03/07/2022
All trauma is preverbal. Meaning the trauma is marked or registered in the body by the absence of language. Bessel Van Der Kolk refers to this as “speechless horror.” We’ve all had something happen to us where we are not able to identify our feelings: it’s when words fail us. Those experiencing trauma do have a story to tell, but it’s usually what they think is an acceptable version for others to hear. What registers in the body is separate from the story they tell. This is why talk therapy has to be introduced carefully otherwise you risk retraumatizing someone who has come to you for help. TRE Atlanta uses an approach that honors the story your body has to tell.
For you Shakespeare fans, in the tragedy “Macbeth” Macduff screams in despair because he’s just found Duncan’s dead body: “Oh horror! Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name these!” When there is a tragedy, people may call out for their mothers (as George Floyd did,) howl in terror as Macduff in Macbeth did, or simply shutdown as in the case of a victim from the Ghislaine Maxwell trial.
When words fail us we are stuck in flight/fight or freeze, we have an increase of adrenaline resulting in a triggering episode that does not allow us to return to baseline. The pendulum may swing from hyperarousal (outbursts, rage) to hypo-arousal (collapse, shutting down.) This is the work of TRE Atlanta. We start by honoring the body and we move slowly towards the language used to describe the event.