The holistic definition of trauma
One of the most accurate definitions of trauma I’ve found is from Chinese Medicine for the Mind (Nina Cheng), which acknowledges that it involves many aspects of emotional, psychological, and physiological conditions.
The defining characteristics:
- Overwhelms the nervous system
- Violates boundaries
- Disrupts relationality
- Severs connections
- Admits feelings of powerlessness
- Damages the sense of meaning
- Inhibits the sense of self
- Disrupts contact with the self
- Instigates or stimulates collapse/separation of yin and yang (dysregulation)
Interestingly, I was just looking up TRE on the cptsdfoundation.org website, and their definition of trauma is the usual one—adverse events such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, an unexpected death, injuries, etc. Even their definition of CPTSD is focused more on external symptoms (mood swings, depression, rage, shame, etc).
To me, that misses so much. I know from experience that trauma is that core disruption of self, plus a perpetually overwhelmed nervous system. Defining it relationally to include those boundaries and connections is so much more accurate. Instead of checklist of events (which overlooks emotional or psychological abuse to begin with, and makes it easier to think, oh other people have it worse), it focuses on any profound disruption to our sense of self or connection with others.
Of course, that would mean just living in an isolating, increasingly authoritarian society under late-stage capitalism qualifies as trauma. 🙃
- previously: if there’s abuse or even just unhealthy relationships, the relationship abuse checklist or the trust checklist is an essential resource
- see also: abuse is best recognized by the effect it has on the abused