Before reading this article, please take a moment to "self-regulate:" keeping your eyes open, feel your body in the chair, or your feet on the earth; slow and deepen your breathing a bit; focus on your heart area and imagine breathing in and out of your heart. Put a feeling of gratitude for someone or something into your heart area, and hold it there. Note how you feel now, versus a minute or two ago.
This is a simple "HeartMath" exercise that helps bring the physical and emotional body to greater "coherence" or regulation. When we are regulated, we can process our experiences, think better, solve problems, make decisions, and connect to others. If we are in a dysregulated state, often triggered by threatening experiences, we run a greater risk of developing trauma patterns that wreak devastating effects on individuals, families, and entire communities.
Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB) uses HeartMath when we are working in the field doing disaster / trauma relief work, and we teach it to our patients so they can better regulate themselves. Like HeartMath, acupuncture has a profoundly regulating impact on a person, which is why AWB uses ear acupuncture to prevent and reduce trauma in vulnerable communities affected by violence, social injustice, environmental devastation, and disaster.
The Trauma Pandemic
The CoVid pandemic is a disaster unlike any we have faced in a century. It presents a traumatic situation for everyone in the world, with some people carrying greater burden than others. Many of us have felt anger, denial and shock in response to "normal" life changing so quickly. We adapt because we have to: suddenly we close our offices, work from home, wear PPE, put ourselves in harm's way if we are essential workers, and try to support our kids who are supposed to learn like they're in school. We shoulder the stress of displaying confidence and competence on the outside, while struggling internally with deep distress about an uncertain future.
And that's if we are relatively privileged and resourced. Some of us have suffered extreme isolation, gotten sick, lost loved ones, worked in dangerous conditions, faced food insecurity, suffered domestic violence, lost our jobs, home and health care, as well as our sense of purpose and internal motivation. Some of us find that old traumas are suddenly triggered and that our coping ability has fallen away.
While we are all at risk-of getting CoVid, and of developing post-traumatic stress, some people are more vulnerable: Front-line health workers, first responders, essential workers, people of color, refugees, young people growing up in violent homes, elders, and the chronically ill are at even greater risk of developing both the virus and long-lasting trauma.
Preventing and Healing With CHinese Medicine
What can we, as Chinese medicine practitioners, do to prevent and heal the "trauma pandemic" that has started, and will continue long after the infection is under control? We can creatively use the physical, energetic and spiritual gifts of Chinese medicine.
Start with yourself. As the biblical proverb says, "Physician, Heal thyself!" Losing heart – the ability to hope, envision, connect to yourself and others – is something that can happen in response to a planet-altering threat. Give yourself time and space to process how this disaster has affected you; do the things you know can bring you to greater regulation (sleep, exercise, acupuncture, qi gong, meditation, dance, music, talking and laughing with loved ones). You know you are in trouble if you are more irritable than usual, can't sleep or eat, and/or can't focus. One of the keys is to go to your heart and take care of it emotionally and energetically. (This is where HeartMath helps!)
Assume that most people need trauma-healing support. If you are able to work out in the world with a relative sense of safety, consciously integrate trauma healing into your practice.
Educate yourself about trauma-informed care.While Chinese medicine offers many tools for healing the body, mind and spirit, we often do not receive professional training in how to best provide trauma-informed care. TIC principles include trustworthiness, equity, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and safety – qualities trauma-care providers consciously cultivate in their healing practices.
There are differences between working with trauma patterns and pain / disease patterns. For example, while you might ask many questions about how your patient broke their wrist, or developed gallbladder pain, you would not ask them to tell you their "trauma story." This could reactivate or trigger a flashback, or re-experiencing of the traumatic event(s), and reinforce the trauma pattern.
Work with other practitioners to provide community-based trauma healing care. Offering community-based care (ear acupuncture in groups, qi gong class, yoga or meditation groups) is a powerful way to cultivate individual "regulation," and reduce trauma-induced isolation. It is extremely important to re-create social connection as we can do so safely, and group healing can help contradict the alienation of physical distancing, mask wearing, and self-isolation which reinforces trauma patterns. Working with other acupuncturists on a team is an important part of not feeling isolated as a provider.
Adapt Chinese medicine healing practices to different phases of recovery. As I write this, most practitioners are still not able to practice acupuncture safely in-person. However, any acupuncturists have creatively used telemedicine to offer herbal medicine, nutritional counseling, acupressure tips, moxa instruction, and social support to their patients. Some have created online meditation, qi gong, tai chi, and exercise classes.
Our Commitment
AWB has converted its in-person Healing Community Trauma course into an online offering; made an instructional video for front-line workers to self-apply ear seeds; distributed hundreds of ear seed kits to health/essential workers;, and set up free telemedicine herb consults for front-line workers with herbs donated by the Mayway Corporation.
As we go out into the world again, we can titrate our practices to fit changing public health and safety guidelines. For example, community ear acupuncture treatments, AWB's primary trauma-healing tool in the field, are easy to provide safely with appropriate physical distancing and provider / patient safety in outdoor settings (where we often provide treatments in the field). Likewise, outdoor qi gong classes are easy to organize with physical distancing in a big enough space (parking lots and parks are great).
Chinese medicine has given us effective ways to treat CoVid-19 with virus-clearing herbs, acupuncture, moxa and more. It's also given us tools to treat the trauma pandemic, which parallels and outlives the infection itself. AWB is committed to helping our profession deepen its understanding of trauma-informed care, and prepare practitioners to reduce the traumatic impact of this pandemic. We will do our part to regulate ourselves, nurture our collective heart, reduce suffering, inspire hope and resilience, connect to Nature, and strengthen our communities. The world needs the trauma-healing power of Chinese medicine more than ever.
Author's Note: Healing Community Trauma in Times of Crisis is a 30-hour online PDA course that will prepare you to provide trauma-informed care in the field, in group settings, and private practice. Click here to learn more.
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