NEUTRALIZING APPROACHES
There are three basic approaches to resolving trauma (that I know of).
The bottom-up approach, the top-down approach and a combination of the two.
- Bottom-Up
The bottom-up approach focuses on the body and calming the nervous system first.
When the body and nervous system have calmed down, then the mental or emotional work of identifying and neutralizing the underlying trauma can be done.
The bottom-up approach works best for most people I have met.
Some people need to lean heavily into de-escalating (calming) first; otherwise, the emotional pain is too great or their thoughts are bouncing all over the place, making it impossible to get a handle on what the real underlying issue is. - Top-Down
The top-down approach is doing the emotional or mental work of identifying and neutralizing the underlying trauma first, and then the nervous system naturally calms down and gets regulated as a result.
The top-down approach works best for me.
I can move quickly or immediately into neutralizing with little to no de-escalation first, finding that my nervous system calms down as soon as I have done the emotional or mental work of neutralizing the past trauma.
(However, if my triggered reaction is very intense, I will sometimes need to take a bottom-up approach, and the intensity of my reaction will determine how much de-escalation I need to do to calm my nervous system down, before I can start to uncover and neutralize the anchor.) - Combo
It is possible to combine de-escalation and neutralizing and do them at the same time.
The most common way is to add rhythm - which is very calming and grounding to the nervous system - to a neutralizing technique.
Many neutralizing techniques can be done while walking, hiking, jogging, running, cycling or swimming (adding bilateral rhythm).
EMDR is a neutralizing technique, which has rhythm built into it in the form of bilateral (side to side) eye movements, sound, vibration or touch. Or it can be done while running or walking.
Addressing past trauma can be added to practically any de-escalation technique.
LIST OF TECHNIQUES
There are many techniques that can help us identify and resolve past trauma.
Which technique(s) a person will like is a matter of personal preference.
Over time I have tried many techniques and witnessed several others in action.
I can also use these techniques to neutralize limiting beliefs picked up randomly throughout life,
not just those related to trauma.
Here is a list of some neutralizing techniques and modalities that I know about:
-
Bottom-Up:
- Somatic Experiencing (SE) created by Peter Levine
SE 101 - BodyTalk - my own creation (see Meditation page)
- Sound Meditation - this evolved out for me out of a grounding technique and several meditation experiences I had (see Meditation page)
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) created by Francine Shapiro
Doing EMDR with a trained professional, at first, is generally recommended.
About EMDR
A self-EMDR process is described in the book And So We Begin by James M. (page 61) - Re-Evaluation Counseling (RC) created by Harvey Jackins
Origins of RC
About RC - Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) created by Richard Schwartz
IFS Model
About IFS - Family Constellations Therapy created by Bert Hellinger
What Is Family Constellations? - Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) created by Marisa Peer
- TAT™ (Tapas Acupressure Technique) created by Tapas Fleming
tatlife.com
Introduction to TAT - What is TAT?
TAT demo by Tapas Fleming - TAT pose and stoppers... with Tapas Fleming - Completion Process created by Teal Swan
The Completion Process Book
12-Step Completion Process Outline
Video - Completion Process
Video - Triggers - Emotions
Video - Unhook the perception of threat - Deeply Acknowledge inspired by Ben Ralston (see Anchors page)
Video - How to realease or let go buried feelings and suppressed feelings? - Breaking Agreements - inspired by Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements (see Anchors page)
- Graduation Ceremony - described in the book And So We Begin by James M. (pages 57-58)
- Thought Rhyming (part of Immanuel Journaling)(see the book Joyful Journey)
Worksheet Link - ABC Tool (by SMART Recovery) a Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) Approach
About ABC
Worksheet Link - Protector - evolved for me out of another technique and several concepts (see Regression page)
- Vulnerable Child - evolved for me out of a couple of other techniques (see Regression page)
- De-Resonator - evolved for me out of repeated use of another energy healing technique and several concepts (see Regression page)
Combo:
Top-Down:
SUPPORT
It can be very difficult to face unresolved trauma alone and to use any of these techniques by ourselves, especially at first.
It is super helpful to have someone guide us through a neutralizing technique 2-4 times.
After that, we may be able to do it on our own, especially if we have the instructions written down or recorded.
Sometimes professional support is necessary.