Touch
Touch, as we think about it, is based on mechanoreceptors which monitor the perception of pain, heat, temperature, pressure, vibration and position. Prevailing thought from a Western medical perspective, there is no expectation that touch should treat or heal anything. Nonetheless, its effect must exert some evolutionary advantage.
Why touch is so important?
As well as cultivating self-esteem, and a sense of value and love, the criticality of nurturing touch for development was demonstrated by early studies showing that infants raised without touch had 30%-100% higher death rates. Furthermore, touch-deprived infants have impaired development of brain and body chemistry. Touch as an infant is critical; it means we are not abandoned. The sensation of physical touch not only plays a significant role in social communication; but also the development and maintenance of a healthy body and mind relies on regular nurturing touch.
Our bodies are electrical-chemical entities. ANY sensory input — anything you see, hear, smell, taste or feel — is transduced into an electrical/ chemical signal that is sent to the brain in order to be perceived. The electrical part of that signal can be measured in frequencies. Different frequencies cause the body to release different chemicals. Frequencies range from very fast (30-100Hz) called Gamma waves, to very slow frequencies (0.5–4 Hz) called Delta waves. The release of Delta waves during Havening Touch release relaxation response chemicals like oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine. Dopamine affects the immune system, protecting the brain and body from excessive inflammation. Oxytocin is released into our bodies during social bonding and nurturing touch, promoting well-being, especially following trauma. Oxytocin is also highly concentrated in the limbic regions, such as the amygdala, where it promotes more accurate discrimination of threats and facilitates adaptive behavioral responses. Additionally, activating Delta waves during wakefulness inhibit amygdala activity during recollection of a traumatic or stressful event. Furthermore, cortisol secretion, the stress hormone, is diminished with a soothing touch.
Self-Havening
Self-Havening is an incredible and highly versatile technique that offers unlimited potential to tap into our own innate ability to soothe, regulate, calm and strengthen our nervous systems. Self-Havening sends signals to our brain which allows it to calm down and change how we think and feel in the moment; and when used in regular practice, builds our resilience to consistently promote nervous system regulation and positive sense of self.
Self-Havening is used to enhance your capacity for presence, focus, and attention, allowing for deeper engagement and mindfulness. By incorporating Self-Havening techniques, you will strengthen resilience, enabling you to bounce back from challenging situations with greater ease. Utilizing Self-Havening allows for focus on accessing and magnifying positive states of being, fostering a sense of well-being, happiness, and contentment. Self-Havening specifically targets the reduction of distress experienced in the present moment, providing relief from overwhelming emotions and promoting a sense of calm.
Self-Havening for Self Love!
Havening = Resilience
Resilience is a term that has different meanings in different contexts, but generally refers to the ability to cope with or overcome challenges, difficulties, or adversities. Resilience is not a fixed trait that some people have and others don’t, but rather a skill that can be learned and practiced. Resilience can help people cope with stress, trauma, loss, change, and uncertainty. Resilience can also help people grow and thrive from their experiences, rather than being overwhelmed or defeated by them.
A number of factors contribute to how well people adapt to adversities, predominant among them:
the ways in which individuals view and engage with the world
the availability and quality of social resources
specific coping strategies
Havening Techniques allows our brains to develop, grow and maintain protective resilience to guard against future traumas and/or stressors. Havening Touch helps the brain make more Delta Waves, which can make the client feel more positive and happy over time. We can help the client remember or imagine good things that make them feel good, and use different Havening methods to make those feelings stronger and last longer. This way, the client can have a stronger and healthier brain, which can protect them from future stress, help them recover from difficulties, and make them enjoy life more.
The Hijacked Amygdala
“Why do I react this way?!”
We essentially have two primary ways our brain functions; with our rational side, and our emotional side. Our rational side is mostly guided by our newest formed area of our brain; our Cortex regions. Our emotional side uses, primarily, our “older” region; our Limbic Region. This area of the brain is what starts to “flare up” when we experience emotions such as fear, anger, frustration, or anxiety. Basically, emotions that would be opposite of calm, content, and joy.
It has been described that when it comes to the two functions; rational and emotional, the space they hold has to equal 100%. What this means is if we are calm and content, our rational brain can function at 100%. If we are frightened, or start to get into a heated argument, our emotional brain if “firing up”, and starts to increase its’ percentage. And for each percentage our emotional brain takes, our rational brain loses.
Have you ever experienced or witnessed someone getting so upset they don’t even seem to be able to make sense anymore? Or, a person is in a crisis situation and they seem to not be able to “think clearly” or just work off of reflex? When we experience an increase in unpleasant emotions, we give up a portion of our rational thinking.
Why do I always blow up? Why do I react with such fear/avoidance? What makes me worry things are not going to go well?
This all starts in the Limbic System! Specifically, our little Amygdala.
What is our Amygdala?
When we start to feel fear, or anger, our Amygdala has already been hard at work in less than a blink of an eye! Our Amygdala is working to determine…
Is this a threat?
Do I need to put my defenses up?
Do I need to fight harder or run?
And when our Amygdala gets really worked up (remember the percentages), we lose our ability to think clearly, and we start acting fully on how we are feeling in the moment. This can result in a “Hijacked Amygdala”. This can look like explosive rage, panic attack, or complete state of feeling frozen.
