The Experience of Trauma: How our Bodies Respond + How we Process with Chelsey Larson

What do you really know about trauma? Would you believe me if I told you that pretty much every human has trauma? Thats right, trauma doesn't only happen when you go to war or have a severe accident or loss. 

Chelsey Larson shares how she discovered through therapy that she was having a "trauma response" and that she had PTSD. She was shocked because she was convinced that trauma was only something that people who had been to war experienced. Since discovering this about herself, she has learned a lot about trauma and PTSD. Through this research she learned about "big T" (war, car accident, assault, etc.) vs "little t" trauma which is much more common and includes a lot of emotional trauma and can be something as small as being pushed down or bullied on the playground and no one was there to help you. 

Trauma can manifest in many ways: depression, anxiety, people pleasing, addiction, perfectionism, procrastination, etc. Chelsey learned that as a child, she learned to operate out of freeze (vs. fight or flight), which completely shut her off from her body. She made progress with her therapist, but it wasn't until she found somatic therapy that she felt connected to her body. 

Her story is incredibly moving, impactful, and educational. We all need to be able to process our traumas and learn more about them in order to live our lives fully. 

We also talk about...

• Sexual assault
• Big T vs Little t
• Trauma responses
• Generational trauma
• Being in your body
• Somatic therapy
• Drinking alcohol
• Divorce
• Masculine/Feminine Energy

Chelsey's Resources:

https://www.instagram.com/c_lard/

Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker

http://www.thecenterofmvmt.com/breathhouse/

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