“Trauma is not what happens to you, it's what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you. Trauma is that scarring that makes you less flexible, more rigid, less feeling and more defended.”
Gabor Mate
“Trauma can be defined as any unresolved autonomic nervous system response. It's about the nervous system's response to an event, not necessarily the event itself. Events can affect each of us very differently.”
Peter Levine
What is trauma? When our nervous system is overwhelmed and our coping strategies don’t work, we get traumatized. When our normal ways of coping—fight-flight-freeze—don’t work, we get traumatized. If the trauma is not processed, if we can’t fight it off, get away from it, or manage what is attacking us, then we freeze and the fear gets locked into our body—into our tissues. Brings up symptoms such as anxiety, depression, dissociation—because we are trying to get away from our body. This also includes intrusive thoughts that come in and really torment us. Includes sleeplessness, avoidant behaviors that turn into addictive behaviors. We disconnect and then we add on shame. We blame ourselves for the ways that we are not communicating well and for the ways that we are self-soothing and behaving in addictive, avoidant ways. We blame ourselves over and over again. This suffering, it rooted in false beliefs and emotional reactivity. A key tool in meditation is investigation – actively inquiring into what is happening inside us. When we investigate with care, the light of our attention untangles difficult emotional patterns. Greatest block to self discovery is believing something is wrong with you, that you are somehow deficient or flawed. We think of trauma as emotional, sexual abuse or physical abuse, or war, or major natural disasters, but there is a whole range of life-experiences that are traumatizing. Many people can feel the nervous system of society and sense that there is a lot of trauma there, and it’s from all sides of the political spectrum. Much of the trauma is generational. Generational Trauma Generational trauma is a term used to describe a “passing down” of traumatic impact and emotional fallout. Some people also refer to it as “intergenerational trauma”. This trauma can create ripples of behaviour and beliefs affecting generations of the same family for much longer than members realize. Moreover, generational trauma typically results from both a lack of awareness and/or the stigma of the trauma. In addition to families simply not recognizing how much they are shaped by horrific events in the past, they may be reluctant to call it out. Unfortunately, the stigma of seeking mental health treatment is enough to keep difficult and disturbing things undiscussed and unaddressed. What are examples of Intergenerational Trauma? Some common examples of intergenerational trauma amongst patients include:
Domestic violence
Sexual abuse or molestation
Suicide or tragic death
Alcohol and drug addiction
Child abuse and neglect
Refugees
Survivors war related trauma
Poverty or survival trauma
Political trauma
Generational Trauma Signs & Symptoms The aforementioned denial is just one of the red flags to look for. Here are other manifestations of generational trauma:
Emotional numbing and depersonalization
Unresolved and complicated grief
Isolation and withdrawal
Hyper-vigilance
Fearfulness
Memory loss
Anger and irritability
Nightmares
Inability to connect with others
Lack of trust of others
Substance abuse
Recurring thoughts of death, dying, and suicide
Trauma is a disconnection within our own body, it is a disconnection with others.
Recommended books on trauma healing:
When the Body Say No - Dr Gabor Mate
The Body Keeps Score - Bessel van der Kolk
Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma - Peter A Levine
In an Unspoken Voice - Peter Levine
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