In the same way that not every childhood is traumatic, everyone’s journey through trauma is different. Broadly speaking, trauma happens when something is too much for you to process; when your nervous system experiences an overload of stressors, emotions, and circumstances; when a part of your soul freezes in time waiting for later resolution. It can happen to all of us, at any given time in our lives. And it can take time to recognize and understand what's happened and what it means for you. In my private practice, I’ve noticed trauma can have many faces: ⭒ It can be acute, as a result of a distressful one-time event like an assault or the sudden loss of a loved one. ⭒ It can be chronic, resulting from harmful situations that were repeated or prolonged, like bullying and abuse. ⭒ It can be complex, arising from multiple traumatic events with the sense of being trapped, undermining the sense of safety resulting in hyper-vigilance. ⭒ It can be secondary, as a result of being exposed to other people’s suffering, developing compassion fatigue. ⭒ It can result from ACE which includes a wide range of difficult situations experienced in childhood either directly or as witnesses such as neglect and divorce. Today, I would like to talk to you about Overt Trauma (ACE): ⋆ These are the major events experienced in childhood that are overly traumatic, such as experiencing abuse, the loss of a parent, a car accident, a natural disaster, or a war zone. Because understanding can be complicated, Trauma Healing focuses on learning to notice your implicit responses instead of making meaning, storytelling, reacting, or interpreting the traumatic experience. This contributes to a calmer, less reactive amygdala –which has you living in survival mode. Noticing also combats your tendency to let the negativity bias dominate your life –that part that tells you the world is a threatening, scary place, without all the amazing colors it truly has to offer you. 🤍 A traumatic experience doesn’t define you. Its effects are not meant to last a lifetime. Healing trauma is possible, as is becoming the hero of your story. ~ L, 💕.