12/24/2024
Here is another reason you can’t be truly trauma-informed without a neurodiversty lens… Much of our trauma happened because of our neuro-differences.
There is of course the sensory trauma, first, the overwhelm of being in a world that is too loud and bright and smelly since birth, but that's not what I want to focus on today.
I want to focus on the interpersonal trauma and relational that happened because of our differences, or more accurately, because of people's reactions to our neurological differences.
There is a common feedback loop here that professionals and those seeking to heal need to know about.
Our natural differences make us targets for abuse in a culture that does not tolerate any deviation from a standard norm.
The rejection, punishment, isolation, and abuse we experienced does not exist independently of our neurological differences.
In many cases, traumatic events followed our authentic expression of neurodivergent emotions, behaviors, or traits.
So we learned to suppress ourselves and hide behind a mask. For our protection. Because the world wasn't safe for our True Self.
We also blamed ourselves, because we didn't understand that it was the people around us who had a problem. They couldn't accept our differences.
This feedback loop leaves layers of trauma energy in the body.
If we don't identify neurodivergence first before attempting to integrate the layers of trauma that stacked on top, then understanding what happened to us can feel impossible.
We may need to know why we were bullied in order to unravel the somatic memory of grade school trauma.
We need to know that our innate differences were never the problem if we are to understand the gaslighting effect of being forced to act neurotypical.
We need to understand our neurological identity so that we can name the frequent micro-aggressions and more blatant ableism that make us doubt ourselves and feel unsafe in social situations.
For many of us, knowing that we process input differently from others is the missing piece of the puzzle.
We are different, so our trauma is different.
We need a neurodiversity lens so that our trauma work actually works FOR us instead of against us.
🧠 This is part 2 of an essay titled, If Your Brain is Different, Your Path to Healing Will Be Different, which is posted at my blog.
🦎 My 8-week virtual study group is a place we can discuss topics like this with neurodivergent community. This round, a full session is dedicated to sensory trauma. Enrollment is open for a few more weeks. Details here: https://traumageek.thinkific.com/courses/neurodiversity-and-trauma-study-group-3
🐙 My year-long mini course, 50 Vagus Exercises in a Year, includes a monthly vagus exercise class, a monthly Q&A, AND my serialized eBook, The Nervous System Study Guide. The Nervous System Study Guide is a book I'm creating from the Nervous System Study Group lectures; it will be distributed one chapter per month to participants of this year-long adventure.
Details here: https://traumageek.thinkific.com/courses/50-vagus-exercises-in-a-year
