Trauma bonding occurs when a person forms an intense emotional connection with someone who is abusive, manipulative, or otherwise harmful. This bond is reinforced through cycles of abuse, periods of kindness, and emotional manipulation, making it difficult for the victim to leave.
Understanding the relationship between the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and anxiety is essential to treatment. The SNS is a part of the autonomic nervous system that activates our body’s "fight or flight" response. For those with trauma histories, this response can become overactivated, even in non-threatening situations, leading to heightened and persistent anxiety.
Trauma leaves a profound impact, often shaping the way people perceive the world, relate to others, and even experience themselves. The good news is that trauma doesn't have to define you, and through therapies like EMDR, there is a way to find relief, process the pain, and move forward into a healthier and more empowered life.
Trauma is the physiological and psychological response to deeply disturbing or distressing events that overwhelm our ability to cope, leading to profound feelings of helplessness and hopelessness protecting ourselves (or others we care about like parents or siblings) when faced with real (or perceived) threats.
When left untreated, patterns of disturbance which are experienced for more than 1 month after a traumatic event has occurred, and cause significant disruption in social and occupational areas of one’s life often become what is known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
To say the least, 2020 was a strange and chaotic year for us all. With the COVID-19 pandemic at the forefront of great challenges and change in our social, political, and economic systems, many of us were forced into an unfamiliar and unpredictable world wrought with fear of what’s to come, grief at what was lost, and uncertainty about how to navigate it all.
Relationships are fundamental to the human experience. They are intrinsic to how we define ourselves and relate to the world. They help form our values, morals, and beliefs. They protect us from danger and provide for us in times of need. They form the basis for our culture, shaping how we communicate and relate to others.
