10/27/2021
This is just do important! Did you lose the ability to play, be curious and joyful when you survived trauma?
Essential Read in Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences on Psychology Today, my latest article challenging the notion of Window of Tolerance with a reframing to a "Circle of Capacity." In other words, "The experience of psychological trauma is generally connected to the presence of distress. But in working with trauma survivors for over three decades, it is also the absence of enlivenment, play, curiosity, laughter, and self-compassion. In other words, repair of trauma is not just about learning to cope with distress. It is also about expanding the capacity for positive and pleasurable experiences in mind and body...
While I have applied Siegel’s framework to my clinical thinking, I have rarely explained it to individuals using the word “tolerate.” When it comes to the terror and atrocities of traumatic experiences, most practitioners would agree that we unfortunately know that trauma survivors have tolerated too much for far too long. In so many cases, they have coped with far too much—abuse, neglect, and assault. Many have endured multiple traumatic events since childhood, including disrupted attachment and repetitive incidents of interpersonal violence resulting in tenacious feelings of shame and guilt."
And I believe we are ready for an expansive circle as an alternative to a hierarchical framework. See the complete article at:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/arts-and-health/202109/traumatic-stress-and-the-circle-capacity
