Manuvision has specialized expertise in the treatment of PTSD, where, based on recent research, we use body therapy techniques to help restore balance in the nervous system.
What is PTSD?
PTSD — or post-traumatic stress disorder — is a stress condition that can develop when a person has experienced a situation in which their life felt threatened. Regardless of what triggered the condition, whether war, rape, assault, accidents, or difficult childhood conditions, the common factor is that the body becomes stuck in a traumatic state that creates an imbalanced foundation for how a person relates to the world.
PTSD is rooted in trauma, and trauma forms the basis for how we react to and interact with our environment. The body is designed to mount the best possible defense against threat, so if it has been in a life-threatening situation, all survival mechanisms become activated. This state of alarm can manifest as restlessness, racing thoughts, memory difficulties, a tendency toward isolation, sleep problems, nightmares, anxiety, depression, dizziness, shortness of breath, digestive issues, as well as muscle and joint pain.
Many people experience flashbacks to the events that triggered the PTSD, suffer from nightmares, and develop extreme sensitivity to sensory input, making it difficult to function in daily life or social settings. For many, this also leads to feelings of shame, guilt, and inadequacy, which can result in social withdrawal and depression.
Treatment of PTSD through body therapy
At Manuvision, we have specialized experience in treating PTSD through body therapy. We use evidence-based techniques and draw on the theory of the polyvagal nervous system, as described by neuroscientist Stephen Porges.
In Manuvision treatment of PTSD, we work with the body through the nervous system. We stimulate activity in the parts of the nervous system that help restore balance when the body is in a state of alarm. When these vital systems are activated, breathing becomes freer, lung capacity increases, heart rate decreases, and the body no longer uses the same amount of energy to mobilize muscles and circulate adrenaline and cortisol through the bloodstream. With a balanced nervous system, the body is also better able to activate the restorative processes needed for self-healing.
Evidence-based treatment
Manuvision body therapy has been the focus of the first research project on body therapy in Denmark, conducted by the National Institute of Public Health (University of Southern Denmark) in collaboration with the Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark. The study demonstrated a significant effect of our treatment of PTSD.
Manuvision therefore works in an evidence-based way with the treatment of stress and trauma, as well as the physical and psychological conditions that trauma can lead to — ranging from depression and anxiety to PTSD.
Read more: Research into Manuvision Body Therapy
“When the body is at war”
In the book “When the Body is at War”, which we are currently working on translating into English, we describe in detail our approach to treating PTSD and other forms of trauma — through the nervous system and by working with breathing and body awareness.
“For all forms of trauma, the connection to the body is under pressure. We simply lose the ability to sense what we need, because we are so busy trying to survive. The world becomes a battlefield, where we are either fighting or being fought against.” (Manuvision partner Mette Steen in the book “When the Body is at War”)
