Whether you consider yourself a survivor of trauma or not, I can guarantee you’ve experienced some level of it before. Maybe it was only something as small as getting cut off in traffic and being unable to dislodge that feeling of anger in a timely or appropriate manner. Or maybe you’re all too familiar with the pain of trauma, as you’ve been closely linked with it time and time again — through death, assault, natural disaster, or oppression (to name a few).
Your trauma may be what we refer to as “little t trauma” — aka “not that significant” to the masses, but to YOU it may still feel big or important.
Perhaps your trauma is closer to what we call “big T trauma” — the horribly unfair things that come to mind when one hears the word “trauma”. There is hope for you, I promise. Your trauma does not have to define you and it does not have to continue shaping every decision of your life.
The *severity* of your trauma does not matter.
Read that again.
The severity of your trauma
does
NOT
matter.
And I share this as a means of liberation for people on both sides of the trauma spectrum.
What may feel incredibly difficult and challenging to me may have no effect on you at all. That’s the tricky and magnificent part of trauma — it does not affect us all in the same manner.
But it does affect us.
No matter the “size” of your trauma, we have all lived through some amount of hardship. The way you feel about your pain or your past is valid.
So, why is healing from trauma so vital for our well-being? And what does it mean to be trauma-informed?
Living with trauma keeps us stuck in survival mode. Every thing is a threat. Life feels - and often is - unexplainably difficult. You may be stuck in fight or flight — constantly on edge and guarded or always go, go, go. Or you may be stuck in a freeze response — unable to move forward with ease and trust for others or yourself.
Learning your patterns and triggers and how to more effectively cope with stress leads to a softer, safer, and more balanced life. Who wouldn’t want that?
As a coach and movement specialist, being trauma-informed means that I approach healing holistically. Say what? That means that I take into account that a person coming to me for services has likely experienced trauma and needs to be treated as a whole person, rather than focusing in on only one issue.
Here’s an example: If you’re coming to me for hip pain, I’m not only going to look at your hip and the physical pain that exists there. Together, we’ll be curious about other areas of the body plus the emotional ties attached to your physical body and its pain.
For me, trauma-informed care encompasses:
- movement modalities like somatic practices, dance, or trauma-informed yoga
- mindfulness practices like meditation, journaling, and creativity
- emotional / psychological support through coaching, energy work, and therapy*
(*not with me)
So why is trauma-informed care important for us ALL?
We’ve all experienced some level and degree of trauma. Period.
We cannot examine our trauma in tiny, compartmentalized aspects of our life, either.
Plus, we live in a world where we are, at almost all times, witnessing trauma on a global scale.
For Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), we are especially attuned to and sensitive of the world’s pain, trauma, violence, and subtleties that non-HSPs do not experience. So for you, sweet HSP, trauma-informed care is not a luxury, but a necessity.
Trauma-informed care guides you into harmony between your body, mind, heart, and spirit again.
To learn more about the services I offer, click here.