Trauma + The Body Part III: Reiki

By

Lexi Sheehan, Certified Orenda Trauma Coach, Certified Reiki Practitioner

Ripples of Trauma

The National Council for Mental Wellbeing has estimated 70% of adults in the United States, 223.4 Million people have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. Each event, big or small, creates major ripples in our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual bodies and has the ability to shift our entire lives. Alex Howard, founder of the Optimum Health Clinic, describes Trauma as how the event echos in our life.  

With the help of leading research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder we are beginning to understand the lifelong consequences of trauma. Equally, we are learning that people with PTSD are not the only ones who are affected by trauma. Those in the helping professions such as medical personnel, doctors, nurses, first responders, emergency workers, fire fighters, police, therapists, social workers, reporters and even energy workers can experience the effects of trauma vicariously, thus learning to live in a dysregulated state.

But not all hope is lost. People can, and do, recover from trauma. By making a priority of our healing journey, our lives are transformed as a result. 

More Than The Trauma

The National Council suggests both traditional treatments, like CBT and EMDR, and alternative treatments, like energy processing and massage therapy, are needed to manage balance in our systems. Reiki is an energy processing technique that quiets the rippling and introduces a new frequency to the system, therefore interrupting the trauma cycle – if even for a brief moment. Reiki can be used by anyone to help recenter and shift from the activated sympathetic into parasympathetic modes. 

Just as people have different perceptions of trauma as well as different responses and symptoms, no two Reiki sessions are the same. The session is truly individualized to meet the person exactly where they are and address their unique concerns. Regardless of any diagnosis, the practitioner is trained to simply follow the energy. Reiki energy will bring a sense of calm and stillness to the spirit in order to heal the body at a physical level and will always bring healing to what the person needs. Reiki helps enhance the person’s own self-healing response.

A session can be described as meditating, but with someone. The ‘with someone’ can be crucial when treating trauma-related symptoms because it bears witness to the person’s presence. A presence that is more than the trauma.

When someone is used to existing in survival mode, this way of living dominates the human experience. 

Healing With Reiki

Reiki can be used to help a person see themselves as the human beyond the event or beyond their symptoms. After a program was implemented at the Northport VA Medical Center on Long Island to train Clinical staff in various holistic modalities including Reiki, meditation, guided imagery, and reflexology, vets reported powerful testimonies after Reiki sessions:

“I have never showed any emotion related to my survivor guilt. The Reiki helped me to let the emotions out.” (Vietnam vet)

“I can’t believe my pain is decreased. The narcotics can’t do that.”

“I have not been able to relax since Iraq. The Reiki allows me to relax for the first time.”

“I have started to do things I always wanted to do. I am no longer doing things I should not do. I am letting things go and not getting angry about everything. I am becoming who I really am.” I am like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly.”

As we learn more about the consequences trauma has to our mind, body and spirit, we are equally learning more about treatments that are proving to be beneficial in balancing a previously dysregulated system. Working with a trauma-informed Reiki practitioner, along with traditional medical and psychological care, is one way to heal the ripples and echoes of trauma to create lasting change in our lives.

If you are interested in trauma-informed reiki, it Lexi Sheehan offers this service through Integrative Trauma Treatment Center. Reiki is offered remotely to anyone, anywhere in the world. https://traumacenternw.com/reiki-and-trauma/#