![]() ![]() She initially turned to weight lifting out of a desire to take better care of her body, but the more she trained, the more she felt safe, calm and grounded outside the gym. Rachel Sloane, a 36-year-old respiratory therapist and mother of two, who was diagnosed with complex PTSD in early 2021 after enduring physical and sexual abuse, experienced this transformation firsthand. Haverly said, “it’s not just, ‘I can do hard things.’ It’s ‘my body can do hard things.’ It’s ‘I have not felt strong, and now I feel like a beast.’” Haverly and Emily Young, a licensed clinical social worker and certified personal trainer, created a trauma-informed weight lifting certification program for trainers, in an effort to bring its mental health benefits to more clients. At the same time, the scientific community is beginning to study why, exactly, some people with trauma find lifting heavy things helps them recover. Mental health groups also have begun to formalize lifting as a therapeutic tool and educate trainers in how to coach clients living with physical and psychological trauma. “There is a lot of toxic masculinity in strength training,” said James Whitworth, an exercise physiologist and health science specialist at the National Center for PTSD and assistant professor at Boston University’s medical school, as well as a disabled combat veteran.īut as more people of all genders and abilities have discovered the benefits of strength training, the weight lifting community is becoming more inclusive and expansive. ![]() Healing Power: Despite weight lifting being associated with violent bursts of brawn, many people find pumping iron to be a valuable tool in addressing PTSD.Psychedelic Drugs: As studies continue to point to the therapeutic value of substances like MDMA, veterans are becoming unlikely advocates for their decriminalization.Removing the Stigma: Misconceptions about how PTSD develops and its symptoms, can prevent people from seeking treatment. ![]()
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