property ownership is obtained by labor or by gift
• Property is connected to self, in a similar manner to how the body is connected to self, but the identification is to a lesser extent
• I am not my body, I have a body, but I identify strongly with my body and consider it to be an intimate, vital, and almost inseparable part of me.
• Giving my life energy to own something puts me in the position of having invested self in an object, and hence identified with it.
• Ultimately all violation and trauma is a violation of God's law and plan for a perfect life -- Theft violates one of those laws.
• Why is theft and damage to property against God's Law?
• God has given us a body, charged us with surviving and learning to love others. Protecting, keeping, maintaining our body is innate, and must be our first love.
• Learning to love God is the highest purpose of life. We demonstrate that love by showing love to others and obeying the true Spirit of His Law
• Theft of property
• Property helps with survival, comfort, and pleasure
• Employment type of work is the process of giving to another person. In turn we expect others to give their services and products to us.
• Theft is the process of taking that which others have worked for, and appropriating it for my own benefit without giving them appropriate and acceptable compensation.
• There is a negative type of spirit associated with theft
• The act of theft is a violation, and demons/spirits, are released to punish, and extract fairness, equity, vengeance
• Sowing and reaping are built into the fabric of action. Spiritual forces are released which manipulate events, unseen, and create the events which balance the scale
• Similar events may visit the thief
• The thief may experience guilt and personal psychic torment about the offense
• The authorities may capture, convict, and imprison the thief
• Supernatural arrangement may precipitate personal injury, ill health, monetary loss, lost opportunity, relationship pain
• Bodily harm
• Physical abuse
• Pain receptors stimulated
• Functional damage
• Structural damage
• Threat of bodily harm
• Fear of future bodily harm (even if it hasn't happened before the pain or loss of injury can be imagined)
• Fear of being harmed again (the same or similar harm has already been experienced)
• Generalized fear or people or situations because of frequency, intensity, or sensitivity
• Overpowering and invading private space
• Invasion of space, leaves one with a sense of vulnerability.
• After unsuccessful defense of space one feels helpless and without faith in his ability to defend against future invasion
• Thus, the greatest damage of all is to one's faith, one's sense of will and belief about what is possible in life
• Insult and demeaning characterizations
• Destructive criticism, mocking, put downs, making fun of, etc .. implants a negative self image, negative faith about personal possibility.
• Insult is an invasion into the sacred space of Faith and Hope. As children we are weak in self concept, and impressionable, and others strongly influence our beliefs.
• Crippled belief about self diminishes the potential for my life. Insult may rob me of my future possibility for accomplishment.
• Sexual contact that was not invited, nor understood, nor given with conscious assent
• Childhood sexual contact is inappropriate universally because it is outside of the law of God, the natural order
• Sexual contact at an early age can set a foundation for a feeling of powerlessness, inability to protect or govern one's own personal space
• Satan can use this feeling of improper contact, premature awakening, sense of wrongness about a particular behavior to create guilt, isolation, or reactive hyper-expression
• Various spirits can be implanted in the heart: e.g. promiscuity, guilt, inferiority, hopelessness, depression
• Spirit influence causes behaviors, biasing thoughts, emotions, and body health
• Resolution of the damage done by the invasion of space
• Recovery requires the rebuilding of faith, confidence, and willingness to try again.
• I must overcome those strong mental images, voices, and feelings that shout, "NO, you can't do that, you'll be hurt."
• I must reprogram my mind, heart, expectations, faith, hope, and belief that with sufficient effort, support, prayer, and a knowledge of God's will, that I am adequate to the task.
• Invasion of psychic space
• We are all connected on one level, and while we cannot read another person's mind, we can see their condition, and resonate
• Our sense of safety can be violated, by the presence of a threat
• Our sense of trust, openness, vulnerability can be damaged by experiencing an invasion of our physical space
• Invasion of group space
• Damage could be to friends, family, town, nation, planet
• Survival or pain is threatened, now a possibility, now that it has happened somewhere it can happen anywhere, maybe here, maybe to me
• Ultimately the threat is one of personal harm, or fear of harm to loved ones
• The breaking of the interpersonal bonds by death is personal
• The hurt/pain of another person irritates our own psychic pain receptors, and the heart feels the pain
• Susceptibility to PTSD
• 1 out of 10 people who go through trauma will have a long term sequella to the trauma
• Early counseling, helping put the trauma into perspective allows people to release it, and let it go into the past as just another memory
• If a memory is retained as a current pain, it will be as though the hurt, pain, threat is ongoing
• Sleep, REM dreaming, appear to be times when the body rewires, and resets itself
• Pray for protection, divine will, guidance.
• Listen for that divine direction. Know the voice of God, and be aware of His ways.
• Reading the Bible regularly (every day) is the best way to learn God's voice.
• Know that God is ultimately in charge. Evil happens, it is a free will universe, but God can work good from the evil, if we are dedicated to God's purposes.
• Know that every pain can eventually produce greater pleasure.

 

Secondary Trauma

• Any life event may remind us of another event. Similar events bring up similar memories. Traumatic imagery(viewing the 911 events) may bring up avoidant feelings (fear of similar events) or memories of past personal trauma (appearing as though current)..
• Reactivation of old memories
• Memories have associated with them feelings of pain, helplessness, threat of harm, fear of harm
• Opening old wounds
• Memories and feelings of past experiences of trauma
• If it has not been put in perspective, then it will be easily opened
• Old wounds can be closed, but not healed if they are simply forgotten, put out of mind, displaced from current reality by the crowding out of time
• Processing the past
• Attempting to come to peace about the times where I have been the offender
• The perpetrator may be tormented by guilt, remorse, self condemnation, fear of reprisal
• The perpetrator may come to peace and resolution by confession, reparation, repentance, and coming to the commitment to never offend again.
• Attempting to understand it
• I must understand why I have been the victim of a perpetrator or traumatic event
• What was the meaning of this event?
• Was it random? Was I deserving of repayment for the evil I had done? Was this simply God working out His will?
• Was I simply a victim of the evil in this world? Have I been unwise in my judgement of the risks associated with people and situation?
• I need to understand how to prevent being perpetrated against in the future.
• Be aware of your environment
• Have an action plan ready, and rehearsed for certain events
• Hold life easy, know that you will do all that you can do, and that is all that is expected
• To try to save your life (always stressed) is to lose it
• Be aware of the clues that could have warned of danger and trauma of a past event
• I must realize that random events happen which have no warning, and cannot be prepared for
• Relax into the grace of God
• Know that you have your responsibility to do what you can to protect yourself
• You must release the unknown, and unknowables to God's Providence, and His ability to bring good things from bad
• E.g. Hiroshima, WTC, Oklahoma City -- there truly are victims who are not responsible for that which befell them
• Preparing self with new behavior strategies to prevent a similar event occurring in the future
• Perspective
• Putting things in proper significance
• Bad things happen
• Some bad things happen because of the bad things I do
• Some bad things happen because of random forces acting together to create disasters.
• Mechanical failures: cars, airplanes, boats
• Natural Disasters: Tornados, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, forest fires, lightning, snow, hail
• Structural failures: buildings, dams, towers
• Coincident random loss of attention by two drivers who arrive at the same point and collide.
• Random attraction between two people, who fall in love, and have children who have genetic birth defects
• Some bad things happen because of the bad character and evil in some people's hearts
• Mass murders
• Serial rapists
• Terrorist activities
• Theft, vandalism, mugging, revenge
• War, tyranny, concentration camps
• Healing the actual wounds
• The actual physical damage must be repaired
• Further injury must be prevented due to the susceptibility and defenselessness of the damaged tissue
• Exit from the area of potential future harm
• Doing all you can to prevent it from happening again
• Be aware of potential threats
• Look for a situation with a similar environment
• Judge the character and behavior of those you call friends, associates, confidants, and trading partners
• Dwelling upon hurt, whether current, or past, produces an activation of the body.
• Activation to deal with a real current threat to avoid harm is appropriate and natural.
• Activation associated with a threat that is far distant, or remote in time is inappropriate, distracting, and may be debilitating.
• Adrenal hormone activation (Cortisol & DHEA) provides increased blood sugar for energy to muscles and increased awareness to the brain.
• Activation of the fight or flight response in the sympathetic nervous system (Epinephrine & Nor epinephrine), increased breath rate, reduced digestive circulation & motility, increased blood flow to brain allowing rapid cognition & heightened awareness.

 

Types of Stress

• Acute (strong insults)
• Death of loved one
• Loss of Job
• Divorce
• Illness of family or friends
• Assault, robbery, threats to safety
• Financial loss, bankruptcy, investment failure
• Chronic (Low level irritations)
• Stress due to illness
• Being bedridden can be very stressful, limiting activities, reducing accomplishment of dreams and duty
• Limb debility -- body handicaps create needs for
• Metabolic deficiency: Chronic Fatigue, Adrenal depletion (Addison's),
• Mental deterioration
• Alzheimer, Parkinson's, MS, other neurodegenerative Diseases
• Brain cell deterioration: Dementia of the elderly
• Circulatory: Strokes, TIA, post CABG (Bypass surgery)
• Drug alteration of mental function
• Recreational
• Anxiety, depression mood drugs
• Lithium
• Schizophrenia drugs
• Lifestyle
• Business:
• Payroll, Taxes
• Sales, inventory, management
• Deadlines
• Legal troubles, Audits, mergers
• Promotion, demotion, transfers, layoff, hiring
• Personal
• Mortgage, rent, utilities, credit card debt, Bankruptcy
• Vacation, travel, holidays
• Parent, friend, spouse, family illness
• Social events, school, exams, graduation, finding a school or job, promotions, demotions,
• Malnourishment (Anorexia, Cancer, Anxiety)
• Sleep deprivation
• Marital/Relationship difficulties
• Child rearing problems (illness, truancy, drug use, pregnancy, disrespectful)

 

Chronic effects of stress effects (Possible)

• Energy problems
• Chronic Fatigue -- often precipitated by an episode of severe, and prolonged stress
• Fibromyalgia -- often precipitated by episodes of sleeplessness, especially. insomnia for 3 days or more
• Immune system problems
• Susceptibility to infection, immune activity depressed
• Poor immune recognition of defective cells, allowing cancer cells to grow unchecked
• Allergies
• Recurrent infections
• Cognitive difficulties
• Memory
• Concentration diminished
• Learning problems
• Sleep disorders
• Nightmares
• Sleeplessness
• Gastointestinal disorders
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Crohn's Disease
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Stomach ulcers
• Nausea & vomiting
• Nervous/compulsive eating
• Flatulence
• Psychological disorders
• Claustrophobia
• Agoraphobia
• Anxiety
• Generalized anxiety about life stimuli
• Panic attacks, Panic Disorder -- extreme episodes of disabling, consuming, irrational panic
• Sensation of dying, doom, body failure, immanent peril
• Over reaction to mental imagery and body sensations
• Depression
• Sadness, weeping
• Hopelessness, despair
• Withdrawal
• Flashbacks
• Waking nightmares, hallucinations, vivid memories that fully occupy the consciousness and perspective)
• Anger Control problems
• Angry outbursts
• Generalized angry attitude
• Reflexive reaction of anger to many/most stimuli
• Behavior Disorders
• Cardiovascular problems
• Angina
• Palpitations
• Hypertension
• Musculoskeletal problems
• Arthritis
• Low back pain
• Headache
• Migraines
• Tension headache
• Neck & shoulder tension
• Skin problems
• Hives
• Inflammatory cells, mast cells, lodged in the skin, releasing inflammatory cytokines, causing large red wheels to appear within minutes
• Eczema
• Eczema -- inflammatory, allergic component
• Psoriasis
• Cellular proliferation condition, aggravated by stress
• Pruritus
• Itching of skin in various spots
• Sexual disorders
• Impotence
• Vulvodynia (Vaginal pain syndrome)

 

Stages of Stress Response

• Activation
• Resistance
• Exhaustion

 

Coping with Stress

• Sleep well
• Take a nap daily
• Deal with stressful situations before going to bed, know that you have done all that you can do.
• Pray for the resolution of stressful situations -- release the part you cannot do into God's hands
• Relax and rest in His arms.
• Confess your wrongs to those you have wronged, repent, ask for forgiveness, vow to avoid future trespasses.
• Pay your debts
• Work hard, use the time of rest as a reward for your work.
• Engage in positive social interactions
• Marry the person you love
• Productive, useful, stable, adequate employment
• Spend time with circle of friends
• Learn to love the person you are married to
• Exercise
• Therapeutic Exercise
• Exercise that is prescribed for recovery from a condition -- e.g. after an MI, surgery, accident
• Physical therapy
• Massage, deep, muscle relaxing, blood flow stimulating
• Range of movement, challenging the limits when there is restriction of ROM
• Stretching
• Ligament, tendon, and muscle challenging
• Stretch only to limits of flexibility, and then slightly farther for toning, rehabilitation
• Resistance training
• Toning
• Muscle Building
• Aerobic Exercise
• Long distance, low impact, energy burning, heart/lung toning
• Walking, biking, swimming, skiing..
• Any sport done at slow speed where the heart rate is below (220-Age) x .8 or less
• Rule of thumb, you should be able to talk without pausing to pant or breathe
• Anaerobic Exercise
• Strong exercise -- short bursts of high output, i.e. to the point where you must breathe deeply and rapidly.
• (Be careful not to hurt your joints, or overstress your heart. Know you limits. Do not engage in this if you have not prepared for such heavy exercise.)
• This is very therapeutic for excreting and metabolizing stress hormones (epinephrine)
• Breathe Deep
• Sit erect, don't cramp your lung-space
• Slow deep breathing, long inhale, long exhale -- accompany this with visualization, see your problems exhaled to God -- inhale life and strength from His Spirit
• Try abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing, expand the lungs by pushing the air in and out by extending and contracting the abdomen
• Develop personal interests
• Engage in a hobby, avocation, skill (music, collecting, sports, crafts, writing, reading...)
• Watch sports, play sports, learn about your sport
• Take classes to broaden your understanding and knowledge of the world
• Read books, write letters, maintain friendships, reach out and share your life with others
• Keep involved in the news, be aware of the larger society, find a problem bigger than yourself
• Proper nourishment
• Keep well hydrated, 8 glasses per day
• Supplement with multi vitamin, multi mineral, trace mineral, enzymes, acidophilous, fiber
• Eat in the "Zone" to moderate blood sugar. 40/30/30 combination of protein, fats, and carbohydrates by calories.
• Take special nutrients to support any weak organ tissue
• Herbal Adaptogens
• Withania
• Panax
• Eleutherococcus
• Herbal Calmatives
• Valeriana
• Avena
• Cimicifuga
• Paassiflora
• Humulus
• Scutellaria
• Tilia
• Nutrient Calmatives
• 5HTP
• Pyridoxal 5 Phosphate
• Magnesium
• Niacinamide
• Tyrosine
• B Complex
• Homeopathic Stress Remedies
• Arnica
• Bach Flower Remedies

 

Healing from Trauma

• Phase 1: Acute: Emergency Phase
• The time of actual injury
• The actual trauma, the incident of damage
• Starting at the moment of first awareness of loss or injury
• The post trauma emergency recovery time
• Ambulance, hospital, IV, operation, stabilization
• Police called, evidence taken, reports made
• Phase 2: Post impact Phase 8-12 weeks
• The time of coming to grips with the reality of the trauma
• Reliving the moment of loss, injury, death, or pain
• Questioning reality, denial that it is really true, hoping it will all go away, trying to forget it
• Anger at the loss, the perpetrator, God, self
• Looking for someone to blame, trying to understand the meaning of the loss
• Going through the symptoms of trauma
• Fear
• Hyper-arousal
• Anxiety
• Urge to avoid
• Phase 3: Restoration Phase
• Gradual recovery
• Physical recovery from trauma takes time
• Emotional, mental, spiritual recovery takes time
• Be patient, be expectant, be thankful, be gentle with yourself
• Observe the process. You have a body, you are not the body.
• Nourish your body and heart with food, and the Word
• Lessening of symptoms with time
• With time memories, emotional activation, naturally decays, this is the normal response of the nervous system. The tincture of time cures many ills simply by allowing them to fade.
• The nervous system is stimulated by that which is currently irritating, stimulating, activating it
• If the trauma is not ongoing, and life has other stimuli in it, then the trauma will gradually, and normally fade as the nervous system focuses on other stimuli
• Implementation of recovery program
• Talk, share, spend time with people
• Spend time with people who are also suffering. Support, share, commiserate. Share your thoughts, feelings, memories. Make it real. Get it what happened. Relive it, accept it for what it was.
• Spend time with people who have gone through what you are going through and have been successful. Learn from their wisdom
• Spend time with healthy people, people who are not in a state of shock and trauma, gain strength from them.
• Re-establish your life habits.
• Fill your life with ordinary activities
• Go to work, play, travel, visit, be with family
• Trauma is any extraordinarily painful time of loss and pain. Life has these kinds of moments in it. Life must not be consumed with dwelling on the past or excessive preparation for and avoidance of future such pains
• Grieving the loss is part of the healing process
• Grief is the emotion experienced in reaction to the reality of loss.
• It is necessary to embrace the reality of the loss suffered due to trauma
• Losing anything, tangible or intangible can cause grief
• Loss of a job, possession, home
• Loss of innocence, loss of control, loss of reputation
• Loss of limb, body function, beauty
• Loss of faith, hope, love, trust
• Loss of family, friends to death, disaster, displacement, and/or alienation
• Grieving is essentially the process of assimilating new reality. Loss must be accepted as real, as final. The remnants of life must be embraced and they must fill up the old life.
• Grief is the experience of the pain associated with the loss. Loss is a natural and divinely implanted pain. We must feel attachment to our possessions, friends, abilities, and territory.
• When those attachments are broken, there must be a time of remembrance and experiencing of the pain of loss, and it must be followed by a time of reestablishing attachments to new territory, new friends, new skills, new possessions.
• Honor the memory of your lost possession, loved one, skill, or feelings. Recognize that it is impossible to exactly replace that loss. Honor the memory, the contribution, the place that person (or possession) held. No need to forget, leave or abandon. Simply let them be. present in your life, but not in this world.
• Expect that the trauma will eventually produce a blessing, a new richness in your life.
• Ally with other survivors, people or groups committed to dealing with this form of loss and pain
• Consider using this experience as a time to establish meaning and life purpose
• Purpose can be found in making life better for other victims of the same trauma
• Take care of your body
• Take care of your body
• Work, walk, stretch, exercise
• Engage in sports & recreational activities
• Eat healthy, well balanced, nutritious, natural foods
• Take supplements to support body function and replace stress induced losses
• Stay away from immune stressors: avoid getting chilled, stay away from damp environments, protect self from wind and elements
• Stress depresses the immune system: stay away from infectious vectors and environments
• Get adequate rest
• Sleep well
• Go to bed early and get up early
• Get 8-9 hours of sleep
• Take a nap during the day, mid afternoon after noon meal
• Allow the body to repair during this time of increased demand
• .When you have disturbing thoughts come up engage in one of the thought replacement therapies
• Fill yourself with the ideas and positivity that you want to become
• Read and memorize scripture, dwell on the meaning of those words, pray for a deeper insight into those scriptures
• Distract yourself by doing something you enjoy.
• Visualize yourself doing the new, positive behavior that you wish to replace the old behaviors, thoughts, and fears
• Praise God for the healing, be thankful for the times when you are not disturbed
• Live in expectation of healing, health, new beginnings, change, transformation, freedom from fear and torment
• See a counselor
• Talk to a counselor if the symptoms persist or you find that your life pattern is disrupted
• Make sure that you have someone to talk with -- the proof of adequate support is whether or not you feel better, cleaner, more settled, as a result of the conversation
• Counseling may bring up old issues that were not well/thoroughly processed before. This may bring up old feelings.
• Processing old stuff is healing if it is done in a manner that puts it in perspective, reframes the loss, places the loss/pain in a larger more meaningful context.
• Adapt and grow as a result of this incident
• Use it as inspiration to change your life in some important way that you now see is a better, more important, part of your life direction
• View the experience as positive in the overall outcome, how God has blessed you in response to the pain.

 

Please send your comments to Thomas Lee Abshier, ND. This document was updated 1/9/02.