OP/ED
The following article is the third installment of a five-week series focusing on raising awareness about domestic violence. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and we hope to educate our community on this very important issue. In our communities, the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center has been serving victims of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and child abuse since 1978. Last year, HCWC served 2,060 victims of abuse (face-to-face) primarily from Hays and Caldwell Counties. 1,044 of those were victims of domestic violence.
Traumatic experiences such as abuse, assault or witnessing violence can have an impact on emotions, relationships, and even in your physical and mental health. Lately, there has been a particular interest in learning more about neurobiology, which is the study of the brain and the nervous system, including how they function when trauma occurs; but also, about the ability of the brain to adapt and change throughout life, also known as neuroplasticity.
The brain is constantly responding, building and adapting to environmental experiences, therefore, after encountering trauma, the brain changes in a physical level where some of its areas like the amygdala, the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex and the broader nervous system, that originally work together to process emotions, motivation, memory, rational thought and many more skills, now have a hard time to apply reason and logic, consequently, to distinguish the past from the present, threats from safety, anxiety over composure, causing a lot of dysregulation. Dysregulation can lead to mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, in addition to diseases like diabetes obesity, muscle tension, problems with sleep, gut, etc.
Fortunately, the brain is one of the most amazing parts of the body, and it can also heal if actions are taken to reverse the effects of trauma. Therapy for example, is an exceptional tool to increase resiliency and a change of mindset. It is also important to try alternative techniques such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness, all of them work toward increasing the sense of self-compassion, have a better mind–body relationship and help develop coping skills. Writing exercises, like journaling, can help with processing, clarifying, and understanding thoughts, memories and behaviors, results that are one of the major goals when adventuring into the journey of healing and wellness.
HCWC provides trauma informed services to survivors of abuse in our communities including many licensed counselors with specialties in various counseling modalities. If you have previously or are currently experiencing domestic violence and need help processing your trauma, please call our 24-hour HELPline at 512-396-4357 to talk to our advocates and learn more about counseling and group therapy options for survivors.
