If you’ve experienced trauma, especially religious trauma or spiritual abuse in any way, it’s possible to be feeling

• Guilty for circumstances outside your control

• Scared or confused in toxic or abusive relationships

• Difficulty experiencing joy and pleasure

• Disconnect with family members, community, or friends

• Difficulty trusting friends or partners

• Overwhelmed trying to make sense of meaning and connection with a Higher Power

• Physiological symptoms which can include numbness, heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, gastrointestinal issues, changes in appetite, or brain fog

Trauma happens in the alone spaces when we don’t have appropriate support to help us process what has, or is, happening to us. Our brain is hard-wired for safety, so when we experience an event or circumstance that, to our brains, feels threatening (we may not immediately recognize that we feel threatened) our nervous system responds to protect us. This protection can look like the physiological symptoms described above, along with anxiety, depression, dissociation, panic attacks, compromising needs, appeasing to avoid conflict or anger, and more. This protection is valuable and helps you survive!

When we are able to recover with support, our nervous system can “finish the stress cycle” and we can move forward. However, when we can’t finish the stress cycle, our nervous systems can become “stuck”. Now that event has been imprinted on our amygdala, the part of our brain that is responsible for processing emotions and forming memories. Familiar cues in the environment will trigger that memory and you will feel as if you were back in that same moment, reliving that event.

The good news is that our brains and nervous systems are not rigid! We can learn to create safety and build resilience for our bodies and minds through nervous system skills, deconstruct power of old narratives, cultivate compassion for the parts that have helped us survive, and gain agency to reclaim the narrative we want for ourselves.

What types of trauma are there?

Direct or Acute Trauma: You either personally witnessed a trauma, or personally experienced a trauma. For example, abuse against yourself or a family member. (Sometimes you will hear this referred to as “big T trauma”. I refrain from these terms as it can diminish the impact of trauma.

Vicarious Trauma: This can happen when you engage with communities that are experiencing trauma. It is part of an empathetic response. For example, engagement with unhoused or low income communities.

Secondary Trauma: Similar to vicarious trauma, but secondary trauma happens more acutely. For example, seeing graphic content in a professional career or context, or witnessing news events online or in person.

Cumulative Trauma: This type of trauma happens over time. We can experience this when traumatic events happen over and over. For example, poverty, imprisonment, or in careers such as journalism, police work, or medical care. Developmental Trauma is a type of Cumulative Trauma that occurs in childhood from harmful chronic interpersonal events such as neglect or abuse.

Moral Injury: This term refers to a violation of deeply held beliefs and values. Feeling guilt, shame, or complicity in another’s suffering (human, animal, planet).

Burnout: Burnout can look and feel different for everyone, but generally can include the following: Feeling depleted or fatigued; Difficulty masking or code switching; increased mental distance from a job, relationship, or even thing you enjoy; feeling cynical or pessimistic most of the time; reduced efficacy in functioning at home or at work.