A rapt group from Jersey City gathered in the wake of the recent hate-crime tragedies. One woman who was visibly shaken described suffering from several classic symptoms of post-trauma response: insomnia, nightmares and difficulty focusing on her work. Others added appetite changes, heart palpitations, hypervigilance and flashbacks of news video complete with the sound of volleys of live gunfire, bullets flying and the realization that some of those bullets claimed lives.
The interactive trauma-recovery workshop was provided by Ellie Wolf, MS, BCB, Fellow/BCIA and director of biofeedback services at Avita Integrative Care, a multi-dimensional psychology practice located in Fort Lee. Following the Wednesday-night vigil in Jersey City, Wolf spoke with Rabbi Leana Morrit, spiritual leader of Temple Beth-El, which hosted the vigil, and proposed holding this workshop to aid the community in its recovery process. The idea was to hold the workshop before the effects of the trauma could take up strong roots in the psyche of the members of the community.
Wolf provided a definition of trauma, indicating its medical signs and symptoms. A handout also provided the DSM 5’s [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition/American Psychiatric Association] now-broadened diagnostic criteria for trauma-related disorders. The criteria now include not just people who directly experience violence or injury, but also people who witness traumatic events, people with a close relative or family member who experienced trauma and people who are repeatedly exposed to the details of traumatic events.
Several people self-identified as experiencing trauma-related symptoms. Common PTSD symptoms could include, but are not limited to, unprovoked or unwarranted anger, insomnia, depression, increased startle, anxiety, hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts or memories, avoidance, flashbacks, isolation, fatigue, emotional numbing, nightmares, lack of trust, loss of concentration or suicidal thoughts.
Wolf introduced the biofeedback and stress-recovery work that she does. To start, everyone did a subjective self-assessment of their stress level using a tension/stress scale of 0-10. A person who had self-reported insomnia and anxiety volunteered for a biofeedback heart rate variability baseline demonstration, and self-assessed her stress level at 7 out of 10.
Simplified, heart rate variability is a feature of the electrocardiogram that measures the time interval between heart beats, and is one indicator of the heart’s ability to recover during and after stressful events. When trauma occurs and lingers, heart rate variability is frequently affected in a distinctive way that can be identified using this special filter of EKG. Better, or greater, heart rate variability is generally considered to be an indicator of better physical and mental health.
Wolf shared two well-documented stress recovery/resilience training techniques designed and known to strengthen and improve heart rate variability. One was a specific breathing technique, and the other was a heart rhythm/coherence-building technique centered around the various functions of the heart.
Practicing these techniques, a volunteer was monitored using a heart rate variability technology measurement tool on a screen that was visible to everyone. After seven minutes of training simultaneously with the two techniques, the biofeedback showed significant improvement, indicating movement towards stress recovery. Additionally, the person’s own subjective assessment of stress had now reduced from seven to four out of 10. She reported that she felt significantly calmer. Other participants who were not monitored also reported modest to significant reductions in their own subjective assessments of stress level.
Wolf recommended to the group that they regularly incorporate these two skills into their daily schedule, even twice a day for five to 10 minutes, or briefly anytime they felt the need. Maintaining the skills also builds resilience, which is as important as recovery itself.
To learn more about stress or trauma recovery and resilience for individuals, or stress-resilience group, corporate and business training workshops, contact Ellie Wolf at [email protected], subject line “attention Ellie Wolf,” or by calling 888-242-2732, ext 2.
