A Woman’s Emotional Roots

May 2, 2020July 27, 2021
by Jennifer | Panakaya

Have you ever wondered what made you the person you are today or what influence your family’s story had on your life story? Our view on the world as grown-ups is not just defined by what we experienced as children or young adults, but also what happened before we were even born.

It matters what happened to our mothers while they were pregnant with us, how they perceived their pregnancy, and what emotions they felt. If a traumatised body experiences the sensation of feeling calm and safe, the body can find again its balance and deep healing can occur.

If a traumatised body experiences the sensation of feeling calm and safe, the body can find again its balance. This is where deep healing can occur. The person feels more connected to themselves and often starts to perceive the world in a different way. Relationships begin to change, and very often a difference in physical and emotional health can be perceived as well.

The association of pre- and perinatal psychology and health (APPAH) founded by Canadian psychiatrist Thomas R. Verny, MD educates “to the truth that a baby’s experience of conception, pregnancy, and birth creates lifelong consequences for individuals, families, and society. As a result of scientific discoveries and continually emerging advice, we know babies are conscious and sentient beings.”

Epigenetics teaches us that a person’s view on the world is determined by the emotional environment the person was conceived in. Through trauma, genes can get switched on and off.

A common reaction to trauma is to stop feeling your own body. This is to stop feeling the negative emotions associated with the event or period of time, which is a healthy reaction of the brain to protect the mind. However, if we stay in this disconnected state of mind over an extended period of time, disassociation happens, and we lose the connection with our own body or parts of it. Feeling safe and connected to our own body is, therefore, playing an essential role in resolving trauma.

Psychotherapist Marti Glenn, PhD, mentioned a story about a woman who had a fulfilled life and relationship with her husband, but lacked a good sexual relationship. In a hypnosis session, the client spoke about four soldiers that she saw in an old cobblestone lane that raped her. However, she could not recall such an event in real life and mentioned the memory to her mum, who broke down in tears. While her mother was pregnant with her, she had been raped by four soldiers in a cobblestone lane.

This is an extreme example of how trauma gets passed from one generation to the next. As women, we commonly take on the believes and values we learned from the women in our family. Sentences like “it’s hard to be a woman” or thinking “I hope my unborn baby will be a boy” can impact the way a girl perceives herself, and how she will feel like an adult woman. She might experience issues with her gynaecological health or fertility. She might feel annoyed by her menses, find herself in unhealthy relationships or struggle to get pregnant or keep that pregnancy.

By reconnecting with the often split off or estranged body parts and becoming conscious of the believes we grew up with, can be a powerful way towards healing and solving health issues at its root. With the right support, a woman may be able to discover her own, subconscious believes about herself as a woman.

The Vagus Nerve is the longest nerve in the body and regulates this rest-and-digest system, which also includes fertility. By releasing stress and tension from the vagus nerve, we can help the body remember the sensation of relaxation. If the body feels safe, the person can experience again the sensation of calmness. It is like giving the nervous system a reference point towards which it can orientate.

About Jennifer:

Jennifer Eisenecker is an ex-banker, German-certified naturopath, and business owner. Knowing how limited time and mind space often are, her recommendations are practical, easy to follow, and as simple as possible.

Jennifer’s multi-disciplinary approach involves going back to basics, looking at health from a trauma-aware perspective, and achieving health by calming down the nervous system to optimize your body’s innate ability to rebalance itself. She loves herbs and natural remedies.