Shock and trauma are well known for the physical and emotional stress responses that they trigger, but can also have a major impact on your energetic or spiritual self – especially if you’re a highly sensitive or empathic person. Read on to learn how to move past it.

What are the energetic effects of shock?

We use the term ‘shock’ to describe a situation in which something unexpectedly takes us off guard, leading to feelings of instability.

Sometimes that feeling is momentary – for example you might be briefly startled and shocked if the power goes off in your house, but recover moments later as you realise that the most likely explanation is a blackout or a blown fuse.

More significant shocks that have the potential to cause serious upheaval to your life (like the loss of a loved one, or being fired from your job unexpectedly) can affect you more deeply and may take far longer to recover from.

Often, those major life events can also force you to re-evaluate your sense of how the world or the universe works, and what that means for you personally.

From an energetic perspective, these kinds of shocks can have a wide range of effects, which can sometimes persist for a long time, especially if you find yourself unable to process and integrate the shifts that have occurred. (This might occur if you’re busy supporting others through the trauma and can’t take time out for yourself, for instance, or if the events that have happened feel so unfair or random that you can’t find a way to make sense of them).

Loss of grounding due to shock

Perhaps the most common response to shock from an energetic perspective the experience of being ungrounded or un-centred – as though you’re disconnected from the earth, your body, or yourself.

Often, a clue that this is what’s going on will be that you’ll find yourself using phrases to describe your situation that evoke imagery of disconnection, brokenness, or being on the outside looking in, such as:

• My whole world has been blown apart / fallen to pieces / shattered
• It’s surreal – I feel like I’m watching someone else’s life
• I’m not really in my body

It’s not possible to function effectively when you’re in these states, so if this is where you find yourself, your first priority is to re-ground and re-centre yourself so that you’re able to start re-building your foundations and find a new form of stability.

Getting grounded - an exercise to help re-centre your energy after a shock

Shock often brings with it the sense that parts of your consciousness have moved away from you in an upwards and outwards direction, so your goal is to summon your energy back inwards and downwards so that you can re-ground and centre yourself.

A good practice in this situation is to go somewhere that you won’t be disturbed, and then sit or stand with your bare feet firmly on the ground.

Next, move your consciousness downwards, to the parts of your feet that are anchored to the earth, and focus your attention on how that feels, while also paying attention to centring your breathing.

After a little while, you might get a sense that the energy of the earth rises to meet you in the same way that you’re directing your consciousness downwards in to the ground – and that the earth’s energy is helping to anchor in place. ( Tip: If you’re having difficulty visualising that, you might find it helpful to imagine the earth energy as a column of red and gold light that extends deep below the surface of the earth).

Allow that energy to move up through the soles of your feet, then all the way through your legs, until it reaches the energy centre at the base of your spine (the base chakra).

From here, experience the energy spinning around you like a funnel that expands outwards, getting wider and wider as it travels upwards (even beyond the top of your head) so that you get the sense of being centred in a vortex of energy that calls back any aspects of yourself that have drifted away due to the shock, and helps you to reconnect with them and pull them back into place.

Continue to sit in your earth energy vortex for as long as feels comfortable for you. Then, when you’re ready, bring your attention back to your awareness of your feet on the ground again, and to the physical senses in your body.

You might like to end your practice by giving thanks to the earth for her support.

Other practices that support grounding and that may be beneficial for you during this time include gardening (getting your hands into the earth), exercising (especially outdoors), and having a massage or energy healing session.

Shock Absorber™ helps you pull yourself back together

Tribe of the Tree’s  Shock Absorber™ flower essence and flower essence mist may also help you re-centre yourself after a shock – regardless of whether it’s been a recent occurrence or is something you’ve been carrying for a long time.

This flower essence and mist are strongly grounding, and can really help you to pull yourself back together when you're feeling scatty or as though you’ve fallen to pieces. They're made from a native Aussie shrub called the Fine-Leaf Bush Pea, which has the most calming, centred energy of any plant we've worked with. If that's the kind of energy that would comfort and support you right now, give it a go!