Podcast Summary
Understanding Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: CPTSD involves toxic shame, a harsh inner critic, emotional flashbacks, chronic self-abandonment, and social anxiety. Learn about these traits and practical healing steps through the Trauma Rewired podcast and membership site.
Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is a type of trauma that includes distinguishing components such as toxic shame, a harsh inner critic, emotional flashbacks, chronic self-abandonment, and social anxiety. These characteristics may resonate with individuals on different levels. The Trauma Rewired podcast aims to educate listeners about their nervous system, how trauma affects the body, and practical steps to heal. Hosts Jennifer Wallace and Elizabeth Kristoff offer tools and resources through their Brain Based Wellness membership site. They are re-releasing this series from a new perspective, as they've grown and gained more experience in the field. The mental health industry has failed to recognize complex trauma in the DSM, leading to a need for alternative resources and education. Join the podcast to learn more about yourself, your nervous system, and practical tools for healing.
Understanding Complex Trauma: A Shift from Disorder to Response: Complex trauma is a prolonged response to interpersonal violence, objectification, and systemic failures. It includes symptoms like emotional flashbacks, inner critic, toxic shame, self-abandonment, and social anxiety. By reframing complex trauma as a response to adverse experiences, individuals can reclaim power and begin healing.
Complex trauma is a pervasive issue rooted in interpersonal violence, objectification, and systemic failures. It calls out the need for a shift in understanding why we behave the way we do, and challenging the label of "disordered" for individuals with complex post-traumatic stress (CPTS). CPTS, coined by Judith Herman in the 1990s, refers to prolonged states of trauma, including emotional and physical neglect, and can manifest in symptoms like emotional flashbacks, inner critic, toxic shame, self-abandonment, and social anxiety. Learning about CPTS was a life-changing and affirming experience for many, offering a new perspective on the somatic and neurological components of these characteristics. By reframing complex trauma as a response to adverse experiences rather than a disorder, individuals can reclaim power and begin the journey towards healing.
Trauma's Complex Impact on Body and Mind: Trauma can change brain function, limit coping skills, and shape daily experiences and relationships.
Trauma is more than just an emotional response; it's a complex physiological reaction that can overwhelm the nervous system and change brain function. Trauma can lead to imbalances that limit our capacity to adapt to stress, integrate memories, or express ourselves. These changes, often shaped by our environment and relationships, can result in dissociation, compartmentalization, and emotional repression. However, it's important to note that healing is possible. With time, we can develop new ways to cope and integrate these experiences, leading to increased self-awareness and the ability to move through emotional flashbacks and dysregulation. The key is to understand that trauma's impact goes beyond the moment of the traumatic event and can shape our day-to-day experiences and relationships.
Understanding Complex Trauma: Chronic Stress and Nervous System Damage: Complex trauma involves chronic stress that damages the nervous system, leading to unhealthy coping mechanisms, distorted perception, and potential disease. Daily nervous system training promotes healing and prevents further damage.
Complex trauma, unlike PTSD, involves chronic stress that leaves individuals unable to stay present, process emotions, and plan for the future due to nervous system damage. This can lead to dangerous coping mechanisms, unhealthy relationships, and a distorted perception of the world. The chronic stress of complex trauma can result in inflammation and disease, making it essential for individuals to learn daily nervous system training to promote healing and prevent further damage. Understanding the difference between acute and chronic stress and the health consequences of complex trauma is crucial for individuals to prioritize self-care and seek appropriate support.
Childhood Trauma: Effects on Brain and Nervous System: Childhood trauma can lead to brain changes, anxiety, and social issues. Enmeshment and parentification can cause emotional power imbalances and hinder emotional development, resulting in long-term impacts on stress handling and emotion regulation.
Childhood trauma, including emotional enmeshment and parentification, can lead to chronic stress responses and changes in the brain and nervous system. Trauma can result from various forms of abuse, neglect, and inappropriate emotional demands, creating new normals of survival mode or constant activation. The amygdala can become enlarged, perceiving increased threats, leading to anxiety and social issues. The limbic system can be constantly engaged, and coping mechanisms can become maladaptive. Enmeshment trauma involves disregard for personal boundaries and loss of autonomy, leading to emotional power imbalances and potential exposure to inappropriate situations. Parentification occurs when children are forced to take on adult roles, causing emotional and financial stress and hindering their emotional development. These experiences can have long-term impacts on individuals, affecting their ability to handle stress and regulate emotions.
Supporting Nervous System and Health with AG One: AG One offers comprehensive nutritional support for gut, brain, and immune system, aligning with Trauma Rewired principles. It's a simple and effective way to invest in nutritional health, especially for those dealing with complex trauma and its symptoms.
Chronic stress and complex trauma can significantly impact our nervous system and overall health. Nutritional supplements, like AG one, can provide comprehensive support to our gut, brain, and immune system, and can be a simple yet effective way to invest in our nutritional health. AG one, which aligns with the principles of Trauma Rewired, offers refreshing, science-driven support through a formulation of vitamins, probiotics, and whole food sourced nutrients. Complex trauma, which can manifest in various symptoms such as flashbacks, memory lapses, emotional dysregulation, and interpersonal relationship struggles, is a foundation of Trauma Rewired. Understanding the emotional, physical, and somatic components of complex trauma can help us recognize and address underlying issues. Additionally, complex trauma is relational and shaped by interpersonal relationships, particularly those with caregivers or attachment figures. Our attachment patterns play a significant role in our brain function and our ability to build safe and regulating relationships. AG one, with its daily consumption and convenient travel packets, can be a valuable addition to any self-care routine. For more information and a special offer, visit drinkagone.com/forward/rewired.
Impact of Complex Trauma on Health and Relationships: Complex trauma robs individuals of a rich present-moment experience, creating deficits in social brain and nervous system, leading to chronic stress and altered brain function. Daily practices can help develop a properly integrated brain and nervous system, enabling individuals to fully engage with the world and plan for the future.
Complex trauma, which is rooted in attachment wounds, significantly impacts our health and ability to connect with others. The long-term effects of developmental trauma create deficits or hypervigilance in our social brain and nervous system, leading to chronic stress and altered brain function. This altered reality makes it difficult for individuals with complex trauma to predict and plan for the future, keeping them stuck in a repetitive loop of complex trauma. The lack of integration in their brains and nervous systems makes it challenging to absorb and process experiences fully, robbing them of a rich and present-moment experience. To overcome this, daily practices focused on creating safety and lowering the threat in our nervous systems can help individuals with complex trauma develop a properly integrated brain and nervous system, enabling them to fully engage with the world around them and predict and plan for the future.
Understanding the Nervous System's Role in Emotions and Trauma: Practicing daily nervous system exercises can help us effectively cope with chronic stress and traumatic patterns, promoting growth and change.
Our nervous system plays a crucial role in how we process emotions and traumatic experiences. However, without the necessary tools to work with our nervous system, therapy or even everyday experiences can lead to dissociation or emotional flashbacks, making things worse instead of better. These responses can result in intense emotions and distorted reality, leaving us feeling helpless and confused. Our behaviors, such as drinking or overeating, can be our nervous system's adaptive ways to cope with chronic stress. Understanding the interplay between various components of the nervous system and practicing daily nervous system exercises can help us work with our nervous system more effectively and empower us to break free from self-fulfilling prophecies and traumatic patterns. Remember, we are neuroplastic beings capable of growth and change.
Understanding nervous system outputs: To improve symptoms of anxiety or dissociation, focus on changing the input to our nervous system and developing self-compassion through sensory practices and a new perspective on our experiences.
Our nervous system is constantly adapting to our environment and experiences, leading to various outputs such as anxiety or dissociation. These symptoms are not set in stone, but rather the result of repetition and our nervous system's interpretation of safety or danger. To repattern and develop self-compassion, it's essential to understand these outputs as symptoms and begin practicing safety and regulation. This can start with simple sensory practices, such as touching and honoring our bodies, and developing a new relationship with ourselves based on compassion and understanding. Neurosomatics and applied neurology focus on changing the way our nervous system takes in and interprets sensory information to promote nervous system rehabilitation and improved overall well-being. By shifting our perspective from focusing solely on the output to examining the input and our brain's interpretation, we can begin to make meaningful changes and build a healthier relationship with ourselves.
Rehabilitating the Nervous System for Better Sensory Processing and Stress Management: Regularly training and assessing tools can improve sensory processing, decrease stress, and create positive patterns for better relationship functioning and overall resilience.
By intentionally rehabilitating the nervous system through regular training and assessing tools, we can improve our sensory processing, decrease stress, and increase our capacity to handle life's challenges. This practice not only enhances our daily functioning but also contributes to safer and healthier relationships. By learning to regulate our nervous system, we can respond effectively to triggers and create new, positive patterns, ultimately leading to a more resilient and adaptive way of living. Remember, what works for one person may not work for another, so it's essential to assess and reassess tools to find the best fit for your individual needs. And as you develop this practice, you'll notice improvements in your ability to handle stress and engage in relationships with greater safety and regulation.
Healing from Complex Trauma is Relational and Communal: Community support and intentional learning can significantly impact trauma patterns, emotional experiences, and presence, enhancing the effectiveness of healing practices.
Healing from complex trauma is not a solitary process. It is relational and communal. The importance of community in the healing journey cannot be overstated. Healing through intentional training and learning, with the support of a community, can lead to significant changes in trauma patterns, emotional experiences, and presence. The nervous system plays a crucial role in these areas, and working directly with it can open the door for other healing practices to have a greater impact. For those seeking a higher level of accountability and support, consider booking a consultation and joining a community like Rewire, where incredible practitioners are available to work with you through brain-based wellness. No matter where you are in your journey, there is a place for you, and you are not alone.
Journeying through Post Traumatic Stress: Understand that dealing with PTS is common and requires self-compassion and willingness to learn. The nervous system plays a role and there are methods to help regulate it. Reach out for support and remember, this podcast is informational, not a substitute for professional medical advice.
If you're dealing with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), you're not alone, and there are ways to work through it. It's important to approach this journey with self-compassion and a willingness to learn. The nervous system plays a significant role in the experience of trauma, and there are methods to help regulate it. Don't hesitate to reach out for support. In the upcoming series, we'll dive deeper into emotional flashbacks. Stay tuned, subscribe, and remember, this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. If you're in the US and experiencing a mental health crisis, please call 911. For additional resources, refer to the full disclaimer in the show notes.