Water Therapy for PTSD: How Can It Help?
Water has soothing qualities. That is why swimming became popular even in climates where the water and the air are cold. It's easy to see why people in sunny locations are tempted to jump in the sea or lake, or even a river, to cool off. But in winter, in places where winter really means something and that something is chilly, what is the attraction of immersing yourself in water?
Most of us don't naturally enjoy the cold, yet we're drawn back because of how good the water makes us feel.
Now there is scientific validation for this feeling. Not only is water exercise good for maintaining overall fitness and for rehabilitating injured muscles through gentle exercise, but it can help with psychological conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder too.
It is greatly to the credit of medical science that PTSD has become a known condition and therefore work has been done to find ways of treating it.
The body and the mind have natural self-healing properties and sometimes all that is needed is for some educated guidance to make the most of what is readily available to us.
Benefits of Water Exercise
Water exercise is now known to provide several important benefits:
Reduces stress and anxiety while improving mood and energy levels
Promotes better sleep, which has many knock-on benefits including improved self-esteem and mental clarity
If aquatic exercise can do all these things in people using it to enhance their mental state when it is not actually a problem in the first place, how much more appropriate is it for someone who is coping with the after-effects of a traumatic experience?
Understanding PTSD & Its Challenges
The first step for anyone suffering from PTSD is to understand what is happening and to see it as a psychological condition. Great strides have been taken in recent years in treating mental health issues, but in order to treat them we first have to acknowledge them.
Trauma can be physical and it can be psychological. When it is physical, it affects the flesh and bones and it is often visible in the form of a nasty bruise or a change of shape as something has been broken, crushed or displaced. With PTSD it is in the mind, which makes it often invisible to others. It can even be hard for the sufferer themselves to understand and accept.
Modern attitudes are much more helpful in PTSD, as they are in the general field of mental health. Sufferers are no longer told to simply carry on. They can receive help, and aquatic therapy is now a recognized form of treatment.
Aquatic therapy for PTSD helps by calming the nervous system and reducing the physical symptoms of stress. Again, these can be beneficial for people not suffering from PTSD, so how much more beneficial must it be when there is a great need there in the first place.
It can be like moving the dial back down to zero – normal – and then into the beautiful zone below that, where life begins to feel good again.
Building a Sense of Safety and Control
Some people are born with a feeling of being safe and having things under control. These things can also be developed through early experiences and the comfort of a reassuring upbringing where calm and security are the defaults. This is how many of us naturally begin life.
But after a traumatic episode those feelings can be shattered and need to be rebuilt to the extent that the individual can take back control of their feelings. Aquatic exercise has been shown to help with that process, and that is why it is now recognised as an important tool in PTSD recovery programs.
It is not just for fun – although there is plenty of that to be had in a good aquatic exercise class. It's not all about the sociable aspect, although that comes into it too.
Being with people, perhaps including some with the same kinds of issues as you have, can be a great thing in itself, but it is a part of your progress that runs parallel with the physical effort you put in, which stimulates the body's ability to support and heal the mind.
The word often used in connection with this is holistic: it deals with the whole body and the whole problem, because a healthy body and a healthy mind go hand in hand. This is not just a modern idea.
There is an old Roman expression, "Mens sana in corpore sano", which means a healthy body in a healthy mind. In that sense there is little difference between ancient Rome and 21st century New Jersey, even if the term PTSD is a relatively modern one.
Aquatic Therapy Can Help With Your Particular PTSD Symptoms
Symptoms vary and what you are dealing with may be quite different from someone else's experience, but water exercise therapy can help everyone because it works on the body and mind as a whole.
A good aquatic therapy trainer will take into account your particular symptoms and use the holistic approach to help support you just as effectively as it supports others with different challenges.
Make Sure You Sign Up for Serious Aquatic Classes
A beautiful swimming pool does not in itself guarantee an environment where water exercise can help with your PTSD. The treatment of PTSD through aquatic exercise therapy is something that takes education and training, so do check for specialized classes in your area.
What you're looking for includes:
A certified trainer who is experienced in different types of water exercise approaches
Someone skilled at facilitating emotional expression
And yes, the water will feel good and you'll enjoy the sessions, but it will be more than that: it will be a series of steps on the road to recovery.