Author: Joy Forrest

Those of us who work with trauma survivors understand their proclivity to panic attacks. Fear takes over, and even though logic tells them they are safe, their bodies do not get the message. Like David in Psalm 55:5-6, they could describe “anguish within,” “fear and trembling” taking over, and “horror “overwhelming them. We’ve all experienced this sort of thing in our lives, perhaps when we’ve come close to a collision while driving or watched a loved one take a hard fall. A somatic fear response is a normal God-given response to danger, but people with post-traumatic stress (PTS)[1] experience these symptoms in the absence of current danger—when the smallest reminder of past danger triggers their internal fight or flight (adrenaline) response. Since panic stemming from trauma arises from the autonomic parts of our brain, it seems clear that remedying it requires methods that transcend reason alone. Continue Reading →