Trauma

Avoidant attachment develops when caregivers are emotionally distant, unavailable/absent, or neglectful. These caregivers are often emotionally misattuned to their children and may be cold, distant, critical or highly focused on achievement. These caregivers do not tolerate emotional expression and expect their child to be independent…

June is national PTSD Awareness month.  For many, the concept of PTSD is linked to military service. The reality however, is that this disorder can affect anyone.  In the US, approximately 6.8% of adults will experience PTSD in their lifetimes, with women twice as likely…

Microaggressions contribute to chronic stress/distress A common misperception is that microaggressions are small or insignificant in impact. While this may be understandable given the terms start with micro, it’s also a defensive reaction driven by our own desires to disavow any harm we may have…

The ACES study was conducted here in San Diego between 1995-97 and was spearheaded by Vincent Felitti, MD.  This study was conducted with 17,000 participants and clearly demonstrated a link between adverse childhood experiences and later health, social and behavioral problems. What I want to…

Attachment is the very important bond between an infant and their primary caregiver(s). Anything that significantly and/or chronically disrupts or harms this relationship is considered attachment trauma. This form of trauma can be quite deep and difficult to articulate. Sometimes people don’t even realize there…

Another way you may hear people talk about trauma is by talking about Big T vs. Little t Trauma Big T Trauma refers to major, life-threatening events, things like abuse, accidents, natural disaster, or war. These experiences that most people would agree are traumatic, and…