Trauma Overview

Trauma is an experience that overwhelms your ability to cope. As Dr. Gabor Mate has said, it's not about what happened to you but what happens inside you as the result of what happened to you.

 

This means that trauma is the imprint an experience leaves behind, not the experience itself.

 

Most of us have had overwhelming experiences - from too much happening too fast, or not enough happening soon enough (as in childhood neglect). Whether or not they leave an imprint on our body, mind and spirit depends on how much support you had when they happened.

 

What does trauma do? In an effort to not have it happen again, our brain disconnects us from ourselves, others, our families, and the world. When you are triggered you can't even think straight because the thinking part of your brain goes dim. You can't process emotions in that state! 

 

This is why body-based approaches are the keys to healing, especially if you are just getting started - they get your brain back online so you can think again. ​​