Page 342 - Total War on PTSD Final

For example, practicing open communication during their massage, paying attention to bodily sensations, recognizing triggers and excess tension as it arises and practicing overcoming them. These lessons are reiterated and bolstered by all staff in many encounters throughout the week so that they become ingrained in participants by the end of the week and can be readily accessed when needed. It is exciting to watch them learn and practice and apply their new tools in different situations as the week goes by. When they leave us to return home, most feel much more confident that they can apply the tools in daily life challenges. Massage generally has many benefits for just about everyone.
Touch is extremely important for the nervous system to remain aware of what’s going on in the body. It also helps increase blood and lymph circulation, enhances immune function, can help with injury healing, digestion, elimination, breathing, increase flexibility, improve sleep, decrease blood pressure, pain, and anxiety, and allow the body and mind to relax. It should give the recipient a feeling of well-being and even bliss, something we could all use more often.
Massage can be of particular benefit for our clients with PTS. It helps them experience a relaxed state, which may be rare for them and hard to attain. It can help the body to let go of old trauma and begin to heal and restore balance. A good balance of neurotransmitters and hormones will give them a feeling of well-being and will maintain long term health. The bodily awareness that gentle and focused touch can bring can make them aware of physical problems that may have been ignored or that are developing, so that they can be addressed before they become worse. Massage can bring a person "back into their body". Many people who have experienced trauma will dissociate from their body, and cannot really heal from it until they fully inhabit their
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