Response to Trauma
The involuntary and instinctual parts of our brains that are activated by a perceived life threatening situation are the parts similar to animal brains. That’s why we can learn much from studying how certain prey animals avoid traumatization.
One key to healing trauma in humans lies in mimicing wild animals when they complete their cycle of experiencing the incident by ‘shaking off or playing out’ their trauma.
This way they pass through the immobility response and become fully flexible and functional again. Human cultures act this out through particular dance-offs like Flamenco, etc.
We humans have often a problem with deciding whether to act or not act. This dilemma may stem from the fact that our species has played the role of both predator and prey. Prehistoric peoples spent many hours huddled together, as they could be under attack any time during day or night.
Chances for survival increased as they gathered together, discovered fire, and invented tools for hunting and self defense. However, the memory of being easy prey has persisted in our nervous system and muscle tissue.
