What ethologists call tonic immobility—the paralysis and physical/emotional shutdown that characterize the universal experience of helplessness in the face of mortal danger—comes to dominate

We are “scared stiff.” In human beings, unlike in animals, the state of temporary freezing becomes a long-term trait.

Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.

was simply not an option—could have entrapped me. My global activation was “all dressed up with nowhere to go.”

the same psychophysiological systems that govern the traumatic state also mediate core feelings of goodness and belonging.

Trauma is not a disease, he points out, but rather a human experience rooted in survival instincts.

the capacity for self-regulation is what allows us to handle our own states of arousal and our difficult emotions, thus providing the basis for the balance between authentic autonomy and healthy social engagement. In addition, this capacity allows us the intrinsic ability to evoke a sense of being safely “at home” within ourselves, at home where

carefully graded, expression of our instinctive responses will allow the traumatic state to loosen its hold on the sufferer.

ingesting psychoactive substances, to name a few. Of these various methods for altering one’s way of being, modern medicine has accepted only the use of (limited, i.e., psychiatric) chemical substances. The other “coping” methods continue to find expression in alternative and so-called holistic approaches such as yoga, tai chi, exercise, drumming,