Trauma

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«Trauma refers to any threatening and overwhelming experiences that we cannot integrate ...

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... Sometimes our attachment figures are the source of danger – creating a conflict between wanting to turn to them for support as we do with all attachment figures and needing to protect ourselves from them.

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Relational trauma can also be perpetuated by strangers – rape, bullying, hate crime and physical or sexual abuse are examples of relational trauma. Some traumas such as accidents or disasters, do not involve other people but are still traumatic. Trauma can be a single event (accident, rape, crime etc.) or repeated events. Trauma can also be a chronic condition (e.g. child abuse, neglect, combat, ongoing violence, death camps).

 

When trauma occurs repeatedly in early life (developmental trauma) – especially if there was no safe peson to turn to, or if it were perpetuated by an attachment figure – the effects can be difficult to resolve. It is important to note that any experience that is stressful enough to leave us feeling helpless, frightened, overwhelmed, or profoundly unsafe is considered a trauma. After such experiences, we are often left with a diminished sense of security with others and in the world, and a sense of feeling unsafe inside our own skin.»

 

Dr. Pat Ogden & Janina Fischer – Sensorymotor Psychotherapy Interventions for Trauma and attachment