EXISTENCE WITHOUT TASK / ORIENTATION BEFORE ACTION

How Authentic Coordinates Allow Natural Integration to Proceed
(Walking Through the Door, and Back Again: An Enchanted Evergreen Winter’s Welcome–A Threshold Tale)

This is not a journey; it is a placement. It is the slow recognition of safe conditions and coordinates that allow you to move across thresholds—and to return—without ever being lost.

Nothing is being asked of you here. Nothing needs to be fixed or figured out.

“Integration” refers to the natural coordination that occurs when conditions become uninhabitable.

Under chronic threat, human systems naturally adapt by developing extraordinary sensitivity to danger. This adaptation activates involuntary survival states governed by the autonomic nervous system. These states are not responses; they are sequential protective reactions that occur when response is unavailable, prioritizing static survival over variable integration and, when prolonged, contributing to persistent system strain.

Crucially, while the capacity for natural integration is never lost, access to natural passage conditions is unavailable in static survival states. Response—by definition—requires safety, orientational coordinates, motion, and variable neural integration. Without these conditions, the system can only react—because reaction is all that is available.

What are often labeled “trauma responses” are more accurately understood as reactions arising from constrained and uninhabitable environmental conditions.

What appears as incoherence is not failure. It is a brilliant, adaptive, and predictable natural reaction to impossible conditions.

Recognition of these patterns does not indicate failure or something that requires correction.

CPTSD Systemic Design (Constrained / Dis-Oriented)

Uninhabitable Consciousness Load-Bearing Conditions: These are not personal traits. They are environmentally induced system states:
–Compensatory
–Compulsive
–Uncoordinated
–Obstructive
–Containment & Control Patterns
–Non-distributed incoherent integrations
–Punitive subconscious existential-jurisdiction architectures
–Autonomic survival operating systems
–Separation-perception boundary perspectives
–Habitual isolation-maintenance reflexes
–Survival subroutine autocompletions
–Containment overreaction systems
–Closed-circuit circulation monitoring
–Distortion & Interference Patterns
–False-feelings psychic payloads
–Soma-overruling navigational overrides
–Labyrinthine interference patterning
–Overcorrecting emergency substitutions
–Compensatory distortion instability
–Trauma-sequencing shortcuts
–Context-bound survival rules
–Obstructed-reality protective measures
–Fragmentation & Collapse Patterns
–Defensive hypervigilance bracing routines
–Defensive distortion thought processes
–Misattributed role fragmentations
–Coercively collapsed witness-awareness
–Dissociative false-footing reactive stances
–Recursive mortality threat activation

When a natural environmental intelligence-field structure is present, rather than external coercion, instinct aligns into resonant coherence without force. Natural responses become possible without trust ever needing to be invoked at any coordinated systemic point.

NATURAL Systemic Design (Integrated / Oriented)

These are descriptive conditions, not goals or tasks:

–Habitable Consciousness Load-Bearing Conditions
–Fully Coordinated Body-Mind-Being-Awareness
–Safety
–Authenticity
–Coordination
–Continuity
–Unobstruction
–Self-maintenance
–Distribution
–Coherence
–Resonance
–Alignment
–Integration
–Orientation
–Accumulation
–Unobstructed Living.

Evergreen Enchantment

Unobstructed reality. What reality feels like when it no longer has to route itself around trauma, but instead walks through the door and says:

“Welcome back!”

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Danette True

Danette True is a writer and systems-thinker focused on trauma-informed healing, embodiment, and humane approaches to individual and collective well-being. Her work explores how safety, structure, and lived experience shape recovery across the lifespan.

Many clinicians meet clients who arrive with ritual abuse claims, fractured timelines, no corroboration, and a history of moving from specialist to specialist in search of answers. Most are not fabricating. Many are not remembering with precision either. A common statement appears in these rooms: if the body reacts, it must have happened. It sounds compassionate. It is not. It shortcuts assessment, confuses physiology with fact, and turns treatment into a confirmation loop. The alliance becomes a mirror that reflects back whatever the client fears most, rather than a container that steadies and clarifies.

Consider a typical presentation from practice. A client recalled being left overnight in a freezing basement. The concrete floor, footsteps overhead, a cold doorknob out of reach. The scene held sensory weight and carried real fear. Later, family records showed the home had no basement. The conclusion is not that nothing happened. The conclusion is that the image may have fused borrowed fragments and emotional truths into a single picture the nervous system could organize around. The body reacted. The target of that reaction was misidentified. What needed work was not a fast-track diagnosis based on physiology, but a paced inquiry into what the body was trying to protect and what events might actually fit the pattern.

The nervous system encodes threat. Implicit memory lives in posture, breath, and gut. None of that provides coordinates. Somatic evidence flags significance. It does not settle attribution. Collapse those two and accuracy drops. In trauma care, accuracy is not a luxury. It is ethical triage. Misreading hyperarousal as proof of incest, or adopting a story that later fails against hospital logs or sibling testimony, harms clients and families and erodes trust in the field. The emotional pain remains real. The backstory can still have holes.

Memory science has been clear on this point for decades. Some dislike the mess that research exposed, but disliking a finding does not erase it. Suggestion is powerful. The therapeutic relationship amplifies that power because trust lowers a client’s defenses against influence. Recovered memories do occur. They can surface slowly and unevenly and later find support in records or witnesses. They do not usually arrive polished, and they never deserve to be declared true on the basis of shaking hands or a rolling stomach. The correct posture is steady attunement, careful pacing, and respect for a mind that can both shield and distort.

The larger problem is cultural. Many therapists fear that skepticism will be heard as betrayal. They worry about appearing to side with perpetrators. They default to affirmation in order to avoid conflict. Caution then gets mislabeled as minimization, and verification gets mislabeled as doubt. In that climate, it is tempting to protect one’s reputation rather than the client. That is not care. That is drift.

A responsible approach is plain and repeatable. Stabilize first. Map what the body does before, during, and after certain narratives. Separate sensation from story. Ask where the language came from and what other explanations could fit the same physiology. Invite corroboration where it is possible to do so without harm. Hold space for what cannot yet be known. Keep the alliance strong without making promises the facts cannot carry. Somatic validation and factual verification are not enemies. They are different tools used for different questions.

Good therapy does not hand people answers. It teaches people how to hold possibility without certainty, and how to test what can be tested while protecting what still needs time. If a client reports abuse, the report is taken seriously and treated with respect. The work then proceeds without rushing the story into a fixed shape. Memory is important. That is why it deserves clinical accountability rather than slogans or ideological immunity.

Final thoughts

Somatic truth and factual truth are not the same category. Both matter. One guides immediate regulation and safety planning. The other guides attribution, repair, and justice. When clinicians keep those lanes clear, survivors get care that is humane, scientifically honest, and legally durable.

References

Scientific American. People Likely Aren’t as Susceptible to False Memories as Researchers Thought. 2025.
Murphy G, et al. False Memory Replication Dataset. University College Cork. 2023.
Loftus E. The “lost in the mall” technique. 1995.
Otgaar H, et al. The return of the repressed. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2019.
McNally RJ. Remembering Trauma. Harvard University Press. 2003.
van der Kolk BA. The Body Keeps the Score. Viking. 2014.
Lynn SJ, Lilienfeld SO, Merckelbach H, et al. Dissociation and dissociative disorders. Clinical Psychology Review. 2014.

Cover Image: jonathan-borba-OhU7gVp0D7c-unsplash.jpg

Dr. Mozelle Martin

Dr. Mozelle Martin is a retired trauma therapist and former Clinical Director of a trauma center, with extensive experience in forensic psychology, criminology, and applied ethics. A survivor of childhood and young adulthood trauma, Dr. Martin has dedicated decades to understanding the psychological and ethical complexities of trauma, crime, and accountability. Her career began as a volunteer in a women’s domestic violence shelter, then as a SA hospital advocate, later becoming a Crisis Therapist working alongside law enforcement on the streets of Phoenix. She went on to earn an AS in Psychology, a BS in Forensic Psychology, an MA in Criminology, and a PhD in Applied Ethics, ultimately working extensively in forensic mental health—providing psychological assessments, intervention, and rehabilitative support with inmates and in the community. A published author and lifelong student of life, she continues to explore the relationship and crossovers of forensic science, mental health, and ethical accountability in both historical and modern contexts.

www.InkProfiler.com

Why the edge can feel unsafe

Humans did not evolve on memory foam in locked bedrooms. For most of our history, we slept on the ground, in caves, in huts with thin doors. Exposed limbs meant exposed entry points. Predators target extremities and the neck because access is easier. The nervous system solved that problem by favoring positions that protect the core: curl, cover, and tuck. That is not fear. It is pattern recognition preserved across generations. The amygdala still scans in the background during sleep, and it does not retire just because you purchased a better mattress.

Evolutionary memory that is still on duty

Even today, the brain runs a quiet night watch. On the first night in an unfamiliar place, sleep becomes asymmetric; one hemisphere remains more alert while the other rests. Laboratory work has demonstrated this first-night effect with imaging that shows a built-in vigilance system holding partial guard. That is biology, not superstition, and it helps explain why the edge of a bed in a new setting can feel like a cliff rather than a cushion.

Trauma history changes the map

Trauma shifts sleep from rest to strategy. People with childhood abuse, severe neglect, or control-based punishment often adopt positions that prioritize mobility, concealment, or both. Some sleep near the edge with one leg ready to move because escape has been coded as necessary. Others cannot tolerate uncovered limbs at all and cocoon under blankets even in warm rooms, not for comfort but for defense of the areas perpetrators once accessed. These choices are rarely conscious. They are solutions installed by experience and maintained by a threat-biased nervous system.

Posture, perception, and what the research suggests

Sleep posture correlates with emotional states in population studies and clinical reviews. Fetal-style sleepers more often report higher stress and adverse life events. Supine sleepers show a higher association with sleep paralysis in several samples. Side and edge positions vary; for some, the choice is airflow and spinal ease, for others, it is a safety cue learned a long time ago. None of this proves a single rule. It does support what clinicians observe: position is not random for many survivors.

Temperature, physiology, and learned associations

Feet are fast radiators. Specialized vessels in the hands and feet move heat quickly, so a foot outside the covers can lower body temperature and help with sleep onset. Biology does not operate in a vacuum, though. If cold feet were paired with fear, isolation, or punishment, the same sensation can function as a warning rather than a comfort. The body votes based on memory more than on textbook physiology.

Practical steps that respect biology

Start with observation rather than force. Notice how your body positions itself in the first moments of waking and the last moments before sleep. Those are honest windows. Make small experiments without pressure. If you want to test more exposure, begin with a toe or ankle rather than a full limb and see what the body permits. Do not copy someone else’s version of calm. One person sprawls because their system is quiet; another curls because their system is careful. Adjust the room before you try to adjust your biology. Lower the bed, soften the lighting, and set a temperature that signals safety. Some people settle with breathable sheets and a light-weight throw; others require no weight at all. There is no universal fix. The point is to give the nervous system current evidence that the environment is safe in the present day.

Final thoughts

Edge anxiety is not drama, and it is not immaturity. It is a living record of what kept people safe. If your legs lock tight or you pull the blanket over your head every night, that is not a flaw. It is survival programming that has not yet been given a stable reason to retire. Whether you sleep centered like a sandbag or hold the perimeter like a lookout, the pattern makes sense once the history is named. Your brain did not forget what life taught it, especially at night.

References

Tamaki M, Bang JW, Watanabe T, Sasaki Y. Night watch in one brain hemisphere during sleep associated with the first-night effect in humans. Current Biology. 2016;26(9):1190-1194.
Jalal B, Romanelli A, Hinton DE. Sleep paralysis in Italy: frequency, symptoms, and the role of cultural interpretation. Consciousness and Cognition. 2017;51:298-305.
Suni E, Chen W, Jungquist C, et al. Sleep position and mental health: a scoping review. Sleep Health. 2017;3(6):460-467.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Dr. Mozelle Martin

Dr. Mozelle Martin is a retired trauma therapist and former Clinical Director of a trauma center, with extensive experience in forensic psychology, criminology, and applied ethics. A survivor of childhood and young adulthood trauma, Dr. Martin has dedicated decades to understanding the psychological and ethical complexities of trauma, crime, and accountability. Her career began as a volunteer in a women’s domestic violence shelter, then as a SA hospital advocate, later becoming a Crisis Therapist working alongside law enforcement on the streets of Phoenix. She went on to earn an AS in Psychology, a BS in Forensic Psychology, an MA in Criminology, and a PhD in Applied Ethics, ultimately working extensively in forensic mental health—providing psychological assessments, intervention, and rehabilitative support with inmates and in the community. A published author and lifelong student of life, she continues to explore the relationship and crossovers of forensic science, mental health, and ethical accountability in both historical and modern contexts.

www.InkProfiler.com

What actually gets passed down

Trauma can alter the expression of genes. That is epigenetics. Stress, famine, displacement, and chronic fear can leave biochemical markers on DNA packaging that change gene function without changing the genetic code. What parents and grandparents endured not only shapes family habits. It can shape how a nervous system responds to threat, attachment, and safety many decades later. In a landmark study of Holocaust families, researchers documented shifts in methylation of FKBP5, a regulator of the cortisol system, in survivors and in their children who did not live through the original events. Comparable patterns show up in other contexts as well, including families affected by war, genocide, severe discrimination, natural disasters, and refugee flight. The point is simple. When people say trauma runs in a family, it is not just a figure of speech.

Inherited trauma rarely looks like a story

What passes forward is not always a narrative or a flashback. It often looks like a survival strategy that does not match the current environment. A child grows up in a safe home, yet cannot sleep unless every curtain is closed and every door is checked. A teenager treats disagreement like a death sentence, even in a respectful household. An adult keeps pushing away secure partners because the body has learned that calm usually comes before danger. These are not quirks. They are trained reflexes. They stay invisible until someone starts asking the right questions.

You do not inherit a diagnosis. You inherit the coping

CPTSD is not handed down like eye color. Defense patterns are. Silence is. Emotional constriction is. When trauma is not processed, it leaks into parenting through control, through chaos, or through inconsistency that leaves a child sensing danger without language to name it. Children repeat what works, even if it only worked in the old house. They pass it on not because they are broken, but because they were trained by example.

When pain gets ritualized

Trauma does not always announce itself. Sometimes it hides inside rules that are treated as virtues. Do not talk about feelings. Stay productive no matter what. Outsiders cannot be trusted. Keep the family’s business inside the house. Loyalty above all. The same mechanism hides domestic violence that nobody names. It hides animal abuse that neighbors avoid reporting. It hides generational child abuse that gets rebranded as strict parenting. In some families, stints in jail become a rite of passage rather than a warning sign. From the inside, these patterns sound like culture or tradition. Trace them backward and you usually find war, forced moves, addiction, shame, betrayal, or plain neglect. When trauma is not processed, it gets ritualized. It is repackaged as rules, reinforced as identity, and handed down as survival even when the danger is long gone. Dysfunction is often inherited pain on autopilot.

Breaking a pattern requires recognition, not avoidance

Moving on without naming the pattern does not change the pattern. It extends it. Real change starts with accurate labels. Name what happened in the family line, even if it was not your direct experience. Notice the default settings that make no sense in your current life. Choose deliberate counter-moves. Rest when the old rule says grind. Set a boundary where the old rule says keep secrets. Speak where the old rule says stay quiet. This is demanding work because you are not only adjusting your mood. You are rerouting generations of survival programming. That is heavy labor, not a slogan. It is also where the leverage sits. You are not obligated to carry the pain forward because it was handed to you. The future of the pattern is not fixed.

Final thoughts

If you feel like you were born carrying grief that did not start with you, or fear that does not match your lived history, you are not defective. You may be the first one who chose to hold up the mirror. You get to decide what continues and what ends.

References

Yehuda R, Daskalakis NP, et al. Holocaust exposure induced intergenerational effects on FKBP5 methylation. Biological Psychiatry. 2016;80(5):372-380.
Dias BG, Ressler KJ. Parental olfactory experience influences behavior and neural structure in subsequent generations. Nature Neuroscience. 2014;17(1):89-96.
Serpeloni F, Radtke KM, et al. Does prenatal stress shape postnatal resilience? Epigenetics and behavior in war-exposed Syrian refugees. Translational Psychiatry. 2017;7(7):e1185.

Photo by Sangharsh Lohakare on Unsplash

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Dr. Mozelle Martin

Dr. Mozelle Martin is a retired trauma therapist and former Clinical Director of a trauma center, with extensive experience in forensic psychology, criminology, and applied ethics. A survivor of childhood and young adulthood trauma, Dr. Martin has dedicated decades to understanding the psychological and ethical complexities of trauma, crime, and accountability. Her career began as a volunteer in a women’s domestic violence shelter, then as a SA hospital advocate, later becoming a Crisis Therapist working alongside law enforcement on the streets of Phoenix. She went on to earn an AS in Psychology, a BS in Forensic Psychology, an MA in Criminology, and a PhD in Applied Ethics, ultimately working extensively in forensic mental health—providing psychological assessments, intervention, and rehabilitative support with inmates and in the community. A published author and lifelong student of life, she continues to explore the relationship and crossovers of forensic science, mental health, and ethical accountability in both historical and modern contexts.

www.InkProfiler.com

Subtle Behavioral Patterns Rooted in Trauma

Studies indicate that unresolved trauma can alter a person’s behavioral responses without them being consciously aware. Several common habits may, in some cases, be linked to past experiences:

• Over-explaining or over-apologizing – Research suggests that individuals who grew up in environments where mistakes led to punishment or emotional withdrawal may develop a heightened sense of needing to justify their actions or preemptively apologize. This can be an adaptive response rooted in early-life experiences rather than a personality quirk.
• Perfectionism and Hyper-Productivity – Some trauma survivors exhibit heightened perfectionism, a trait that studies have associated with childhood environments where self-worth was linked to achievement or performance. The brain may interpret errors as potential threats, reinforcing a need for control over outcomes.
• Chronic procrastination and difficulty making decisions – Psychological findings suggest that trauma can interfere with executive functioning, leading to avoidance behaviors that are sometimes misinterpreted as laziness or a lack of motivation. Some individuals experience decision paralysis, fearing that making the wrong choice could lead to negative consequences similar to past experiences.
• Hyper-awareness of others’ moods – Experts in trauma psychology note that heightened sensitivity to tone, body language, or non-verbal cues, such as certain scents and sounds, can be an adaptive trait developed in unpredictable or emotionally volatile environments. This heightened vigilance may persist even in safe relationships.

Trauma’s Influence on Physical Health

The connection between trauma and physical health is well-documented in medical literature. Studies published in the field of psychoneuroimmunology have found links between unresolved trauma and various chronic health conditions, including:

• Chronic pain and autoimmune disorders – Some research suggests that trauma-related stress can contribute to inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system, leading to persistent physical symptoms.
• Tension-related headaches and muscle pain – A study in neurobiology highlights that prolonged stress responses can lead to hyperactivation of the nervous system, contributing to chronic tension.
• Digestive issues – The gut-brain axis is a well-studied area in medical science, and findings suggest that trauma can impact gut health, leading to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or other digestive disturbances.

Decision-Making and Relationship Dynamics

Behavioral psychologists have observed patterns in how unresolved trauma may shape relationships and life choices:

• Attraction to familiar patterns – Studies on attachment and trauma suggest that individuals may unconsciously seek relationships that mimic past dynamics, even if those relationships are unhealthy.
• Fear of abandonment vs. hyper-independence – Research indicates that trauma survivors may react to relational stress in different ways—some may become overly dependent on others for validation, while others may push people away to maintain control over emotional safety.
• Difficulty setting boundaries – Psychological studies highlight that individuals with unresolved trauma may struggle to enforce boundaries, often prioritizing others’ needs over their own due to past conditioning.

Unresolved Trauma in Professional and Social Environments

The workplace and social interactions can also reveal hidden trauma responses:

• Workaholism and burnout – Some trauma survivors develop a strong identity tied to professional success as a means of maintaining stability and self-worth.
• Avoidance of conflict – Psychological literature has examined how past trauma can lead to discomfort with confrontation, causing individuals to avoid advocating for themselves.
• Overcommitting or people-pleasing – Some trauma survivors exhibit an ingrained pattern of overextending themselves to gain approval or avoid rejection.

Closing Thoughts

Unresolved trauma can manifest in ways that are often misinterpreted as simple personality traits or lifestyle choices. While not all individuals who exhibit these behaviors have experienced trauma, research continues to explore the subtle ways in which past experiences shape daily life. By recognizing these signs, individuals may gain a better understanding of their behavioral patterns and seek appropriate support. Understanding the complexities of trauma remains a growing area of research in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral science. Further studies continue to uncover new insights into how trauma silently influences both mental and physical health, decision-making, and interpersonal relationships.

Photo by Dan Gribbin on Unsplash

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Dr. Mozelle Martin

Dr. Mozelle Martin is a retired trauma therapist and former Clinical Director of a trauma center, with extensive experience in forensic psychology, criminology, and applied ethics. A survivor of childhood and young adulthood trauma, Dr. Martin has dedicated decades to understanding the psychological and ethical complexities of trauma, crime, and accountability. Her career began as a volunteer in a women’s domestic violence shelter, then as a SA hospital advocate, later becoming a Crisis Therapist working alongside law enforcement on the streets of Phoenix. She went on to earn an AS in Psychology, a BS in Forensic Psychology, an MA in Criminology, and a PhD in Applied Ethics, ultimately working extensively in forensic mental health—providing psychological assessments, intervention, and rehabilitative support with inmates and in the community. A published author and lifelong student of life, she continues to explore the relationship and crossovers of forensic science, mental health, and ethical accountability in both historical and modern contexts.

www.InkProfiler.com

So what happens when it’s religion itself that is the source of distress and trauma? 

Researchers have studied harm and abuse inside cults for years, but these environments were usually differentiated from mainline religious groups. With new reports of abuse and trauma coming out of Christian churches in recent years, people are looking deeper at the similarity between high-control Christian groups and cults, and when affinity to doctrine crosses a line and becomes dangerous. 

Increasingly, researchers, clinicians, and survivors are calling this religious trauma.

When I first began researching this topic I felt uneasy about using such a strong term. After all, not all religion inflicts trauma. Even within the same denominations or churches, people experience religion differently, similar to when two people go off to war and only one develops PTSD.

But, after learning about complex trauma and listening to dozens of stories through research interviews, I have come to believe that religious trauma is definitely something that is bringing harm to a great deal of people.   

Religious Trauma

Dr. Marlene Winell was the first person to use the term Religious Trauma Syndrome to describe the wide array of emotional issues people face as they leave authoritarian religions; psychological harm including fear, anger, depression, loss of self, agency, and decision-making. 

After her own experience coming out of fundamentalism, Winell began to notice similar issues with her therapy patients and has focused her entire practice on helping victims and training other professionals in how to work with religious trauma ever since.. 

Religious trauma is different from spiritual abuse, though it can include abuse. It refers to the overlying religious system that is characterized by captivity, and psychological domination and results in an erosion of the personality, characteristics of Complex PTSD outlined by Judith Herman in her groundbreaking work, Trauma and Recovery. 

Herman introduces the concept of complex trauma that goes beyond single event-driven experiences to include prolonged and repeated events that create a psychological impact of subordination inside institutional, political, and domestic systems. 

When looking through Herman’s prism of captivity, domination and personality erosion, there is a clear connection between the symptoms of religious trauma and Complex PTSD. 

Captivity

For Herman, complex trauma takes place in captivity where individuals are in a prison of sorts and under the control of a perpetrator. Perpetrators might be a parent, partner, leader, organization, government, or even God who becomes the dominant force in the life of the victim and shapes her world and her identity. 

People can be held captive without bars, windows, or guns through psychological tactics or economic forces. This type of coercion can show up in obvious ways such as in governmental or police states, but also in more subtle ways inside families and religious institutions. 

Psychological Domination

Inside a system of captivity, perpetrators exert domination through techniques designed to disempower and disconnect individuals from themselves and others. Often in religion, the tactics include Biblical literalism, fear, and shame. The subtle nature of this domination is what makes it so pervasive and dangerous because it allows people who wouldn’t otherwise condone violence or abuse to dismiss it or turn a blind eye. 

Erosion of Personality

The result of captivity and psychological domination is a perversion of identity where there is a loss of self and helplessness, passivity, entrapment to the past, intractable depression, somatic complaints, and smoldering anger. 

People subjected to prolonged, repeated trauma develop an insidious, progressive form of post-traumatic stress disorder that invades and erodes the personality. While a victim of chronic trauma may feel after the event that he is ‘not herself’, the victim of chronic trauma may feel herself be changed irrevocably, or she may lose the sense that she has any self at all. (Herman)

In my research, I heard story after story from people who felt this profound identity loss or distortion coming out of Christian fundamentalism. 

Connecting the Dots

Herman’s categories of captivity, psychological domination, and the erosion of personality are evident in Marlene Winell’s descriptions of religious trauma indicated in the chart below. 

This is, of course, an oversimplified summary but is an important primer for those beginning to make connections with what their body is telling them and the current trauma science.  

Religious Trauma Resources

The field of religious trauma is exploding and new resources are constantly being created. For more information or to connect with a professional, you can access these religious trauma resources. 

________________________

REFERENCES

• Almendros, Carmen, Manuel Gámez-Guadix, Álvaro Rodríguez-Carballeira, and José Antonio Carrobles. “Assessment of psychological abuse in manipulative groups.” International Journal of Cultic Studies 2 (2011).
• Herman, Judith. Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books, 1992.
• Joshua Pease, “The Sin of silence”, Washington Post Online, 2028, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/05/31/feature/the-epidemic-of-denial-about-sexual-abuse-in-the-evangelical-church/
• Winell, Marlene. Leaving the Fold. Apocryphile Press, 2001.
• Image credit: Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Beth Alford

Beth Alford is a communication strategist, writer and independent scholar. Her writing combines her personal experiences of complex trauma with academic work in theology, religious trauma, culture and gender studies. You can find more of Beth’s work at thebethalford.com.

thebethalford.com

The Struggles of Someone Affected by Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder forms during repeated traumatic events such as childhood sexual or other abuse. The symptoms of CPTSD are life-altering and, if left untreated, can significantly limit the person who experiences it.

The symptoms of CPTSD include those of post-traumatic stress disorder plus others such as follows:

• Feeling angry
• Feeling distrustful of others and the world
• Difficulty controlling emotions
• Feeling empty
• Feeling hopeless
• Feeling damaged or worthless
• Feeling different from other people
• Avoiding friendships and other relationships
• Finding, making, and maintaining relationships
• Experiencing dissociative symptoms
• Experiencing headaches, chest pain, dizziness, and tummy aches
• Having suicidal ideations or actions

There are several psychotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of CPTSD, including EMDR.

What is EMDR?

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a form of psychotherapy enabling people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that accompanies complex trauma.

Many therapists believe that EMDR actually shortens the length of time a person is in therapy. What once took years of intensive psychotherapy may take months.

EMDR goes on the premise that the mind can heal from psychological trauma like the body recovers from physical trauma. For example, when the body gets a foreign object in it, the wound festers and causes pain. Once the object is removed, the person’s wound heals.

Those practicing EMDR have found that a similar sequence occurs with wounds to the psyche. If the person’s mind is blocked or imbalanced by trauma, the emotional wound festers and causes emotional pain. Left untreated, the wound will not heal but remain open and bleeding. However, the wound begins to heal once the block is removed through EMDR treatment.

During a session, the therapist uses EMDR to help those with CPTSD to activate their mind’s natural healing processes.

Research Backing EMDR

Many research studies (more than 30) have been conducted to see if EMDR is an effective treatment for both single and multiple traumas. Some studies have shown that 85%-90% of single trauma victims heal and are no longer diagnosed with PTSD after three 90-minute EMDR sessions.

Yet another study completed by HMO Kaiser Permanente found that 100% of single-trauma survivors and 77% of multiple trauma victims were no longer diagnosed with PTSD after six 50-minute sessions (Shapiro, 2014).

There has been so much research on using EMDR treatment that it is now recognized by the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization as an effective treatment for trauma.

It is easy to see that EMDR is recognized around the world as an effective treatment for memories that cause people to experience low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and many other mental health problems related to relational trauma.

Millions of people have received EMDR treatment successfully over the past thirty years; it has been available and used by over 100,000 clinicians worldwide.

The Stages of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing   

Research reports that EMDR effectively treats CPTSD because the therapist employs treatment goals, procedures, and adaptations for each phase of treatment (Huss et al., 2015). The stages of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment are stabilization, trauma processing, and reconnection/development of self-identity (Korn, 2009).

The therapist achieves these stages by employing eight different phases of treatment:

• Phase 1: History-taking
• Phase 2: Preparing the client
• Phase 3: Assessing the target memory
• Phases 4-7: Processing the memory to an adaptive resolution
• Phase 8: Evaluating treatment results
• (Shapiro, 2017)

Phase 1: History-taking. The therapist gets a complete history of their client and conducts an appropriate assessment so they can work together to identify targets for treatment, including targeting memories, triggers, and any future goals the client may have.

Phase 2. Preparing the client. The therapist explains the treatment and introduces the survivor to the procedures, practicing the eye movement component. The therapist helps their client to practice affect management, leading them through the safe/calm place exercise.

Phase 3: Assessing the target memory. This phase of EMDR treatment activates the memory that is being targeted by identifying and assessing each of the memory components: image, cognition, affect, and body sensations.

Phases 4-7: Processing the memory to an adaptive solution. In this phase, the client focuses on a memory while engaging in eye movements led by the therapist. The survivor reports if new thoughts have emerged. The therapist uses standardized procedures to determine the focus of each set of eye movement treatments. If necessary, the process is continued in more sessions until the client reports that the memory is no longer distressing.

Phase 8: Evaluating treatment results. If the targeted memory was not fully resolved in the session, instructions, and techniques to remain safe and to provide containment until the next session are discussed. Each session ends and begins with a reevaluation of how effective EMDR is for the survivor, what memories may have emerged since the last session, and what works for the client.

Processing a specific memory can be completed in one to three sessions. EMDR does not expose the person receiving treatment to distressing memories or detailed descriptions of the traumatic event.

Ending Our Time Together

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing have been used successfully for over thirty years to successfully treat those who have experienced both single and multiple traumatic events.

This form of psychotherapy is safe and effective when done by an adequately trained mental health professional. The client sits with their therapist and is led through an eye movement exercise while thinking about the traumatic event chosen for work at the beginning of the session. Afterward, the effectiveness of the process is evaluated to see if the therapist can do anything different in the next session.

Sometimes, EMDR is used in conjunction with regular psychotherapy to enhance the ability of the survivor to process the memories and bodily sensations they may have felt during the session.

One provider who offers EMDR is Annie Wright. In future posts, we shall examine Annie Wright and her important work treating clients who have survived multiple traumas and formed complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

“She could never go back and make some of the details pretty. All she could do was move forward and make the whole beautiful.” Terri St. Cloud

References

Hase, M., Balmaceda, U. M., Hase, A., Lehnung, M., Tumani, V., Huchzermeier, C., & Hofmann, A. (2015). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in the treatment of depression: a matched pairs study in an inpatient setting. Brain and Behavior, 5(6), e00342.

Korn, D. L. (2009). EMDR and the treatment of complex PTSD: A review. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 3(4), 264-278.

Shapiro, F. (2014). The role of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in medicine: addressing the psychological and physical symptoms stemming from adverse life experiences. The Permanente Journal, 18(1), 71.

Shapiro, F. (2017). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures. Guilford Publications.

Are you a therapist who treats CPTSD? Please consider dropping us a line to add you to our growing list of providers. You would get aid in finding clients and helping someone find the peace they deserve. Go to the contact us page and send a note; our staff will respond quickly.

Shortly, CPTSD Foundation will have compiled a list of providers treating complex post-traumatic stress disorder. When it becomes available, we will put it on our website www.CPTSDFoundation.org.

Visit us and sign up for our weekly newsletter to help inform you about treatment options and much more for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Healing Book Club

As of May 7th, 2022, the current book will be – “A Practical Guide to Complex PTSD: Compassionate Strategies to Begin Healing from Childhood Trauma.”

by Dr. Arielle Schwartz.

Here is an Excerpt –

Repetitive trauma during childhood can impact your emotional development, creating a ripple effect that carries into adulthood. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is a physical and psychological response to these repeated traumatic events. A Practical Guide to Complex PTSD contains research-based strategies, tools, and support for individuals working to heal from their childhood trauma. You don’t have to be a prisoner of your past.

Learn the skills necessary to improve your physical and mental health with practical strategies taken from the most effective therapeutic methods, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization, and reprocessing (EMDR), and somatic psychology. When appropriately addressed, the wounds of your past no longer need to interfere with your ability to live a meaningful and satisfying life.

This book includes the following:

• Understand C-PTSD—Get an in-depth explanation of complex PTSD, including its symptoms, its treatment through various therapies, and more.
• Address the symptoms—Discover evidence-based strategies for healing the symptoms of complex PTSD, like avoidance, depression, emotional dysregulation, and hopelessness.
• Real stories—Relate to others’ experiences with complex PTSD with multiple real-life examples in each chapter.

Start letting go of the pain from your past—A Practical Guide to Complex PTSD can help show you how.

If you or a loved one live in the despair and isolation of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please come to us for help. CPTSD Foundation offers a wide range of services, including:

• Daily Calls
• The Healing Book Club
• Support Groups
• Our Blog
• The Trauma-Informed Newsletter
• Daily Encouragement Texts

All our services are reasonably priced, and some are even free. So, sign-up to gain more insight into how complex post-traumatic stress disorder is altering your life and how you can overcome it; we will be glad to help you. If you cannot afford to pay, go to www.cptsdfoundation.org/scholarship to apply for aid. We only wish to serve you.

Mindfulness, Prayer, and Meditation Circle

Meditation can be an integral part of healing from trauma. Our 9-week self-study video course helps you integrate this fantastic grounding, centering, and focus method. Join the Mindfulness, Prayer, and Meditation Circle today!

 A new Trauma-Informed Yoga program is now available! Check out our information page about this highly requested new program! #yoga #traumainformed #cptsd #mentalhealth #recovery #wellness https://cptsdfoundation.org/traumainformedyoga/

 Do you have goals you need help reaching, or help define what goals suit you? Have you considered working with a #traumainformed coach? Learn about a new opportunity and a Free Discovery Call!

Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.

www.learnaboutdid.com

As a people, we were not created to bear such global trauma and civil unrest. It touches the very core of our fears, we long for safety within our families and communities. As a CPTSD patient, my world is rocked, my brain is full and I am out of tears. Watching the world fall apart is scary and many of us need help navigating some of these uncertain and scary waters. Besides fear, a prominent emotion is that of empathy for those who have suffered and who are suffering. Empathy alone can serve as fray in the fabric of our beings, and empathy overload can and will take us to places we don’t want to go, and the road back is difficult.

In his book, “Get Your Life Back”, John Eldredge suggests a few ways we can give our brains a rest. He cites that the amount of information we consume on any given day would crash a computer. His wisdom in this book is good for everyone but it is particularly good for the trauma tribe. I found this book and some of these principles helpful as I make my way back to a calm nervous system absent of the ills of an activated one. Paying attention to those things that activate our trauma respects the hard work of healing. A few of Eldredge’s principles can transition our emotional brain into our safe present with relative ease.

Eldredge’s principles are reinforced by one statement in the book.

“We were not created to bear the burdens of the whole world but of our village”—John Eldredge

Here are a few key points from Eldredge’s book, in deference to brevity, it is impossible to provide them all here.

• Practice the one-minute pause. Eldredge and his team created “The One Minute Pause” to get us to do just that: pause. Available also on a web browser, this encourages us to stop– twice a day, breathe, meditate and ground ourselves to our present safety.
• Practice Benevolent Detachment. This is the ability to let go of that which does not belong to you, or that which you simply cannot control. This stops empathy over-load and protects our own mental health. We can still care about the sufferings of the world yet understand our own limitations. Protect yourself from vicarious trauma, because your brain cannot delineate your own trauma from that of the world.
• Practice Beauty Hunting. When we focus on beauty, we engage our emotional brains in beautiful things, literally switching your consciousness to your present safety and not your activated trauma.
• Put your phone down. It has been said that the computers we hold in our hands are more powerful than NASA computers. The ease of information is dangerous and we must practice some detachment from the barrage of information.

A prominent California pastor encourages this about cell phones and I have found it helpful in my own journey of protecting my peace and healing.

• Divert Daily—this is the practice of putting our phones away for one hour a day. Eldredge’s research demonstrated the average person picks up their phones eighty times a day!
• Withdraw Weekly—this is the practice of putting your phone away for one full day a week. The exception is those things phones were actually meant to do, but this is a practice that has helped me immensely.
• Abandon Annually—this is the practice of putting your phone away for an entire week. This is the hardest one of them all. I have successfully done this for two years and I was a little sad with reentry. I simply had no idea what immense amounts of screen time were doing to my nervous system.

As a trauma tribe, it is so important to protect your peace and healing during these times of unrest. Perhaps utilizing some of these practices will calm your nervous system down, and you can continue to live the life you deserve because YOU MATTER!

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Amy Watson

I am a Florida girl who loves a simple life, Jesus, family, friends, football and the beach (usually in that order). I am a native of Jacksonville, Florida, but have spent most of my adult life on Florida’s west coast.

While being introduced for a speaking opportunity a few years ago, the pastor asked me “who are you?”. The words that followed shocked even me: “I am the precious daughter of the most high God”. There were many years when I would not have answered that question as I did that day.

Start in Childhood

Upon speaking with others, combing through my own trauma, and helping others, I’ve noticed a trend that I really want everyone to think about. When we’ve become adults, we’ve come to the conclusion that our lives have been impacted by CPTSD, the automatic response is to dive into our childhoods. Therapists go there, research goes there, everything goes to our childhood. And it is obviously the right place to start. But we tend to overlook our adulthood.

The experiences that were traumatic in our childhoods that brought us to where we are now, didn’t end when we grew up and moved out. For me personally, even after I had processed my childhood to the best of my abilities, accepted it, and moved on, my symptoms got progressively worse, despite there being absolutely no contact with my family of any kind ( which was a relief ). The people we form relationships with on our own, as adults, whether you are 25 or 35, are instinctively based on your childhood, without realizing it. If you are moving forward in your life without having addressed your childhood issues, or you have not yet even realized them, then you start to replace your family with similar personalities that raised you. Your closest friends, your wife, your girlfriend can all replace your abusive family without even realizing it. They may be nice towards you, but the behaviors towards others might be the same as the behaviors that you experienced as a child. Having already lived through these issues, we are hypersensitive to everything that we see. We can genuinely be traumatized further just by witnessing these behaviors as adults, being done unto others. And this circles back to what I said a minute ago. The Trauma started in your childhood, but it does not end there. When you are witnessing these things or surrounding yourself with people that behave in the very ways that rearranged your brain in the first place, your trauma might not just be relived but also worsened. When it’s worsened, your symptoms become even worse, even though there is no direct link to your childhood.

In The End

I’ll end this with an example that I’m sure many have and can relate to. After being kicked out at 16, I was left to make a lot of decisions on my own that I was not ready to make. To sum up my childhood, I was never wanted, I was planned and then regretted, my dad was physically abusive and mentally abusive to us kids, and my mom eventually turned into my dad and became the same way. We never experienced what it felt like to be loved, none of us siblings ever loved each other, we were forcibly separated by our parents over the years, and money mattered more than morals. So over the next 5 years of moving out, I had 4 “long-term ” relationships and many not-so-long-term relationships. Out of these 4 women, each was vastly different. They looked, talked, acted, and presented themselves totally different from one another. Yet they all had one thing in common. They were abusive, physically and mentally. From 16-21 years old, I was degraded, stabbed, walked all over, stolen from, used, and abused by women that I thought was all so different from my parents. When I was 16, I was traumatized with severe anxiety and anti-social personality type issues. By the time I was 21 my first therapist wanted to diagnose me as a sociopath with a dissociative personality disorder. By that time I already knew about CPTSD and had begun my healing, so I found a different more specialized therapist.

So I think my point is, that beyond our childhood, we need to be extremely self-aware of the people we allow into our lives as adults. Because the wrong person can cause someone with CPTSD to have the worst downward spiral that they have yet experienced.

Until Next time,

Benjamin

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Benjamin Holthaus

Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®) can lower your stress level by inducing the release of the body tension that has built up because of trauma. In this article, we shall examine how TRE® helps a survivor to self-regulate and feel better.

Emotional Self-Regulation and Trauma

Emotional self-regulation is one’s ability to respond to ongoing demands from experiences with a range of socially tolerable emotions but allow for spontaneous reactions that are appropriate. Emotional self-regulation is part of a more comprehensive set of emotional regulatory processes, including regulating one’s feelings and interpreting plus reacting to those of others.

Emotional regulation is a complex process involving inhibiting, modulating, or initiating a behavior in each situation. Emotional regulation can also refer to the process of focusing one’s attention on a task using the ability to suppress inappropriate behavior.

Trauma interrupts the development of self-regulation by affecting how our brain functions.

When we are cold and begin to shiver, the brain adapts to protect itself by turning off some bodily functions such as digestion. The same is true of a brain that is or has experienced trauma. The brain will change to protect itself from the stress that trauma causes.

Because the brain turns off some of its functions, certain parts are put on high alert while others are less active. This changing of functions in the brain causes children, and later adults, to have problems regulating their emotions and be impulsive, leading to fewer healthy adult relationships and increased illness.

The resulting lack of self-regulation also causes a person to react poorly to ordinary events like going to the store or having a family dinner. These mundane tasks and events become extraordinarily difficult for the survivor.

The Premise of TRE®

Trauma-Releasing Exercises or TRE® is a set of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of tension, stress, and trauma. The whole of TRE® is centered around Dr. Berceli’s observations that the body of humans often tremors during or after a stressful event. The vibration mechanism is natural for the human body to allow the autonomic nervous system to calm itself.

The premise of TRE® is that these tremors represent the deliberate activation of the autonomic nervous system during an overexcited state as a natural neurophysiological response to the body to release stress and restore a feeling of well-being.

People who have experienced trauma can become highly dysregulated in their autonomic nervous system reacting to triggers they encounter in disproportionate fashions that are not compatible with healthy relationships with oneself or others.

Trauma releasing exercises use induced vibrations and shaking of the body to enhance one’s ability to self-regulate their emotions by releasing tension from stress bottled up in the body. With the extra tension and stress released, it is easier to face triggers and manage one’s response.

Self-regulation is the ability to tolerate and control your emotions, feelings, and thoughts; however, a self-regulatory collapse occurs when you can no longer control these sensations.

TRE® allows one to reconnect with their body and eliminate pent-up emotions through a series of shaking and tremoring exercises usually done in the presence of a trained TRE® professional. Trauma-Releasing Exercises work because, as cognitive neuroscience research suggests, self-regulation is a top-down prefrontal cortex event that occurs over several subcortical regions involved in survival and emotion.

Trauma-Releasing Exercises Guidelines

While trauma-related exercises may sound easy to perform (they are), there are some basic guidelines that one should practice for safety and effectiveness.

For one, TREs should be done only if you feel safe and grounded. If you begin to experience pain, it is necessary to adjust your position or modify the speed and intensity of the exercise to relieve that pain. If the pain continues, stop, and take a break. The point of TRE® is to relax your autonomic nervous system, not to rev it up.

If you become overwhelmed emotionally, such as have a flashback or become upset emotionally, slow down or stop the TRE® exercises until you feel safe and grounded once more. Take a break and allow your body to return to a baseline state.

If one is doing TRE® for the first time, it is recommended that you only tremor for a maximum of fifteen minutes three or four times per week. It is vital that one only perform trauma-releasing exercises in the presence of a trained TRE® provider, as you can become highly overwhelmed by long-forgotten emotions and events that may bubble to the surface during them.

The exercises of TRE® activate the muscles to relax through a shaking mechanism. Relaxing tense muscles can reduce stress in the spine, neck, pelvis, and shoulders. When the tension is released, the brain registers a reduction in pain, producing new hormones to promote healing.

How TRE® Helps Adult Trauma Survivors Self-Regulate

Complex trauma can rule and ruin a person’s life if it is untreated and allowed reign. That statement is true whether what one has experienced was decades ago as a child or more recent from rape or assault. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are caused by trauma, with the prior is from repeated traumatic experiences, and the latter is from a single event type of traumatic event.

People who have been traumatized have a diminished ability to self-regulate and need something to help them release their pent-up emotions.

Once one has released the stress they have been harboring in their body for perhaps years, they are in a much better position to learn how to regulate their emotional responses to circumstances and themselves.

TRE® goes around the conscious part of the brain and instead works with the subconscious activities to defeat anxiety, stress, and trauma. TRE® takes advantage of the fact that our bodies are constantly responding to increased stress levels by contracting our muscles to help us get through the problem. We seldom recognize our muscle contractions until we experience illness or pain but

TRE® allows us to release this tension in a constructive and controlled manner.

Once the tension is released, we feel more relaxed and in control leading to better self-regulation.

TRE® compliments other exercise workouts such as yoga, reducing the impact of stress, reducing muscle tension, and increasing strength and flexibility. TRE® also uncovers a tension at a deep level causing greater mental flexibility at a deep level, increasing awareness of a more profound sense of self. Once there is a deeper sense of oneself, one experiences a deeper sense of connection and belonging, helping to increase self-regulation.

In Closing

A human adult must learn to control our responses to whatever life throws our way.  Emotional self-regulation is the ability to manage one’s emotional responses.

Almost all people are living with the effects of complex trauma experience some level of self-regulation, which is vital to be successful adults. A person who can take charge of their emotions instead of becoming overpowered by them will be more in tune with their feelings, exercise greater control, and adjust their emotional control when necessary.

Without self-regulation, we are left to being overreactive, simmering, timebombs ready to spew our anger or grief on anyone who gets in our way, leaving us isolated and alone.

TRE® allows one to release tension and stress in a constructive and well-controlled manner by rewiring the brain and regulating our emotional responses.

References

Montroy, J. J., Bowles, R. P., Skibbe, L. E., McClelland, M. M., & Morrison, F. J. (2016). The development of self-regulation across early childhood. Developmental psychology, 52(11), 1744.

TRE® for All, Inc. Retrieved from: https://traumaprevention.com/what-is-tre/

Tjasa, S., TRE® for athletes. School of Advanced Social Studies, Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Retrieved from: https://traumaprevention.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/TRE-FOR-ATHLETES-gimslo.pdf

What is emotional regulation? (2020). Mightier.com. Retrieved from: https://www.mightier.com/articles/what-is-emotional-regulation/

“If you live your life to please everyone else, you will continue to feel frustrated and powerless. This is because what others want may not be good for you. You are not being mean when you say NO to unreasonable demands or when you express your ideas, feelings, and opinions, even if they differ from those of others.” ~ Beverly Engel

If you or a loved one live in the despair and isolation that comes with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, come to us for help. CPTSD Foundation offers a wide range of services, including:

• Daily Calls
• The Healing Book Club
• Support Groups
• Our Blog
• The Trauma-Informed Newsletter
• Daily Encouragement Texts

All our services are reasonably priced, and some are even free. So, to gain more insight into how complex post-traumatic stress disorder is altering your life and how you can overcome it, sign-up; we will be glad to help you.  If you cannot afford to pay, go to www.cptsdfoundation.org/scholarship to apply for aid. We only wish to serve you.

The 4 Steps to Emotional Regulation

Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.

www.learnaboutdid.com