{"id":2898,"date":"2024-12-15T09:14:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T14:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/?p=2898"},"modified":"2024-12-15T09:14:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T14:14:04","slug":"lifting-weights-a-path-to-healing-from-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/2024\/12\/15\/lifting-weights-a-path-to-healing-from-trauma\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifting Weights: A Path to Healing from Trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trauma lives in both the mind and body. \u201c To people who are reliving a trauma, nothing makes sense; they are trapped in a life-or-death situation, a state of paralyzing fear or blind rage. Mind and body are constantly aroused, as if they are in imminent danger\u201d(<\/span>Van der Kolk, 2014, p.197). While traditional approaches to healing include therapies and medication, weightlifting is yet another avenue for trauma recovery that is overlooked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similar to activities such as yoga and mindfulness, weightlifting offers some of the same benefits. <\/span>\u201cActivities such as yoga and mindfulness can help to redirect the firing of neurons, or even create new neurons through two processes, called neuroplasticity and neurogenesis\u201d(Rousseau, 2024, p.9). Lifting weights has been shown to affect similar pathways as yoga, mindfulness, and meditation. In addition the act of lifting weights has been shown to be \u201c<\/span> an <\/span>effective adjunct intervention in the treatment of psychological trauma and trauma-related disorders. Weight lifting has been associated with improvements in symptoms of PTSD (<\/span>Whitworth et al., 2017<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>2019<\/span><\/a>), reductions in substance use (<\/span>Unhjem et al., 2016<\/span><\/a>), improved self-efficacy (<\/span>O’Connor et al., 2010<\/span><\/a>), increased social connection, and the formation of empowering self-identity in the aftermath of trauma (<\/span>Nowakowski-Sims et al., 2023<\/span><\/a>)\u201d(Vigue et al., 2023, p.1). It is also worth noting that engaging in regular exercise \u201c<\/span>is associated with lower sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity\u201d(Anderson and Shivakumar, 2013, p.1). This system that is positively affected controls the release of cortisol and adrenaline. Both of these hormones are often dysregulated in those with a history of trauma. Much research also points to the fact that weight lifting causes the release of endorphins and serotonin which helps with mood stabilization and emotional resilience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Weightlifting as a path to healing from trauma provides many benefits. These include leaving individuals feeling empowered, body awareness and connection, structure and routine, and helps to get out pent up energy and aggression. All of these benefits are helpful in successfully healing from trauma. Another benefit is that weightlifting is more accessible than other forms of healing such as therapies and medications prescribed by doctors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While weightlifting has many benefits in healing from trauma it is important to note that healing is a journey that needs a combination of trauma-informed practices. Weightlifting combined with other methods such as therapies and medications can be more powerful in healing than just the use of one intervention. Overall weightlifting represents a powerful method for trauma healing. Through weightlifting individuals can be empowered and\u00a0 reconnect with their mind and bodies leading to a sense of control.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson, E., & Shivakumar, G. (2013). Effects of exercise and physical activity on anxiety. <\/span>Frontiers in psychiatry<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>4<\/span><\/i>, 27. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2013.00027<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Eva Nowakowski-Sims, Mariah Rooney, Dana Vigue, Savannah Woods,<\/span><\/p>\n

Eva Nowakowski-Sims, Mariah Rooney, Dana Vigue, Savannah Woods,<\/span><\/p>\n

A grounded theory of weight lifting as a healing strategy for trauma,Mental Health and Physical Activity,Volume 25,2023,100521,ISSN 1755-2966, <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.mhpa.2023.100521<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rousseau, D. (2024). Module 3: Neurobiology of Trauma Boston University<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Van der Kolk, B. A., & Pratt, S. (2021). <\/span>The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma<\/span><\/i>. Penguin Random House Audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vigue, D., Rooney, M., Nowakowski-Sims, E., & Woods, S. (2023). Trauma informed weight lifting: considerations for coaches, trainers and gym environments. <\/span>Frontiers in psychology<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>14<\/span><\/i>, 1224594. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1224594<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trauma lives in both the mind and body. \u201c To people who are reliving a trauma, nothing makes sense; they are trapped in a life-or-death situation, a state of paralyzing fear or blind rage. Mind and body are constantly aroused, as if they are in imminent danger\u201d(Van der Kolk, 2014, p.197). While traditional approaches to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24302,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2898"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2899,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2898\/revisions\/2899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}