The vocabulary, in plain language

A short-term trauma reaction in the first month after an event.

Symptoms resemble PTSD but occur within the first three days to one month. Many people recover, but some go on to develop PTSD. Early support can help.

See also: PTSD, Acute trauma

Trauma from a recent, intense event that has not yet had time to settle.

Acute trauma responses can be intense but may naturally resolve with support. If symptoms persist beyond a month, PTSD or another diagnosis may be considered.

See also: Single-incident trauma, Acute stress disorder

The hormone that primes the body for action by increasing heart rate and energy.

Also called epinephrine. Adrenaline is why your hands shake and your mind races in an emergency. It can also surge during a trauma trigger or panic attack.

See also: Panic attack, Fight or flight

The cumulative wear and tear on the body from chronic stress or repeated trauma.

Allostatic load builds when the nervous system is repeatedly activated without enough recovery. Over time it can contribute to fatigue, inflammation, sleep problems, and difficulty regulating emotion.

See also: Nervous system regulation, Cortisol

Grief for someone or something not clearly gone, a family member with dementia, an estrangement, a version of yourself you can't return to.

Named by Pauline Boss. Ambiguous loss is harder to grieve because there is no closure, no funeral, no clear ending. Recognizing it as loss, rather than trying to resolve it, is often the beginning of healing.

Addressing inherited wounds and strengths from family lineage.

Ancestral healing honors the lives of those who came before and seeks to release patterns that no longer serve. It is practiced across many cultures and spiritual traditions.

See also: Intergenerational trauma

Conditions where fear or worry interfere with daily life.

Includes generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, and specific phobias. Anxiety disorders are common after trauma and respond well to therapy and sometimes medication.

The relational pattern you learned from your earliest caregivers, how you seek and receive closeness.

Broadly: secure, anxious, avoidant, or disorganized. Attachment styles aren't destiny; they can shift through relationships (especially therapeutic ones) and through learning to co-regulate with safe people over time.

See also: Co-regulation, Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)

Trauma caused by betrayal from someone close, often with a survival need to stay attached.

The closer the betrayer, the more the mind may suppress awareness to preserve the relationship. Recovery often involves naming the betrayal while rebuilding trust in safe people.

See also: Relational trauma, Trauma bond

A meditative practice of slowly noticing sensations throughout the body.

Body scans build interoception and can help you notice tension, pain, or relaxation. For trauma survivors, shorter, guided versions are often safer than long silent ones.

See also: Interoception, Mindfulness

A therapy that uses eye position to access and process trauma stored in the brain.

Where you look affects how you feel. A brainspotting therapist helps you find an eye position that connects to an unprocessed experience and then supports it to resolve.

See also: EMDR, Somatic Experiencing

Structured breathing practices to shift physical and emotional states.

Breathwork can activate or calm the nervous system depending on the pattern. Some styles are gentle; others are intense. It is not appropriate for everyone, especially early in trauma recovery.

See also: Nervous system regulation, Grounding

In yoga traditions, energy centers in the body linked to physical, emotional, and spiritual states.

The seven main chakras run along the spine. Each is associated with different life themes. Chakra work is a framework, not a diagnosis.

Trauma from repeated or prolonged exposure to stress or danger.

Chronic trauma often shapes the nervous system over time, leading to hypervigilance, exhaustion, or a sense of being permanently unsafe. Recovery tends to be slower and more layered.

See also: Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), Developmental trauma

A licensed mental health professional trained in therapy and often systems-based care.

Clinical social workers hold master's degrees and are licensed to provide psychotherapy. They often bring a strong understanding of social context, family, and community.

Borrowing another nervous system's steadiness to steady your own.

Humans are wired to regulate through connection. A calm voice, steady eye contact, or a hand on your back can shift your physiology in ways willpower can't. Therapy, safe friendships, and even pets work partly through co-regulation.

See also: Polyvagal theory

A structured PTSD treatment that examines stuck beliefs about trauma.

CPT focuses on the thoughts that keep trauma symptoms alive, such as blame, trust, safety, and power. It is evidence-based and typically delivered over 12 sessions.

See also: PTSD, Narrative therapy

Emotional exhaustion from caring for others who are suffering.

Compassion fatigue is sometimes called the cost of caring. It can show up as numbness, irritability, dread, or feeling like you have nothing left to give. It is not a character flaw; it is a signal that rest and boundaries are needed.

See also: Vicarious trauma, Allostatic load

Trauma from prolonged or repeated exposure, often in childhood or intimate relationships, that affects identity and relationships as well as memory.

Different from single-incident PTSD, C-PTSD stems from ongoing situations where escape wasn't possible (childhood abuse, coercive relationships, captivity). It affects self-concept, emotional regulation, and relational patterns in addition to trauma symptoms. Treatment is typically longer and phased.

See also: Developmental trauma, Attachment style

Reflective practices that slow the mind and open awareness.

Includes centering prayer, meditation, lectio divina, and silent retreat. Contemplative practice can support healing, but it can also become spiritual bypassing if used to avoid pain.

See also: Mindfulness, Spiritual bypassing

The stress hormone that helps the body respond to threat and later return to baseline.

Cortisol is helpful in short bursts. Chronically high levels, from ongoing stress or trauma, can disrupt sleep, memory, immune function, and mood.

The therapist's emotional response to a client, shaped by the therapist's own history.

Skilled therapists use countertransference as information about what is happening in the room, not as a reason to act on their own needs. Supervision and self-awareness keep it ethical.

See also: Transference, Therapeutic alliance

A spiritual period of emptiness, doubt, or transformation.

The phrase comes from the mystic John of the Cross. It describes a time when old meaning falls away and something new has not yet emerged. It can be part of healing, but it is not the same as depression.

See also: Spiritual awakening, Liminality

Feeling detached from your own body, thoughts, or self.

It can feel like watching yourself from outside your body or being a robot. Depersonalization is common in anxiety, trauma, and dissociative disorders.

See also: Derealization, Dissociation

Conditions involving persistent low mood, loss of interest, and changes in energy or sleep.

Depression can be a direct response to trauma, grief, or nervous system shutdown. It is not laziness or weakness. Treatment may include therapy, lifestyle changes, and medication.

Feeling that the world is unreal, distant, or dreamlike.

Derealization often accompanies depersonalization and trauma. It is a protective response, but it can be frightening when it happens often.

See also: Depersonalization, Dissociation

Trauma that happened during childhood, when the brain and nervous system were still forming.

Because it shaped how the nervous system developed, it isn't just something that happened to you, it became part of how you experience the world. Healing developmental trauma is typically slow, relational, and body-based.

See also: Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), Attachment style

A skills-based therapy that balances acceptance and change.

DBT was developed for intense emotional states and includes skills for mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. It can be helpful for trauma-related dysregulation.

See also: Mindfulness, Nervous system regulation

The mind's way of stepping back from experience that would otherwise overwhelm it.

Ranges from mild (spacing out, driving without remembering the trip) to severe (feeling outside your body, losing time). Often a protective response to trauma. Reducing dissociation usually requires increasing felt safety first, not pushing through it.

See also: Hypoarousal, Grounding

Conditions involving persistent disconnection from identity, memory, or surroundings.

Includes dissociative identity disorder, depersonalization/derealization disorder, and dissociative amnesia. These are often linked to severe or chronic trauma and require specialized care.

See also: Dissociation, Depersonalization

A clinical approach to working with distinct personality states or parts.

Ego state therapy helps clients identify and communicate with different parts of the self, often to resolve inner conflict and process trauma. It overlaps with parts work and IFS.

See also: Parts work, Internal Family Systems

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a therapy using bilateral stimulation to process traumatic memories.

EMDR involves guided eye movements, taps, or sounds while recalling a difficult memory. It can reduce the intensity of traumatic memories without requiring you to talk through every detail.

See also: Brainspotting, Titration

A sudden flood of feelings from a past trauma without a clear image or memory.

You may feel small, terrified, ashamed, or enraged without knowing why. Emotional flashbacks are common in complex trauma and often respond to grounding and self-compassion.

See also: Flashback, Dissociation

Practices that work with subtle body energy to support wellbeing.

Includes Reiki, therapeutic touch, and pranic healing. Energy healing is complementary and should not replace medical or mental health care for serious conditions.

Using art, music, dance, writing, or drama for healing and expression.

Expressive arts access feelings that words cannot reach. It is especially helpful when trauma happened before language or when language feels too exposing.

A survival strategy of pleasing, appeasing, or placating to reduce threat.

Fawn is common in relational trauma and chronic abuse. It can look like overgiving, people-pleasing, or ignoring your own needs to keep someone calm. It is protective, not weak.

See also: Trauma bond, Relational trauma

The survival response that prepares the body to escape or defend against danger.

Heart rate increases, breathing quickens, muscles tense, and digestion slows. It is automatic and protective, but when it stays switched on, it wears the body down.

See also: Freeze response, Sympathetic nervous system

Not just a memory, an involuntary re-experiencing of a past event as if it's happening now.

Can be visual (seeing the scene), emotional (feeling the exact fear again with no image), or somatic (the body reliving the sensation). Grounding, orienting to the present, and afterward talking with a clinician are the standard tools.

See also: Grounding, Dissociation

The immobilization survival state when fighting or running is not possible.

Freeze can feel like numbness, inability to move, or being stuck in a loop. It is common in traumatic situations where escape was blocked and the nervous system defaults to shutdown.

See also: Fight or flight, Hypoarousal

Support specifically for people navigating loss.

Grief counseling helps people process death, divorce, estrangement, job loss, or identity loss. It does not rush closure; it makes room for the many forms grief takes.

See also: Ambiguous loss,

Simple sensory practices that return attention to the present moment and the body.

Examples: naming five things you see, feeling your feet on the floor, holding something cold, slow exhales. Grounding is a first-aid tool during flashbacks, panic, or dissociation.

See also: Dissociation

A mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapy that studies experience in the present moment.

Hakomi uses small experiments and body awareness to uncover unconscious beliefs and patterns. It is gentle, slow, and deeply respectful.

See also: Mindfulness, Somatic

A sense of your deepest, wisest, or most authentic self beyond roles and survival patterns.

In spiritual and transpersonal frameworks, the higher self is compassionate, steady, and able to hold all parts of you. It is not about perfection; it is about perspective.

A safe, steady space, often in therapy, where difficult feelings can be felt.

Originally a psychoanalytic concept, the holding environment is a relationship or setting that provides enough safety for someone to regress, grieve, and grow without falling apart.

See also: Therapeutic alliance, Co-regulation

The brain-body system that coordinates stress hormones like cortisol.

HPA stands for hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal. This axis helps the body respond to threat. In chronic stress or trauma it can become dysregulated, making it harder to return to calm.

See also: Cortisol, Adrenaline

When the nervous system is stuck in overdrive, anxious, wired, scanning for threat.

The upper edge of the fight-or-flight response. Symptoms include rapid heartbeat, racing thoughts, insomnia, irritability, hypervigilance, and difficulty sitting still. Common in acute stress, PTSD, and burnout.

See also: Window of tolerance, Hypoarousal

When the nervous system has shut down, numb, foggy, disconnected.

The freeze or collapse response. Symptoms include emotional numbness, brain fog, exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix, and a sense of watching your life from behind glass. Often mistaken for depression, and sometimes co-occurring with it.

See also: Window of tolerance, Dissociation

The younger part of you that still carries old wounds and needs.

Inner child work involves reparenting yourself with compassion, meeting the needs that were missed, and healing childhood shame. It is common in both spiritual and clinical frameworks.

See also: Developmental trauma, Attachment style

Trauma effects passed down through family systems and sometimes biology.

Children can inherit the emotional and nervous-system patterns of parents who survived war, displacement, racism, abuse, or famine. Healing includes honoring both the pain and the resilience.

See also: Ancestral healing, Developmental trauma

A model that sees the psyche as a system of protective and wounded parts led by a core Self.

IFS helps you relate to inner parts, exiles, firefighters, managers, with curiosity rather than control. It is widely used for trauma, shame, and self-criticism.

See also: Parts work, Ego state therapy

When harmful messages about your identity become part of how you see yourself.

Internalized oppression can affect self-worth, body image, belonging, and ambition. It is not a personal failing; it is the result of living in systems that devalue certain groups. Healing often involves community and reclaiming identity.

See also: Intergenerational trauma

The ability to sense what's happening inside your body, heartbeat, hunger, temperature, tension.

Trauma often dulls interoception. Rebuilding it, gently, is a foundational step in many body-based healing approaches.

Inner knowing that may arrive without conscious reasoning.

Intuition can be a helpful signal, but it can also be shaped by trauma and fear. Healthy intuition is balanced with discernment and facts.

When the nervous system becomes more sensitive to triggers over time.

Kindling means repeated activation makes the alarm system easier to set off. Something that didn't bother you before can now trigger a big response. This is why pacing and safety matter so much.

See also: Retraumatization

The in-between space after one chapter ends and the next has not yet begun.

Liminality is sacred and uncomfortable. It is the threshold where identity, beliefs, and patterns can shift. In healing, liminal spaces often appear during transitions, grief, or spiritual awakening.

See also: Dark night of the soul, Ritual

Trauma from medical procedures, diagnoses, hospitalization, or healthcare experiences.

Medical trauma can include fear of death, pain, loss of control, or feeling dismissed by providers. It may make future medical care difficult and deserves specialized support.

Paying attention to the present moment with openness and without judgment.

Mindfulness can reduce rumination and increase interoception. For trauma survivors, it should be paced carefully, because stillness can sometimes trigger flooding or dissociation.

See also: Interoception, Grounding

Wounding from witnessing, participating in, or failing to prevent acts that violate your values.

Moral injury is common in veterans, healthcare workers, first responders, and anyone who has seen harm up close. It often involves guilt, shame, and loss of trust in people or institutions.

See also: Vicarious trauma, Betrayal trauma

Rewriting the story you tell about yourself, your problems, and your experiences.

Narrative therapy separates the person from the problem. It asks: what else is true about you beyond the trauma story? This can restore agency and identity.

The capacity to move flexibly between states, activated when you need to be, calm when it's safe to be.

Regulation isn't about being calm all the time. It's about not getting stuck. Most healing work aims at greater regulation over time.

See also: Window of tolerance, Co-regulation

The nervous system's automatic detection of safety or danger.

Neuroception happens below conscious thought. It explains why a certain tone of voice, smell, or room can feel safe or terrifying without any obvious reason. It is not a choice, and it can be retrained gently.

See also: Polyvagal theory,

The brain's ability to rewire itself through experience and practice.

Neuroplasticity is the reason healing is possible. Repeated experiences of safety, kindness, and regulation can gradually reshape the patterns created by trauma.

See also: Nervous system regulation, Co-regulation

A sudden surge of intense fear with strong physical symptoms.

Symptoms include rapid heartbeat, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and a sense of doom. Panic attacks are not dangerous, but they can feel terrifying.

See also: Adrenaline, Anxiety disorder

The branch that conserves energy and supports rest, digestion, and recovery.

It is the brake of the autonomic nervous system. Healthy regulation depends on the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches working together in rhythm.

See also: Sympathetic nervous system, Nervous system regulation

Approaches that relate to inner subpersonalities or aspects with compassion.

Parts work can include IFS, ego state therapy, and schema therapy. The idea is that no part is bad; every part is trying to protect or help in some way.

See also: Internal Family Systems, Ego state therapy

Moving attention back and forth between activation and settling, the rhythm of nervous system healing.

Rather than staying stuck in difficulty, healing happens as the system learns to pendulate: touch the hard thing, return to safety, touch again, return. This is different from avoidance; it's how integration actually works.

See also: Titration, Resourcing

A model of the autonomic nervous system developed by Dr. Stephen Porges that maps three states: safety, mobilization, and shutdown.

Polyvagal theory describes how the vagus nerve helps us shift between social engagement (ventral vagal, safety), fight/flight (sympathetic, mobilization), and freeze/collapse (dorsal vagal, shutdown). Many trauma therapies use this framework to explain what's happening in the body.

See also: Co-regulation, Window of tolerance

Meaningful change or strength that can emerge after surviving trauma.

Post-traumatic growth is not the same as being glad trauma happened. It means that in the process of struggling with what happened, some people discover deeper relationships, new purpose, or greater clarity about what matters.

See also:

The sense of where your body is in space, even with your eyes closed.

Proprioception is built into muscles, joints, and tendons. Trauma can disrupt this sense, leaving you feeling disconnected from your body. Rebuilding it is a quiet but powerful part of somatic healing.

See also: Interoception, Somatic

A medical doctor who can diagnose mental health conditions and prescribe medication.

Psychiatrists often focus on medication management and may or may not provide therapy. They are useful when symptoms are severe, complex, or medication is being considered.

A therapy that explores unconscious patterns, early relationships, and inner conflict.

Psychodynamic therapy looks at how the past lives in the present. It often addresses defense mechanisms, attachment, and the relationship between client and therapist.

See also: Attachment style, Transference

A doctoral-level professional trained in assessment, diagnosis, and therapy.

Psychologists use evidence-based therapies and can conduct psychological testing. They are not medical doctors and cannot prescribe medication in most places.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, a clinical condition following trauma with intrusive memories, avoidance, negative mood changes, and hyperarousal.

PTSD is diagnosed when symptoms last more than a month and significantly affect daily life. It is treatable with therapies like EMDR, CPT, and somatic approaches.

See also: Acute stress disorder, EMDR

Harm caused by people you trusted or depended on.

Because it occurs in relationships, it can deeply affect attachment, self-worth, and the ability to feel safe with others. Therapy often focuses on safety in relationship first.

See also: Attachment style, Betrayal trauma

Harm caused by religious authority, beliefs, or spiritual communities.

Religious trauma can involve fear of hell, shame, isolation, abuse of power, or loss of identity after leaving a community. It often overlaps with spiritual abuse and can take years to untangle.

See also: Spiritual bypassing

Building an internal library of felt-safety before working with hard material.

Includes memories of feeling safe, images of nourishing places, sensations of strength in the body, and relationships that steady you. In somatic work you resource first, then dip into difficulty and return.

See also: Titration

Being re-exposed to something that triggers or reactivates an earlier trauma response.

Retraumatization can happen in therapy, medical settings, or daily life if the pace is too fast or consent is ignored. Good trauma care actively works to prevent it.

See also: Trauma-informed, Titration

A repeated action with symbolic meaning that marks change or creates meaning.

Rituals can help grieving, transitions, and intention-setting. They do not need to be religious. Intention and repetition are what matter.

A therapy that addresses long-standing patterns formed in childhood.

Schemas are deep beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. Schema therapy combines cognitive, behavioral, and experiential techniques to heal patterns like abandonment, defectiveness, or mistrust.

See also: Parts work, Attachment style

A therapy that integrates body awareness, attachment, and trauma processing.

It helps clients notice how trauma shows up in posture, movement, and sensation while also working with meaning and memory. Especially useful for developmental trauma.

See also: Somatic Experiencing, Attachment style

Integrating the disowned or unconscious parts of yourself.

Coined by Carl Jung, shadow work involves meeting the traits, feelings, and memories you have rejected in yourself. It is not about darkness; it is about wholeness.

A one-time overwhelming event, such as an accident, assault, or natural disaster.

This is the classic profile of PTSD: a specific event that was too much, too fast, or too soon. Treatment often focuses on processing that memory and restoring safety.

See also: PTSD, Acute trauma

The part of the nervous system that turns on when we feel safe enough to connect.

It includes facial expressions, voice tone, hearing, and eye contact. When this system is active, we can listen, soothe, and be soothed. Trauma can suppress it without our awareness.

See also: Co-regulation, Vagus nerve

Of the body, used to describe practices that work through physical sensation rather than only through thought or story.

A body-based approach to resolving trauma through nervous system discharge.

Developed by Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing helps the body complete defensive responses that were interrupted during trauma. It uses titration and pendulation to avoid overwhelm.

See also: Titration, Pendulation

A traditional concept of losing vital energy or essence after trauma or shock.

Found in shamanic and indigenous healing traditions, soul loss is described as part of the spirit leaving to survive unbearable experience. Soul retrieval is the practice of welcoming it back.

A shift in perception of identity, reality, or connection.

Awakenings can be gradual or sudden, gentle or destabilizing. They can be part of healing, but they are not a substitute for grounded trauma care.

Using spiritual language or practice to sidestep painful feelings and unresolved wounds.

Coined by John Welwood. Examples: 'everything happens for a reason' to avoid grief, forcing forgiveness before the anger has been felt, or 'love and light' as a shield against ordinary difficulty. Real spiritual practice moves through feelings, not around them.

The branch that mobilizes energy for action, stress, and arousal.

It is the accelerator of the autonomic nervous system. Sympathetic activation is not bad; it is only a problem when we cannot return to rest and digest.

See also: Parasympathetic nervous system, Fight or flight

Emotional Freedom Techniques, a self-help method using acupressure tapping on meridian points.

Tapping combines focused attention with gentle tapping on face and body points. Research is mixed but promising for anxiety and some trauma symptoms.

The trust and working relationship between a client and therapist.

Research consistently shows that the quality of the relationship matters as much as the method. A strong therapeutic alliance includes safety, respect, shared goals, and the ability to repair ruptures.

See also: Trauma-informed, Co-regulation

Working with painful material in very small doses so the nervous system can integrate it.

A core principle of somatic trauma work. Trying to process a huge experience all at once often re-traumatizes. Titrating, a taste of the memory, then back to something neutral or resourcing, then a bit more, is slower but sustainable.

See also: Resourcing, Pendulation

When feelings from one relationship show up in another, often unconsciously.

In therapy, a client might respond to a therapist as if they were a parent or past abuser. Transference is not wrong; it is information that can be explored and worked through.

An intense attachment formed in a cycle of abuse and intermittent care.

The highs and lows create a chemical bond that can feel like love. Leaving a trauma bond often requires support, safety planning, and grieving what the relationship never was.

See also: Betrayal trauma,

An approach that assumes trauma is common and designs for safety, choice, and consent throughout.

A trauma-informed practitioner offers options rather than commands, invites consent, avoids surprise touch, and knows how to slow down when someone is activated. The label matters less than whether it's actually practiced.

The strength and flexibility of the vagus nerve's calming influence.

Higher vagal tone generally means better ability to recover from stress and connect with others. It can be supported through slow breathing, singing, humming, cold water on the face, and safe relationships.

See also: Vagus nerve, Nervous system regulation

The long wandering nerve that carries safety and stress signals between body and brain.

The vagus nerve is central to heart rate, digestion, breathing, and social connection. Polyvagal theory describes how different vagal branches help us shift between safety, mobilization, and shutdown.

See also: Polyvagal theory, Social engagement system

Trauma symptoms from repeatedly witnessing or hearing about others' suffering.

Common in caregivers, therapists, first responders, journalists, and activists. It is not a failure; it is a human response to absorbing too much pain.

The zone where you can feel emotion without being overwhelmed or shut down.

A concept from Dr. Dan Siegel. Inside your window, you can think clearly, feel deeply, and connect with others. Above it (hyperarousal) you get anxious, angry, or panicked. Below it (hypoarousal) you go numb, foggy, or collapsed. Most healing work is about widening the window over time.

See also: Hyperarousal, Hypoarousal, Polyvagal theory

Using yoga practices, poses, breath, and meditation, for mental and physical healing.

Trauma-sensitive yoga keeps the practitioner in choice, avoids hands-on adjustments, and emphasizes noticing sensation rather than achieving a pose.

See also: Somatic, Interoception