Trauma & Dissociation

Understanding Trauma: The Invisible Wound

"Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you."

— Gabor Maté

Most people think of trauma as a car crash or a war zone. And while those are certainly traumatic, the truth is often quieter and more pervasive. Trauma is any experience that overwhelms your nervous system’s ability to cope, leaving you stuck in a state of survival long after the threat has passed.

Whether it was a single catastrophic event or a slow drip of neglect, the result is the same: A disconnection from the self.

Beyond the Labels: What You Are Actually Feeling

You might not relate to the word "PTSD." You might just feel:

• Stuck: Like you are spinning your wheels but getting nowhere.

• Numb: A sense of detachment, like you are watching your life through a pane of glass.

• Vibrating: A constant, low-level anxiety that makes it impossible to rest.

• Split: Like there is a "High-Functioning You" who goes to work, and a "Shadow You" who collapses the moment you get home.

This isn't a character flaw. This is Unprocessed Energy.

Decoding the Types of Trauma

1. Shock Trauma ("Big T") The event that shatters your timeline. Accidents, assaults, sudden loss.

• The Symptom: Flashbacks, panic, the feeling that it is happening now.

• The Reality: Your brain hasn't filed the memory in the past yet. We help you file it.

2. Developmental Trauma ("Little t") The invisible wounds of childhood. The narcissistic parent, the chronic neglect, the bullying, the feeling of being "too much."

• The Symptom: Perfectionism, people-pleasing, chronic shame, and the feeling that you are fundamentally broken.

• The Reality: You aren't broken; you were programmed to be small. We rewrite the code.

3. Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) This is the trauma of Captivity. When you couldn't escape—whether from a toxic family system, a controlling partner, or an institutional setting.

• The Symptom: Emotional flashbacks, difficulty trusting anyone (including yourself), and a profound sense of alienation.

• The Reality: This requires a specialized approach. Standard talk therapy often isn't enough because the wound is in the relationship, not just the event.

The Body Keeps the Score: Dissociation & Somatics

"Why do I feel like I'm floating?" Dissociation is your brain's airbag. It deploys during a crash to save you from the impact. But sometimes, it gets stuck. If you feel disconnected from your body, foggy, or like you are living in a dream, your nervous system is in a Freeze State.

To heal this, we cannot just "talk" about it. We have to go downstairs into the body.

Our Approach: Alchemy for the Nervous System

At Wounded Healers Inc., we don't just treat symptoms; we transmute them. We use a multi-dimensional approach to clear the trauma from your cells so you can reclaim your life.

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): We use bilateral stimulation to manually reprocess "stuck" memories, moving them from the emotional brain to the logical brain. It’s like defragging your hard drive.

• Internal Family Systems (IFS): We stop fighting your "symptoms" and start interviewing them. We get to know the parts of you that are anxious, addicted, or frozen, and we help them heal.

• Somatic Experiencing (SE) & Trauma Release Exercises (TRE): We bypass the story and go straight to the sensation. By allowing the body to shake, tremble, and discharge held energy, we complete the stress cycle that got interrupted years ago.

• Spiritual Integration: We honor the existential impact of trauma. We explore how your suffering has shaped your soul, using ancient wisdom to find meaning in the wreckage.

You do not have to carry this forever. Trauma is a heavy backpack. Let’s set it down, open it up, and see what you actually need to keep.