The more insidious earlier trauma is called developmental trauma. Developmental trauma is more likely to increase as your ACE score increases. An ACE score is the numerical result of 10 questions about big early childhood experiences, ranging from abuse/neglect to divorce. The correlation of an ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) score and health problems, addiction issues, and mental health is quite high.

What is Developmental Trauma / ACEs? – Portico (porticonetwork.ca)

Here is a short video further outlining the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale and the effects of these on development:

In addition to developmental trauma, one might also experience complex trauma. This is a type of trauma that occurs repeatedly through time. See link below for more information. Fact Sheet I – Trauma and Complex Trauma: An Overview (isst-d.org)

Trauma and traumatic stress create an experience that effects the whole self; when we react to trauma, we do it with the primal part of our brains that controls the fight, flight, freeze response and oversees the body response. In this, situations that seem pretty safe can create huge emotional reactions that do not seem to fit the situation at all. Also, it seems that traumatic memories do not fully process through all regions of the brain, including the part of the brain responsible for language. Because of this, those huge emotional reactions usually cannot be described by words. A fight, flight, freeze response activation is most often felt rather than spoken. Below is a link to further describe how trauma effects the brain and body:

Learning more about the nervous system and the polyvagal theory is extremely helpful in understanding how traumatic experiences, chronic stress, and developmental trauma effect daily life. Below are some links that give more information about this amazing theory.

Here are some links that will help in learning ways to regulate and co-regulate your nervous system when the sympathetic and dorsal vagal responses are activated: 19 Techniques to Calm a Highly Sensitive Nervous System – Tiny Buddha

The root of self-compassion lies in understanding that when trauma responses are activated, it is as if your brain and body are experiencing the event for the first time, at the first age you can remember being hurt in this same way. For many of us, that was in childhood or adolescence. Essentially, at trauma activation, your brain and body become childlike again, and it is your job to care for this very young part of yourself. Instead, we will often re-traumatize ourselves with our own reactions to trauma, like compulsive behaviors, negative self-talk, explosive reactions, shame, or isolation… when what the scared child that we become needs from us is compassion, understanding, and a sense of safety. Below are some links to more information about self-compassion and exercises to increase self-compassion: Self-Compassion Exercises by Dr. Kristin Neff

A primary human need is safety. This is knowing that we are safe with other people, with ourselves, and in the world. This safety is not exclusive the physical safety, it also includes emotional safety. At the heart of traumatic experiences is a disrupted sense of safety. Many of us learn how to care for others and provide their safety, but do not have the opportunity or understanding that we can do the same for ourselves. For example, imagine you have a child who is afraid of meeting new people. As a parent invested in our child’s sense of safety, wouldn’t you go out of your way to make meeting new people a safe experience for that child? You might introduce new people gradually, in an environment that the child is already comfortable with, and gradually increase amount of time that the child is with a new person. This is safety, and as adults, who are constantly in and out of a fight, flight, freeze activation, we need the same thing. Below are links for developing a sense of emotional safety as an individual, and in a relationship: Emotional safety plan worksheet (colostate.edu) How to Create Emotional Safety in a Relationship: 7 Tips (psychcentral.com)

Dissociation is a type of survival response that a brain employs to keep a system safe when stress seems unmanageable. Dissociation occurs along a continuum, and everyone has done it to one degree or another. In its mildest form dissociation might be “spacing out” during a lengthy discussion or on a long car trip. On the other end of the spectrum are dissociative disorders, including Dissociative Identity Disorder and Dissociative Amnesia. Learning more about dissociation and its role in your brain and body is important in healing from trauma. You will find more information in the links below. Fact Sheet III – Trauma Related Dissociation: An Introduction (isst-d.org) Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II): Screening for Dissociative Identity Disorder and more (traumadissociation.com)

On January 22, 2022 the world lost a great teacher of mindfulness, compassion, and peace in the passing of Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn. He dedicated his life to teaching the Western world the tenants of mindfulness to help in creating peace. Science has caught up with ancient teachings and there are now an abundance of studies that show a correlation between mindfulness and decreased stress. For trauma survivors, mindfulness helps create the awareness of the present moment, versus the unconscious or conscious re-living of the past. Further, mindfulness helps trauma survivors learn skills of self-regulation and helps the brain stay in the body when dissociating. However, it should be noted that sometimes returning to the body can feel very unsafe. If this is something you struggle with, staying grounded and mindful in the body is a practice that requires both self-compassion and safety. Below are some videos of Thich Nhat Hahn’s teachings:

Shame is all at once a protective mechanism, a feeling, and a state of mind. In the world of trauma, shame often acts as a protector, usually an attempt for a young developing mind to gain a sense of control of an uncontrollable situation. In time, shame becomes a state of mind that reinforces the belief of not being able to meet expectations, not being able to help or save, or just not being good enough to be loved. Below you will find an excellent TED talk on shame:

EMDR therapy has had a colorful past, yet it has remained an effective and well supported tool for healing, endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association and the Department of Veterans Affairs.  EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) (webmd.com) About EMDR Therapy – EMDR International Association (emdria.org) Experiencing EMDR Therapy – EMDR International Association (emdria.org) Part of the colorful history of EMDR is criticism around the fact that it is still undetermined HOW EMDR works, yet, study after study shows that it DOES work. Dangers of EMDR Therapy: Side Effects, Myths, & Misconceptions (simplypsychology.org) Should I do EMDR therapy? 5 questions to help you decide:

And, here are some video links more about EMDR, including a royal and a television star!

You will find more information in the links below. Add nature, art and religion to life’s best anti-inflammatories | Berkeley (news.berkeley.edu) Forest Bathing Benefits | The Evidence-Based Wellness Practice (natureandforesttherapy.earth) Walking off depression and beating stress outdoors? Nature group walks linked to improved mental health | ScienceDaily (www.sciencedaily.com) Nature Therapy: Types and Benefits | WebMD (webmd.com) Soil Bacteria Work In Similar Way To Antidepressants | Medical News Today (medicalnewstoday.com) Urban street tree biodiversity and antidepressant prescriptions | Scientific Reports (nature.com)