The clock says I’m resting during trauma treatment

Question: Hi, I’m a 50-year-old woman. I’m undergoing trauma treatment (EMDR) with a psychologist. Today was the toughest session so far. My body went through a crazy session of hysterical crying, fighting to get free, shaking and uncontrolled movements, stomping, my neck went hard from side to side, etc. It lasted many minutes and it was difficult to come back to the present. What’s so strange is that the watch thought I was resting, and I definitely wasn’t. I was completely knocked out for hours afterwards. The psychologist said my body was going through a marathon session. Have you seen anything similar with others?

Answer: Hi, That sounded interesting. It was quite clear on the watch that even though you were activated in the way you describe, your pulse shows that your stress level was low. I am not aware of anyone else’s results specifically during EMDR, but there are several who have reported that if they have been to the dentist, been tattooed, or similar situations, the measurements have been like yours.

As I often write, it is as if we are the first to be out on a new continent and discover unexpected things. I would like to believe that this is about a recreation of a threatening situation where you could not get out of it and felt stuck. A bit like the situation is also during EMDR. Possibly the part of the nervous system that comes into effect during threats is triggered. From the nature’s side, we may then have a tendency to slow down the heart rate and constrict the veins peripherally to slow down the blood circulation to the tissue. This is to avoid blood loss. These situations have been associated throughout history with someone hunting us, the danger of being bitten or scratched is great and with subsequent blood loss.

It is also possible that this is related to Stephen Borges’ polyvagal theory, where the dorsal part of the vagus nerve is stimulated during trauma and threats and increases the tendency to “freeze” the reaction.

It will be interesting to see if this is repeated in later EMDR treatments and if it also applies to other people. In general, EMDR is about reliving the traumatic situation while simultaneously making certain eye movements. The purpose is to reduce the emotional pressure from the trauma.

The fact that you react in this way is of course very interesting and can contribute to the understanding of what is happening during treatment.

For those who want to read a little more about this, I have added some links and excerpts from them below. So these are not answers with two underlines for now, but theories about what happens in the body during threatening situations.

Good luck and please update us!
Best regards, Dr. Torkil

Here is an explanation from this website: https://somaticmovementcenter.com/what-is-polyvagal-theory/

When we feel safe and there is no need to defend ourselves, the newest autonomic pathways—the myelinated vagus nerve pathways—are in charge. These pathways facilitate social interaction, growth, and recovery. They can also inhibit the older defense circuits from being triggered.

If we perceive danger, the sympathetic nervous system takes over and we go into fight-or-flight mode. In this state, both branches of the vagus nerve (new myelinated and old unmyelinated) are inhibited.

If our fight-or-flight defense mechanisms don’t make us feel safe, the sympathetic nervous system can become inhibited as the ancient unmyelinated vagus pathways take over. These pathways immobilize us and can make us faint.

When people experience chronic or repeated stress, they can get stuck in fight-or-flight mode. This can result in high blood pressure, elevated levels of stress hormones, anxiety, insomnia, and a host of other issues.

And when people experience trauma, their nervous system tends to shift into the most primitive form of defense—immobilization—and get stuck there. This can lead to a range of psychological problems including dissociation, avoidance, and the inability to communicate, as well as chronic physiological issues involving the organs of the body.

Here is explanation from another website: https://amsmedicine.com/polyvagal-theory-advancing-the-understanding-of-the-autonomic-nervous-system…

The myelinated vagus (ventral vagal) is unique to mammals and originates in the nucleus ambiguus, with preganglionic nicotinic receptors and postganglionic muscarinic receptors. In contrast, the unmyelinated vagus (dorsal vagal), present in reptiles, amphibians, teleosts, and elasmobranchs, originates in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and has both pre- and postganglionic muscarinic receptors.