Originally published in mindbodygreen
There’s much more appreciation these days for micro-traumas—like chronic, more mildly traumatic things—that cumulatively over many years can amount to the same as one macro trauma.
Trauma can sort of shock the autonomic nervous system into a state of hyperarousal and hypervigilance, like you’re in that peak moment in a horror movie when the music is accelerated, and you know something bad is about to happen.
Big strong emotions will come up, and sometimes it’s something that you can’t even put your finger on. You just feel a certain way—you feel angry, sad, or afraid. It’s helpful to either support yourself through those moments with a journaling practice or to have some sort of therapeutic conversation. It’s a gift when these things come up, but you want to be able to usher them up and out gracefully.
