Welcome to Reaching Minds: Thoughts for Your Life’s Journey. In today’s episode, we’re diving deep into a topic that affects so many of us yet is still often misunderstood trauma. How in our social media-driven world, the term ‘trauma’ is often overused and misapplied, potentially diluting its real significance Now, Traumatising experiences don’t always look the way we expect. They are not always singular, acute, life-altering events, incorporating also complex, relational difficulties that can start in childhood. The long-term effects are far-reaching and can shape everything from how we interact with others to how we view and navigate the world as adults. Adding even more nuance is the fact that what is traumatising to one person may not be at all to another, depending on how they were raised, whether they’ve experienced overwhelming threats more than once, and other factors, so it could be said that trauma expresses on something of a spectrum. In this episode we will unpack some of these ideas, with special focus on the impact of complex trauma and how relational wounds — like neglect or witnessing violence — leave lasting scars. We’ll explore resilience, the role of environment in healing, and why understanding the root causes of trauma is so crucial with the pioneering work that has been done in this field, like Bessel van Der Kolk and Gabor Maté. About Charlotte Nicholson I’m joined by a truly remarkable guest, Charlotte Nicholson, who is a teacher, guide and facilitator trained in numerous styles of yoga and other embodied practice modalities adapted for addressing trauma. She has offered therapeutic support using trauma sensitive yoga to individuals living through anxiety, depression, compulsions, dysregulated eating and complex PTSD – all expressions of suffering and attempts to find coping mechanisms - offering both one-on-one and small group sessions, both in-person and online. She also brings her work into the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy, a promising frontier in trauma healing. She currently divides her time between the UK and Peru, where she training to facilitate ayahuasca retreats with veterans and other individuals seeking recovery. Questions we will pose in understanding Trauma: There’s increasing use of the term ‘trauma’ in everyday life. What’s your take on that? How would you define trauma, and how has that definition evolved in recent years? What’s one misconception about trauma you'd like to clear up for our listeners? How do you differentiate between trauma and stress, especially in therapeutic settings? How do social, environmental, and relational factors like racism, wars etc influence how trauma is processed? Is there a danger in pathologizing normal emotional responses? How do we find a balance? What are some of the most misunderstood symptoms of trauma? What does trauma healing really look, and why is it often non-linear? How important is the body in trauma recovery, and what role do somatic therapies play? Are traditional talk therapies sufficient for trauma, or do we need to rethink how we approach treatment? Resources: https://www.charlotte-nicholson.com/about - Charlotte is happy to have an initial conversation The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk | 24 Sept 2015 Dr Gabor Maté 5 Books Collection Set (When the Body Says No, Hold on to Your Kids, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Scattered Minds & The Myth of Normal) 2022 Trauma Sensitive Yoga Practitioners The Embody lab - https://www.theembodylab.com Roadmap for trauma and response change for organisations in Scotland Interested in Working with me! Contact me on Linkedin if you wish to explore what I offer. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nita-sharma-cpcc-pcc-78b1a22/ If you interested in One-to-One coaching contact me through LinkedIn or through my website www.nitasharma.com
