Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD | CPTSDfoundation.org

Fawn Response: The Trauma Survival Pattern That’s Mistaken for Kindness

by Dr. Mozelle Martin | Jun 5, 2025 | Boundaries, CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame, Mental Health Awareness, Mental Health Professional, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, Self-Acceptance, Symptoms of CPTSD

It often looks like compassion. It often gets praised as loyalty. But for many trauma survivors, the behavior known as the fawn response isn’t about kindness—it is about survival. The fawn response is the least recognized of the four primary trauma reactions: fight,...

How Does Trauma Manifest at Work?

by STAR Network | Feb 4, 2025 | CPTSD, Dr. Jamie Huyman, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, TAR ANON, TAR Network, TAR Tales, Toxic Relationships, Trauma, Trauma-Informed

By Dr. Jamie Huysman, Founder and Executive Director of STAR Network & Milena Stankovic Co-Founder of STAR Network Our workplace behaviors often serve as a reflection of our personal histories. For many, unresolved childhood trauma subtly influences the way they...

Discovering Glimmers

by Erena DiGonis | Jul 10, 2023 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD

Introduction As a complex trauma therapist and advocate, I dedicate time to researching and seeking innovative ideas and tools to enhance healing for my clients. I know that many well-meaning suggestions can get too complicated and time-consuming. I was attending one...

Valuable Moments in Time

by Roseanne Reilly | Jan 4, 2022 | Anxiety, Building Resilience in Healing, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD Poetry, Hope, Hypervigilance, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, Self Care, The Brain and CPTSD

We can know we are safe and still not feel safe? We come into the world wired for connection and safety. How do we shift from the appearance of safety to the experience of this at a neurological and physiological level? While we may think our brains are in charge, our...

Nervous System Awareness and Reactivity

by Roseanne Reilly | Dec 1, 2021 | Building Resilience in Healing, Mindfulness, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, Post Traumatic Growth, Self Care

Without the ability to self-regulate. Can there really be growth?All experiences are stored in the body and no one can escape their nervous system. Our autonomic nervous system learns from experiences for better or for worse. Kathy Kain writes about this in her book...

The Thumb-Sucker

by Rebekah Brown | Mar 24, 2021 | Attachment Trauma, CPTSD, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Emotional Flashbacks, Outer Critic, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, Symptoms of CPTSD, The Brain and CPTSD

The Thumb-Sucker Fight or flight: the instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation, which readies one either to resist forcibly or to run away. **Please be kind to yourself as you read** I thought I was safe. At four years old, I believed if I...

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