How to Be Trauma Informed in 2023
How does being trauma-sensitive translate into business? If you are in the wellness, spirituality, yoga, astrology or coaching space, trauma is a big topic. And for good reason. It has to do with both our global systems and internal systems. I don’t believe that simplifying trauma is the answer however, to healing it. It is nuanced, and it runs deep. If you’re creating community to build people up, educate, guide, coach, podcast, etc., giving trauma some space in your repertoire is ESSENTIAL for reducing further harm in the wellness space. Without proper training and understanding, mentioning and even “identifying” trauma for a client may be harmful, shameful or even violent. In this article we will cover how to be trauma informed in your wellness space in 2023.
First, understand trauma. Know the science behind trauma. Recommending therapists and trauma specialists to your clients is a great place to start. But hold up. Just because we’re all talking about trauma doesn’t mean we can continue to throw this term around without really doing some research to actually understand how trauma is experienced and what it means for mental health.
You want to be more trauma informed in your business - from client relationships, to marketing, to writing courses. Ok. Let's dive in a bit.
Picture this: You're driving your car. Someone cuts you off out of NOWHERE. You slam on the breaks. Everything in your car goes flying. You hit the breaks in time, and you are deeply shook, but at least you're not hurt. Biologically, what happened in this moment was that your brain registered a threat to your safety, and in response, your body mobilized large amounts of force (reaction) to avoid the accident. Cool. You then pause, make sure everyones okay, take a deep breath, then move on with your day.
Now, let's shift perspectives to the animal kingdom. Picture a deer grazing in the woods. She hears leaves rustle in the distance and her ears pop up, she becomes alert. She scans the woods, and soon realises it was just the wind and shakes it off. She flicks her ears and tail - discharging the mobilized energy in her body. This bodily twitch completes the cycle. Once the deer’s system activates, the energy needs to finish its mobilization. If she doesn't need to defend herself (fight) or run for the hills (flight), the energy is discharged through this twitching and the bio cycle is complete.
Back to us human animals. We have a neocortex, the newer part of the brain that allows us to use deductive reasoning. This is the frontal part of the brain where we can override instinctual responses. In other words, we have the capacity to override primal reactions. This is good at times. Damn brains. They're so smart. BUT, this is the key to why only humans experience Trauma. (animals do too, but only when they are in captivity or abused.) :(
The neocortex is rad. It gives us the capacity to make decisions, have conversations, have bodily awareness, meditate, and many other things. It is a blessing, but also a curse. That is because it can also interfere with the completion of this cycle. When that person cuts us off in traffic, we very well may have had the instinct to get out of the car and punch that person in the face. But our neocortex said “Nah, better not. I don’t want to get arrested.” We override our instinct. And for good reason. Now please don’t let your instincts go wild and go around punching people in traffic. What I am explaining is that this bound up energy is important to note. This “override” then keeps happening in hopes of keeping us safe in modern society. Energy continues to be mobilized and then not discharged, mobilized and not discharged. It then can compound in the nervous system to create complex trauma symptoms like lashing out, behavioral issues, depression, anxiety, and so on. So this shows us that “trauma” is not the actual event, but the symptoms that result from the bound up energy that has not been discharged.
Fascinating, right? And this is only one example.
There are many forms of trauma. Some examples include:
Acute trauma (assault, accident, natural disaster)
Chronic Trauma (abuse, ongoing fear, neglect, combat)
Social Trauma (inherited transgenerationally)
PTSD (describes a set of symptoms like feeling numb, reliving the experience)
Vicarious Trauma (ongoing exposure to others trauma)
Developmental Trauma (adverse events in childhood, abandonment, death of family member)
Colonial Trauma: coined by Susanna Barkataki: A kind of systemic trauma where the colonial or post-colonial system seeks to divide and separate, control the resources [cultural, material, natural wealth], and exploit the resources of a target group, causing ongoing complex trauma. The trauma of colonization can happen during colonization and post-colonization as the impacts of the erasure of culture, norms, behaviors and practices are intersectional and cumulative over time. (Barkataki, 2019)
Animals are constantly mobilizing and discharging, mobilizing and discharging. This makes for a happy nervous system and brain. So the question becomes; how can we start discharging this energy from our bodies safely ? And what are common trauma triggers? There are many resources for this aspect of healing trauma. The book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel VanDerKolk speaks to the neuroscience behind somatic trauma cycles as a researcher and Psychiatrist. TRE is a practice called Trauma Release Exercise developed by Dr. David Bercelli where a neurogenic tremor or shaking mechanism is induced in the body in order to release unresolved trauma. (I have tried it under a trained guide, and let me tell you, it goes DEEP.) Neurogenic Yoga is another trauma release process developed by professionals in the field. This brings up the issue of therapy modalities. The full spectrum of trauma simply cannot be accessed by talk therapy alone. Cognitively processing your trauma will only get you so far, and may even re-traumatize you. We need to work with trauma from the bottom-up. Consider recommending bottom-up approaches like somatic experiencing, TRE, restorative yoga, and massage along with top-down approaches when you speak about trauma with clients or loved ones.
Another word on trauma: A more complex example of trauma is if you grew up going to school where everyone wore tight clothing and you felt like you had to do the same to fit in. You eventually started sucking in your belly all day every day, hiding your arms and legs, and being hyper-aware of people looking at you. Your system adopted this as regular behavior for survival. You then got made fun of by some bully at school, and later on became anorexic. Your body mobilized its “freeze” mechanism (rather than fight or flight) and you became dissociative. The mobilization of energy in this situation would be the freeze and anorexia. It is your body's way of protecting itself from psychological or physical harm, it just basically goes numb which results in dissociation from the felt sense in your body.
PTSD = experience of previous trauma as if it was happening in the moment. Trauma survivors often report living from the neck-up.
Phew. It's complex. But now that you have some foundational understanding, how can you integrate this wisdom into a trauma informed business?
Understand that everybody has trauma, and that our businesses can honor that. In your business, being trauma informed can increase empathy, facilitate deeper connections with clients, create a more ethical and honorable business, and normalize mental health issues. Systemic issues hugely contribute to trauma in bodies. Separation is at the root of trauma. How does your business disrupt oppression? Remember that part of your role as a business promoting wellness, is to practice and embody equality, ethics and inclusion - so speaking up and addressing issues of harm and appropriation is necessary in your biz. Honor that global pandemics, sexual exploitation, political unrest, police brutality, capitalism, insurrections, social media, and overstimulation can result in a highly traumatized nervous system. Ima’ go out on a limb here and say that living in modern society is traumatic. Let's do ourselves a favor and not bypass this.
Trauma is a psychological and/or emotional response to an event that overwhelms the body’s systems without the proper tools to integrate the experience. (Adi Shakti & Aris Seaberg, 2019)
I'm going to ask you a tough question.
Do your choices in your business/life support separation or unity?
Refine your business to be service oriented and less about fixing. Wellness businesses are usually service based, some are product based. Something that has helped me move towards unity in my yoga biz is knowing how I am serving my clients. Serving is different from helping, because helping is based on inequality and separation. Helping implies that the other person is weak. When you help, there is a sense of strength in the helper. When you serve, you serve with your whole self - not just your strength. Serving is also different from fixing, because fixing implies that something is broken. Serving implies an equal relationship - that the other person/business is whole. Serving heals. Service rests on the basic idea that life is sacred and that there is much we don’t know. From this perspective, we are all connected, and the desire to serve rises out of seeing life as sacred.
How can you serve without believing that your client is broken or weak? Even if what you do is “help people”, you are essentially serving them. How can you move towards service? This is a little like therapy 101 - and in wellness, we’ve all got to be therapists in a certain way, mostly now.
Tip: Serve your clients instead of fixing or helping by using words like: improve, gain insight, grow, transform, liven, support, lift, amplify, optimize.
Know where you stand in supporting reparations in the wellness movement.
Are you unknowingly participating in erasure or positionality over an indigenous practice that your business is built upon? What are your privileges? What are your biases? Who’s voices do you raise on your business platform? Honor it by practicing reciprocity and donating to that culture that your business's wellness practice was born from. You’re a yoga studio owner? Hire a south asian yoga teacher and elevate their voice in your space. I know this can seem overwhelming.
This is okay. We are all learning how to not exploit, steal and take positionality over indigenous wisdom while still making a living doing what we love. Reach out to your community and have difficult conversations. This is promoting unity.
Recognize complex trauma. I’m sure you know by now, trauma can be psychological too. And we are all doing a great job in the wellness space of giving recognition to the fact that trauma can be subtle. However, I am concerned that we are throwing this word around too much and we’re becoming a bit de-sensitized to it. So now that you know a little more about trauma, ask yourself:
What in your day to day experience are little traumas?
Where has energy been activated in my body and kept in or repressed?
Beginning to recognize this in your own life is the key to holding space for it in your business and with your clients.
As a leader / teacher / company, you have an elevated voice. Hire a team of diverse colors, sizes, ability, genders, and sexuality. Create a board of directors who can help to bridge cultures, and relationships between your business and different community organizations.
Let's look at your marketing. How do people perceive your business online? Just simply noticing how you are perceived by different communities is a great start. What languaging are you using? Even when you’re working with other business owners, we need to remember that everyone has trauma. Just because your client is a high functioning therapist, coach or yoga teacher, your business is about holding space for THEM. So why treat them any different than a beginner client? Trauma symptoms don't exist in a cylo. Trauma symptoms exist in high functioning bodies! If your client’s trauma is keeping them in a cycle of comparison or imposter syndrome that is affecting their business or life, we have to remember that their nervous system is trying to protect itself. Simply giving them a safe space without calling out trauma to start the unwinding process can be huge.
6. Respect how people have coped. Honor how other people’s systems have adjusted to the disturbances in their lives - whether it be anorexia, addiction, hyper-vigilance, hoarding, overeating, overworking, all of these ways that we’re reaching for the light. Understanding what has been too much too fast for others and for yourself.
7. A few ways to have trauma-informed client interactions:
Give your clients permission and space to listen to their intuition. Model that by doing it YOURSELF, as well.
Give your clients only enough information that they can handle. Nobody loves an onslaught of information, mostly in 2021. Try not to overwhelm them with overloading info which may have them feeling unworthy, incompetent, or just simply exhausted.
Are you taking their power away? Let your client make decisions. If you sense your client needs more direction, simply ask beforehand “may I make a suggestion that you may not have been aware of?” rather than saying “do this” or “think this way.”
Keep your ego in check, my friend. Check yo’self before you, well…. don’t. When we begin to believe that our client’s success depends on our intervention, you can get sucked into that ego mindset. When you become more concerned about your performance as a guide, facilitator, coach, or teacher than the success of your client - that is when our performance suffers and we don't end up truly supporting them. Just sayin.’
Make your client feel safe to fail, to fall and to ask “dumb” questions. When people are learning and growing, they are bound to make mistakes! We all have! Offer space without judgment or shame. Perhaps silence, or a break in your session for your client to find their resilience again. When you feel it's appropriate, offer a story about your own experience of doubt. I promise, they won’t run away because you've shared something vulnerable with them. It might just be the final piece for them to decide to stay working with you.
Define the line between withholding guidance and giving guidance (when giving guidance is literally what you do). This is a big one. Now I am not saying to totally rewire your coaching method, cuz damn you're doing GREAT. However, for the sake of being trauma informed, this is where you let your client answer their own questions. For example, if you're giving an astrology reading, really listen to your client. Where are they the most vulnerable? Understand what it is they are seeking in the reading - recognize that they may also be ashamed of seeking guidance. Let there be silence - even when it's uncomfortable - to make space for truth. You never want to make your client feel foolish or inadequate - and for that reason you may want to withhold guidance if it might shame them in the area they feel the most incapable and vulnerable. Instead direct the question back to them. (Understanding where your client is experiencing trauma symptoms helps you hold space deeper in your reading and in turn receive a glowing testimonial/review!) This one takes tuning into and practice. Give yourself patience!
Use Inviting Language. Calling in instead of calling out in your marketing can be HUGE. Call your clients in by using heartfelt posts and branding questions like “I encourage you to take a look at ______ in your business.” “I offer a fresh perspective that you may not have been aware of” “where are you looking to grow?” with the intention being to first UNDERSTAND your client, and THEN educate them. I know it seems scary, but make the choice to work with you a big one. Be clear that they have an option to work with you or not. Use empowering language, and be as clear and concise as you can with your marketing. Invite awareness in your branding through subtle questions, empty space and soft, subtle art. Be consistent. Share the benefits of working with you. Avoid singling out your clients by saying “youre doing this wrong” “you should not be doing this” and also in return, allow yourself to LEARN from them. Calling out in your marketing looks like anything that is blaming, shaming, or fear-based. It can look like “fix this” “hurry up “this is wrong” this is the way” “this is the best” “this will save you” blah blah blah.
8. Hold space for multiple truths in your business WHILE being direct with what you offer. Maybe you offer solutions, maybe you offer specific results (like increased clientele, or increased SEO) but maybe your client wants more connections with clientele that then results in sales. Ask them if what they need is simply more sales, or more meaningful connections that convert into sales. Maybe your client wants more readers on his blog, and in turn increased income from ads. Ask him if he would like to gain more readers, or understand his current readers better.
See where I’m going with this?
See your solutions as subjective (not the same for everyone) versus your solutions being objective, and from ONE place serving ONE person having ONE result. Maybe one customer is experiencing your services in a totally different way that another experiences the service.
9. Use trauma informed language in your copy, in your emails, blogs, website, & courses. In my opinion, the most important time to use trauma informed languaging is in the initial client interaction. This creates a safe space for potential conversion. But please do not stop there. Use trauma informed language in your calls, in your media, in your interaction. Also give yourself time. It takes time to shift our wording. It helps to listen to others speak as well. Along with languaging, consider your logos, branding, photos and symbols. Are you using a sacred symbol such as the Om as a means to selling products? This directly contributes to further colonization of indigenous folx, capitalism and appropriation of the indian culture. Cue not being trauma-informed and creating more harm.
I know, it runs deep. But this is our work. And if we’re in wellness, I really believe we should be willing to do this work. If you need help with trauma informed languaging/brand development & design for your business, head over to my site. I'm your girl.
Examples of harm-reducing language:
Advice: perhaps, may i suggest,
“Do this”: if it feels right, maybe you,
Addressing separation:
Further Harm-Reducing Business Inquiry questions:
How is your business involved in reciprocity - giving back to your wellness practices’ originating culture?
How is your use of your power or platform harming the colonized folx in your community? This often shows up as indirect harm - like profiting off of labor of an individual and failing to give proper compensation to the person who made it.
10. LASTLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, PLEASE GIVE TIME TO YOURSELF. In order to embody all of the above, you must be centered, healthy, grounded, and clear. Take time away from social media. Get outside, breathe, stretch, run, dance, move your body.
Move your body.
Move your body.
Go outside now, or into the living room, and move. You've got this!
