Read on Twitter
Part of normalizing the existence of/ conversations around trauma is removing the stigma surrounding it by ACTUALLY understanding that trauma occurs when *acute distress becomes chronic distress*. And that happening to someone doesn’t have to be someone else’s fault or intention.
This is why so much trauma is per-verbal. It is extremely likely that most of my trauma would still be present in my body and mind even if my mother hadn’t abused me — because I was born chronically ill.
The majority of my needs went unmet for the first few months of my life. And my distress over that created neural pathways. And my mother’s anxiety over my distress created other neural pathways. And NONE of that is anyone’s fault.
It isn’t helping anyoneeeeeeeeeee to dismiss the idea that trauma could be a cause for specific illness and conditions developing just because a child wasn’t hit or yelled at or overtly neglected during their developmental years. That’s not how brain development works. Sorry.
Trauma can even develop due to adverse experiences *in the womb* or even epigenetic transfers of trauma through DNA. People can literally inherit trauma from their ancestors that doesn’t even belong to them in the first place.
The reason why it matters that we understand this is because we need to get our heads around the fact that TRAUMA INFORMED TREATMENTS ARE ALWAYS THE BEST PLACE TO START. And there should be NO SHAME in seeking them.
It is ALWAYS best practice to try and treat anyyyyything going on in our bodies and minds by acknowledging that harmful impact not only could have happened, but likely did — and if we get to the source of that harm, our bodies and minds might be able to repair.
And also they might not be able to — in which case, thank fuck pharmaceuticals exist, am I right? And thank fuck that trauma treatment and chemical interventions aren’t mutually exclusive, huh?
The more we exclusively equate “trauma” with “overt, intentional harm” the less we are capable of understanding what our bodies and brains have been through; the more shame we are heaping onto ourselves and others; and the less steadfast we will be in seeking ALL KINDS OF CARE.
TLDR: saying “the cause of this issue can’t possibly be trauma because this person had a ‘normal’ childhood is just... not it.
