First and foremost, it is important to understand that trauma does not lie in the event itself, but in the emotional and psychological content that took shape within us during the event and that we were unable to fully process. Trauma therefore stems from the unresolved response of our nervous system and emotions to that event.

Trauma can result from a sudden shock caused by an extreme or particularly painful situation, but it can also stem from a more gradual process of coping with the deprivations and wounds of childhood; this is referred to as developmental trauma or complex trauma.

 Etymologically, the word "trauma" comes from the Greek word "trauma," which means "injury." But, as I mentioned earlier, the injury does not lie in what happened to us, but rather in what happened within us in response to what happened to us.

We can therefore define trauma as a fixation or blockage of our nervous system’s natural response to a situation that threatens our physical, mental, emotional, or energetic balance.

When faced with a highly stressful situation, the autonomic nervous system triggers a chain reaction that initiates a fight-or-flight response, simultaneously generating significant energy surges in the body and a wide range of emotions and feelings.

But if the situation is perceived as too dangerous or alarming, or if it creates too much insecurity, or if it triggers an internal reaction that feels too strong, too violent, too intense, or too unsettling, or if it leaves us feeling too helpless or destabilized, then our entire being contracts around the experience because we feel threatened in our ability to maintain our inner balance, to restructure ourselves, or simply to survive.

Because of this contraction, the nervous system’s response to the situation remains constrained and cannot run its course. The nervous system is therefore no longer able to work toward restoring homeostasis and regulating itself.
Furthermore, the energy loads, emotions, and feelings evoked by the system’s activation cannot unfold normally either and are blocked or repressed, unable to find resolution.
The entire system then remains stuck in survival mode, generating a high level of arousal without being able to self-regulate or process the experience. As long as the system remains blocked in this way, it continues to maintain its activity as if it were perpetually confronted with the initial threat, even after the original situation has passed.

 A form of dissociation then sets in to help us either feel the internal consequences of the experience less intensely or to compensate for them, and to help us survive despite the threat or adversity.
But this separation from the body and emotions leads to an over-investment in the mental realm and keeps resistance in place, preventing the system from working toward restoring balance.

Once trauma has taken hold, it causes changes in the body, the nervous system, and the brain; it will continue to operate as if the original situation were still present, thereby leading to the development of conditioned responses to situations in our daily lives—responses that are determined by the projection of the ongoing nature of the initial threat and by control mechanisms that seek either to avoid this threat or to minimize the level of internal insecurity.

 

Here is a list of the main ways in which trauma will affect us:

- The development of muscle tension patterns that will alter the way a child holds themselves and how their body develops.

- Maintains a certain level of alertness, stress, and a form of hypervigilance.

- Energy changes in the body that will also affect the functioning of the organs and the body as a whole.

- Changes in how we feel physically (discomfort linked to the sensation that something is wrong and to the conclusions we draw from that, which suggest that something is wrong with us).

- A disconnect from the body and physical sensations, and a shift into the realm of the mind and analysis (dissociation).

- A disconnect between the two hemispheres of the brain. The right hemisphere (where stressful childhood experiences are stored) loses ground. The left hemisphere becomes dominant, while losing much of its ability to process emotions, leading to greater mental fragmentation and making it harder to open up to the richness of experience in the realms of social connection and intimacy.

- A negative impact on our memory and our ability to concentrate.

- A decline in our ability to understand and assess the consequences of our actions.

- Reactivation of blocked emotions and energies in response to situations that evoke (even only vaguely) the original trauma.

- A part of the psyche remains stuck in the traumatic experience, unable to reach a higher level of maturity. This part continues to project the initial threat—along with the negative conclusions drawn from it—into our relationships with others and with the world.

- A change in how we perceive ourselves and the world,

- The establishment of defense mechanisms, control mechanisms, and dissociative mechanisms that cut us off from our inner selves.

 As we can see, trauma brings about numerous and profound changes in every aspect of our lives, while shaping our perceptions of ourselves, others, and the world.

On the other hand, trauma triggers protective and survival mechanisms that lead us to develop strategies, behaviors, and ways of being that enable us to survive adversity and continue to adapt to our environment. In this sense, trauma can be viewed as a coping mechanism.

But over time, these adaptive coping mechanisms become habitual and become ingrained in our personality structure, to the point where we come to believe they define who we are and lose sight of our true selves. They then keep us trapped in an illusory and limiting identity, which, though familiar, continues to perpetuate and reinforce the impact of the trauma and the image of a wounded and deficient self.

But no matter what traumas (shocks or developmental traumas) we have faced, no matter what coping mechanisms we have developed in response to deprivation and threats during our development, everything can be healed and transformed, as I will explain in another article titled "How Trauma Is Encoded at the Cellular Level, and How to Free Ourselves From It."

Patrick BOULAN

 

To explore the process of trauma integration during an individual session of Non-Dual Therapy: https://turiya.fr/therapie-non-duelle/