All posts tagged: Trauma

11 Signs Someone Has Traumatic Intelligence, The Rarest Form Of Being Smart

11 Signs Someone Has Traumatic Intelligence, The Rarest Form Of Being Smart

Published by Jenni Sidey

While some research suggests that trauma is stored in the body, wound up deep inside of us waiting to be unraveled and discovered, a new study from Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience pushes back against that assumption, naming prediction systems and cognitive processes as the most common victims of PTSD and unresolved trauma. If someone has traumatic intelligence, the rarest form of being smart, their minds have been changed by their trauma. In many ways, they’ve become more pessimistic or negative, but they’ve also become particular and hypervigilant in ways that may give them a protective edge. Here are 11 signs someone has traumatic intelligence, the rarest form of being smart 1. They absorb other people’s energy Dragon Images | Shutterstock Many people with trauma develop a sense of social awareness by default or out of survival. Especially with toxic parents at home, figuring out someone’s mood and how to deal with them to keep the peace was a necessity for their well-being. As adults, they have a similar skill in sensing people’s energy in a room or …

Scientists challenge The Body Keeps the Score with a new predictive model of trauma

Scientists challenge The Body Keeps the Score with a new predictive model of trauma

Published by José Betancourt

A recent theoretical paper published in Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience suggests that psychological trauma is not literally stored in the tissues of the body. Instead, the authors propose that trauma creates a rigid pattern of threat prediction within the brain, reducing cognitive flexibility. This updated perspective provides evidence that therapies focusing on mental state shifting, such as flow states, may help retrain the nervous system and support recovery. In 2014, psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk published The Body Keeps the Score, a book suggesting that trauma alters the nervous system and becomes physically lodged in the body. The bestseller popularized the idea that individuals cannot simply talk through trauma, as the body continues to react to past threats. While the book gained immense public and clinical popularity, some scientists have criticized its underlying biological mechanisms. Scientists Steven Kotler, Michael Mannino, Glenn Fox, and Karl Friston recently authored a paper to address these mechanistic discrepancies. They argue that the popular metaphor of somatic storage is biologically inaccurate. They propose an alternative model based on computational neuroscience. …

Alien Selves, Abusive Partners, and Early Trauma

Alien Selves, Abusive Partners, and Early Trauma

Published by Jenni Sidey

The Alien Self, as described by Fonagy and Bateman, is a detested, disavowed, disowned part of the self that arises out of trauma. Early neglect or abuse can lead a child to feel as if they are an undesirable or unworthy being. Caregivers not grasping, or even having disdain for, a child’s natural leanings, can also create an Alien Self. Because it is not welcome or celebrated, the child seals off an authentic identity. Because they were not embraced, they do not embrace themselves. Critical, persecutory voices, originally from outside, remain in the inner life. The Alien Self is both an aspect of identity and a repository for others’ negative responses to that identity. Being in touch with the Alien Self can be intolerable, as it gives rise to shame. If the Alien Self remains cut off or unconscious, if authentic drives are suppressed, self-destructive leanings, such as choosing an abusive partner, ensue. Unprocessed trauma can lead to against-the-self decisions. Self-awareness is a great moderator. If the Alien Self is brought into consciousness and questioned, …

When Birth Trauma Changes Your Experience of Motherhood

When Birth Trauma Changes Your Experience of Motherhood

Published by Jenni Sidey

When Birth Feels Traumatic Childbirth is often described as empowering, meaningful, and joyful. While birth can absolutely be those things, many women are surprised by how frightening and overwhelming it can also become. An emergency C-section. A postpartum hemorrhage. A baby in the NICU. A moment where things suddenly no longer feel safe. For some women, childbirth becomes not just medically intense but traumatic. Research suggests that a significant number of women experience childbirth as traumatic, and some go on to develop symptoms of postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But even without meeting criteria for PTSD, many women find themselves emotionally changed by what happened during labor and delivery. They may replay moments from the birth repeatedly in their minds. They may feel anxious before medical appointments, emotionally numb afterward, or disconnected from themselves in ways they did not expect. One of the most painful parts is often the feeling that they “should” simply be grateful because the baby is healthy. But trauma and gratitude can coexist. The Grief That Often Accompanies Birth Trauma Many …

The Inner War of Trauma

The Inner War of Trauma

Published by Jenni Sidey

When we have repeated, emotionally charged conflict with a partner or a therapist, there is likely trauma underneath. In psychoanalyst Donald Kalsched’s recent research, he argues that what is often struggling to come forward in these instances is the “unremembered child,” a part of the psyche split off in early childhood and available to the adult only as a vague emotional field. When we are in acute fight or flight with a partner over seemingly benign matters, this could likely be the unremembered child poking through. It can also show up in sudden withdrawal, disproportionate anger, or even moments of unexpected tenderness. Recent trauma research has shown that overwhelming experiences don’t just get stored; they get split. Dissociation, once understood as a pathology, is better recognized as a necessary adaptation to a threatening environment. The mind siphons off the violence to survive in the present state. The Costs of Dissociation But this survival comes at a cost later on. When trauma strikes early, the psyche cannot hold or cognize the event, and so the mind …

Researchers map trauma symptoms among Palestinian refugees

Researchers map trauma symptoms among Palestinian refugees

Published by José Betancourt

A recent evaluation of Palestinian refugees displaced to Egypt reveals that suicidal ideation acts as a primary driving symptom for both men and women experiencing mental health struggles. The findings, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, suggest that medical professionals treating conflict-affected populations should create targeted, gender-specific interventions to reduce overlapping psychological conditions. Mental health disorders affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, ranking among the top causes of global disability. In developing nations and conflict zones, healthcare systems often lack the resources to meet this massive demand. Refugees face some of the highest risks for developing psychological conditions. They encounter violence, the sudden loss of their homes, and an uncertain future in unfamiliar host countries. These psychological burdens produce a massive financial and societal toll around the world. Current estimates suggest that depression and anxiety cost the global economy nearly one trillion dollars annually due to lost productivity. In developing countries, the situation is particularly dire. The vast majority of individuals with severe mental health conditions in these regions receive absolutely no treatment. Traditional …

7 Things People Often Get Wrong About Trauma

7 Things People Often Get Wrong About Trauma

Published by Jenni Sidey

There’s a lot of information out there about trauma these days. Worldwide, search interest for the word trauma tripled between 2015 and 2026 (Google, 2025). Surveys of the general population have also shown that almost 80 percent of adults living in the United States have experienced at least one major trauma (Briere & Scott, 2024). In the broadening discussions that surround trauma, there has also been a semantic dilution of the word itself in mainstream social channels. But, for the purposes of this post, I’ll lean on the definition provided by researchers Briere and Scott (2024), who define a traumatic event as one that overwhelms an individual’s internal resource state and yields extensive psychological distress. Here are seven aspects of trauma that are commonly misunderstood. 1. Trauma isn’t just psychological, it’s physical [“They just need to change their thinking.”] Telling someone to just change their thinking is like telling someone with a broken leg to just decide to walk normally. Although the intention is there, the body won’t comply. I understand through my encounters with …

Coronation Street’s Todd Grimshaw to face new trauma over Theo ordeal

Coronation Street’s Todd Grimshaw to face new trauma over Theo ordeal

Published by Sam Flores

Coronation Street spoilers follow, while this article also contains discussion of domestic abuse and coercive control. Todd Grimshaw will face some new trauma on Coronation Street amid his ordeal with Theo Silverton, with the beloved character beginning to exhibit signs of anger following his horrific treatment. Todd was in an abusive relationship with Theo for months, with the villain initially manipulating his partner and controlling him. This eventually worsened, with Theo violently beating Todd. ITV Related: Coronation Street brings back Daniel’s dark side in death mystery Todd managed to escape the flat, and got help from both Sarah Platt and Kit Green. He eventually reported Theo to the police, but the villain is yet to face any legal repercussions for his actions. In upcoming scenes on the ITV soap, Todd will head to The Rovers for a quiet drink with close friend George Shuttleworth. He discusses his horrific ordeal, and begins to realise the toll it has taken on him. Todd also feels some anger at Theo not being held to account over his crimes. …

Childhood trauma linked to biological aging and gaze avoidance

Childhood trauma linked to biological aging and gaze avoidance

Published by José Betancourt

Childhood maltreatment is associated with accelerated biological aging and a tendency to avoid looking at people’s eyes. New research published in PLOS One indicates that these physical and behavioral changes occur independently in children who have suffered abuse. Both of these responses map onto higher rates of emotional and behavioral difficulties, offering researchers a better idea of how early trauma shapes human development. Biological aging can happen at a different pace than chronological aging. One way scientists measure biological age is by looking at epigenetics. Epigenetics involves chemical modifications to DNA that alter how genes are expressed without changing the underlying genetic code. Specifically, researchers look at DNA methylation, a process where tiny molecular tags attach to certain parts of the genome. As people age, the pattern of these tags changes in a predictable way. In recent years, researchers have developed epigenetic clocks that use these methylation patterns to estimate a person’s biological age. Extreme stress and trauma have been linked to accelerated epigenetic aging in adults. Being exposed to adverse childhood experiences can force …

Self-Attunement for Trauma Survivors: Putting It Into Practice

Self-Attunement for Trauma Survivors: Putting It Into Practice

Published by Jenni Sidey

This post is Part 3 of a series. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. In the first two parts, we discussed why many trauma survivors struggle to tap into the internal resources that traditional therapy often assumes they have. We introduced self-attunement as a crucial foundation, a bottom-up process that gets the upper parts of the brain involved before any narrative or cognitive work can take place. Now, in this final part, we’re shifting our focus to practice. But first, we need to highlight a critical internal state that tends to arise at this point in recovery yet is frequently misunderstood. The Moment Before Practice As the nervous system starts to find its balance again, a lot of survivors experience a strange but unsettling feeling: Nothing feels meaningful anymore. The future feels distant or unreal. Any warmth inside seems just out of reach. And yet, something within them persists. This isn’t hope. This isn’t belief. This is emergent life. What Emergent Life Actually Is With complex trauma, the system learns some hard truths: …