Trauma Time

Trauma time is the experience of being stuck in a traumatic experience, such that the brain loses touch with the here and now of the present day.

That’s because our trauma memories are stored differently than our regular memories and are not connected to an awareness of time.

So, when we get triggered and those neural networks of the trauma are activated, we can feel like we are in the past. We can feel like this present situation is the same as the past abuse.

Often there are parts of self that remain lost and stuck in trauma time, feeling as though that time is still happening. This can occur whether or not a person has a Dissociative Identity Disorder.

When this happens our access to our most adult self is diminished, we can feel like we have the limited options and resources we did back when the trauma was occurring.

Part of healing is to help rescue parts of self that are stuck in this trauma time, helping them to connect to their present reality, their present resources, etc.