The Logic of Trauma by Dr. Husen

 The Logic of Trauma

Reading Freud this afternoon I am reminded that Trauma resides in the unconscious and more specifically procedural memory bypassing conscious recall when activated.1

Sensory and/or situational cues associated with unresolved trauma activate amygdala driven high intensity HPA stress responses. Traumatic memory by definition is implicit, procedural, somatic and unconscious. Residing in the unconscious such memories are triggered “automatically in the course of perceiving”. Traumatic memories evade the normal healing and integrative powers of time and bypass rational thought. They carry a logic of their own—the logic of survival.2

The beauty of healing from trauma involves a restoration in six key areas of functioning: 1. Emotional and Impulse Control; 2. Attention and Concentration; 3. Self-Perception; 4. Relationships; 5. Somatic Health; and, 6. Systems of Meaning.3

References

1. Freud, S. (1915) The Unconscious. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud 14:159-215 at pp. 186 and 187; Kandel, Eric; Schwartz, James; Jessell, Thomas; Siegelbaum, Steven; Hudspeth, A.J. (2013). Principles of Neural Science, 5th edition. McGraw-Hill Education at 40154 (Chapter 65).

2. Kandel, Eric; Schwartz, James; Jessell, Thomas; Siegelbaum, Steven; Hudspeth, A.J. (2013). Principles of Neural Science, 5th edition. McGraw-Hill Education at 40694 (Chapter 66).

3. (Husen, J. (2016). A case study treating complex PTSD: One woman’s heroic journey. Kindle and Amazon at p. 9)


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