# Emotional & Psychological Factors - Starting With Trauma ##### Untangling Pain ---  --- ## tl;dr - Trauma and chronic pain can be linked, but trauma does not mean someone will definitely develop pain. - Trauma is about what overwhelms a person and their nervous system, not whether an event looks “big enough” from outside. - It can involve a major event or repeated smaller hurts, like paper cuts building up over time. - Those experiences can affect fight or flight and leave the body responding to threat long afterwards. - If something is affecting your nervous system or your life, it matters and deserves care. > [!abstract]- Transcript > > This final area we're going to look at is emotional and psychological factors. And why again as females this makes us more susceptible to pain. > > Firstly we're going to look at trauma. Now there is a link with trauma and chronic pain and actually childhood trauma is linked to both. PTSD and chronic pain in adulthood. > > Obviously, trauma is a subjective experience and what might be traumatic for you might not be traumatic for me. > > Trauma is something that happens to us that makes us so upset that it overwhelms us. So that even when the event is over, our body continues to relive it. So if we're reliving this experience, this negative experience, we have to think about how that is affecting that fight or flight response that we've been talking about in previous trainings. > > And despite what people think, trauma doesn't just result from extraordinary events. It's not just for men in wars. It's also for women in houses at home. > > And actually the thing I did come across was that 35 percent of women worldwide experience violence. > > Obviously men experience domestic violence too, but the women who experience violence, they are twice as likely to develop chronic pain. This is not to say that if you have experienced trauma in your life than you will be destined to experience chronic pain. Nor does it mean that those who have chronic pain must have experienced a trauma in their life. > > What this does show is that there is a link. And if you are someone who has chronic pain, and if you do have a past history of some traumatic times in your life, then it may be worth seeking help to deal with whatever is lingering in your body from those events. Because the fact is that trauma is a physical problem as much as it is a mental one. > > Now obviously I've just been talking more about these big T traumas. These types of traumas that result from what we would consider a traumatic event. You know the one event that overwhelms a person's nervous system and their ability to cope. And I think most of us know that when this happens, the body is unable to process the stress or the event and as a result, this experience, it becomes stuck in the person's nervous system. > > And I guess that's why there's so much focus on helping people process these big experiences, to help them move on from these big T traumas that they've been dealing with. But a while back I read a book by a Aundi Kolber called Try Softer. She talks about these little t traumas. These ones that would result from events that we wouldn't normally consider Catastrophic or even traumatic. Personally I think of these little t traumas as the day to day stresses that we are unable to process. > > So, it sees these little things that are repetitive over and over and over again, and these results in our nervous system becoming over sensitive. > > On the surface, these little t traumas might not appear to be important enough to be considered as trauma. And yet, they are still things that can still overwhelm or seriously challenge someone's ability to cope. > > So again, remember, it's not about the event, which is classed as the stressor. But it's the individual reaction or response to what is happening. What might be traumatic or stressful to one person, might not be to another, and this can change over time. This is where Kolber's analogy really helps to see where little t traumas come in. > > So she says we can think of a big t trauma as someone with a deep knife wound. Someone, if they've got a big deep knife wound, they need help. Immediate help. And that's obvious, right? > > On the other hand, we can think of little t traumas as someone who gets a paper cut. > > One paper cut might hurt, but it won't necessarily stop that person from living. She probably doesn't need help. > > But what happens if she keeps getting paper cuts over and over and over again? Multiple paper cuts, day in, day out. Someone who suffers like this might end up with a million paper cuts over her lifetime. > > Now, she definitely needs help. > > So, little t traumas, they might appear insignificant on the surface. But the truth is that they can still significantly affect our nervous system. They can affect our ability to cope. They can affect our pain. They can affect our lives, and those around us, if we do not process them. > > Just because something isn't a major traumatic event, it doesn't mean we're not in pain. It doesn't mean we're not suffering. Sometimes we need help. Even if it's only for a paper cut. > > When I think about this and the difference between big T traumas and little t traumas. I think of a big T trauma as an event that would be considered traumatic. > > And I consider a little t trauma as maybe comments that are made or maybe controlling behaviours that again on the surface as a one off might appear absolutely fine. But when this happens over and over and over and over again, this can lead to trauma. > > Although it is debatable whether this is a big T trauma, in this case, or a little t trauma. Either way, if it's affecting our nervous system, if it's affecting our body, our health, and our life, it matters. Next lesson → [[Untangling Pain – Module 3 Lesson 08 – Fawn, Freeze & Shame|Fawn, Freeze & Shame]] %% ## Extra ## Version 1: Full Emotional and Psychological Factors: Why This Makes Us More Susceptible to Pain This final area we’re going to look at is emotional and psychological factors And why again as females this makes us more susceptible to pain Trauma and Chronic Pain Firstly we’re going to look at trauma Now there is a link with trauma and chronic pain and actually childhood trauma is linked to both PTSD and chronic pain in adulthood Obviously, trauma is a subjective experience and what might be traumatic for you might not be traumatic for me Trauma is something that happens to us that makes us so upset that it overwhelms us So that even when the event is over, our body continues to relive it So if we’re reliving this experience, this negative experience, we have to think about how that is affecting that fight or flight response that we’ve been talking about in previous trainings And despite what people think, trauma doesn’t just result from extraordinary events It’s not just for men in wars It’s also for women in houses at home And actually the thing I did come across was that 35 percent of women worldwide experience violence Obviously men experience domestic violence too, but the women who experience violence, they are twice as likely to develop chronic pain This is not to say that if you have experienced trauma in your life then you will be destined to experience chronic pain Nor does it mean that those who have chronic pain must have experienced a trauma in their life What this does show is that there is a link And if you are someone who has chronic pain, and if you do have a past history of some traumatic times in your life, then it may be worth seeking help to deal with whatever is lingering in your body from those events Because the fact is that trauma is a physical problem as much as it is a mental one Big T Traumas Now obviously I’ve just been talking more about these big T traumas These types of traumas that result from what we would consider a traumatic event You know the one event that overwhelms a person’s nervous system and their ability to cope And I think most of us know that when this happens, the body is unable to process the stress or the event and as a result, this experience, it becomes stuck in the person’s nervous system And I guess that’s why there’s so much focus on helping people process these big experiences, to help them move on from these big T traumas that they’ve been dealing with Little t Traumas But a while back I read a book by Aundi Kolber called Try Softer She talks about these little t traumas These ones that would result from events that we wouldn’t normally consider catastrophic or even traumatic Personally I think of these little t traumas as the day-to-day stresses that we are unable to process So, it sees these little things that are repetitive over and over and over again, and these results in our nervous system becoming over sensitive On the surface, these little t traumas might not appear to be important enough to be considered as trauma And yet, they are still things that can still overwhelm or seriously challenge someone’s ability to cope So again, remember, it’s not about the event, which is classed as the stressor But it’s the individual reaction or response to what is happening What might be traumatic or stressful to one person, might not be to another, and this can change over time This is where Kolber’s analogy really helps to see where little t traumas come in Kolber’s Analogy: Knife Wound vs. Paper Cuts So she says we can think of a big T trauma as someone with a deep knife wound Someone, if they’ve got a big deep knife wound, they need help Immediate help And that’s obvious, right? On the other hand, we can think of little t traumas as someone who gets a paper cut One paper cut might hurt, but it won’t necessarily stop that person from living She probably doesn’t need help But what happens if she keeps getting paper cuts over and over and over again? Multiple paper cuts, day in, day out Someone who suffers like this might end up with a million paper cuts over her lifetime Now, she definitely needs help So, little t traumas, they might appear insignificant on the surface But the truth is that they can still significantly affect our nervous system They can affect our ability to cope They can affect our pain They can affect our lives, and those around us, if we do not process them Just because something isn’t a major traumatic event, it doesn’t mean we’re not in pain It doesn’t mean we’re not suffering Sometimes we need help Even if it’s only for a paper cut The Impact of Repeated Stressors When I think about this and the difference between big T traumas and little t traumas I think of a big T trauma as an event that would be considered traumatic And I consider a little t trauma as maybe comments that are made or maybe controlling behaviours that again on the surface as a one-off might appear absolutely fine But when this happens over and over and over and over again, this can lead to trauma Although it is debatable whether this is a big T trauma, in this case, or a little t trauma Either way, if it’s affecting our nervous system, if it’s affecting our body, our health, and our life, it matters ⸻ Resources or Mentioned Try Softer by Aundi Kolber Big T Trauma Little t Trauma PTSD Fight or flight response ⸻ ## ![[Meta/01 Attachments/Calm Shit down - build shit up BLOG.assets/Image (12).png|Image.png]] ![[Meta/01 Attachments/Calm Shit down - build shit up BLOG.assets/Image (13).png|Image.png]] ![[Meta/01 Attachments/Calm Shit down - build shit up BLOG.assets/Image (14).png|Image.png]] --- ## Watch the lesson %%