Most understand trauma to be a singular event, like a car accident, war, illness or abuse.  But trauma is individualized to your life experiences, and manifests inside you. 

• Neurologist, Robert Scaer, defines trauma as, “Any negative life event that occurs in a state of relative helplessness.”
• Dr. Gabor Mate defines, “Trauma is not what happened to you.  It is what happened inside of you because of what happened to you.”
• Holistic Psychologist, Dr. Nicole La Pera, states, “Our attachments in our earliest years set the groundwork for our subconscious beliefs.” 

And our subconscious remembers everything!

Many can relate to the above definitions during early childhood when you were dependent on the adults in your life and thus “helpless”, leaving your emotional needs unmet.

Our early childhood development, starting from infancy, requires key emotional needs.  When these emotional needs aren’t met consistently or we live in a state of chronic stress, this creates a trauma response and impacts our foundation for attachment, emotional wellness, physical health, and connection with others.

Early childhood or complex trauma is often misunderstood, ignored, or overlooked. In fact, many people have expressed having “normal childhoods” because they haven’t identified the emotional or complex trauma they endured. 

PTSD Explained

As a disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is described as a “consequence of failed memory processing when the brain fails to appropriately consolidate and integrate episodic memory into the semantic memory system“.  

Simply put, your brain is stuck.  Think of a scratched CD that’s trying to move forward, but can’t and keeps repeating the same jumbled music over and over again. 

When we experience a trauma, our brain goes into survival mode, thus not allowing us to emotionally or somatically process the trauma.  Once we are in a safe space again, the symptoms present, hence the term post-traumatic stress.  Your brain and body will remember and react to triggers that are unprocessed and stored incorrectly, even when you’re no longer experiencing the threat or trauma.

Can you relate to any of the following?

• Do you have “social anxiety”?
• Do you have difficulty being in the quiet, stillness, or relaxing?
• Do you tend to avoid conflict or are known to be a “people-pleaser”?
• Do you have difficulty recalling memories, have memory gaps, or have been told you’re forgetful?
• Do you have difficulty concentrating or have been diagnosed with ADHD?
• Do you find yourself getting depressed when you’re bored or needing to always be busy / productive?
• Do you have trouble making decisions?
• Do you notice yourself being either anxious or avoidant in your relationships with others?

The above are only some of the common outcomes of complex trauma. They became ways to adapt, survive, and cope during a state of helplessness.  It served a purpose then; it no longer serves you now.

Let’s Heal Together.