Dr. Kate Truitt

Our little friend Amy the amygdala, who, that's what I do call her, Amy the amygdala. The amygdala is a part of our brain whose primary job is to keep us alive. And when we feel threatened, she's assessing in our brain these core values of, am I safe? Am I lovable or do I belong? And can I create change or what I call be successful in my life?

And if there's a direct threat to any of those values, then there's the possibility of something being encoded in our brain as traumatic.

And if there's a direct threat to any of those values, then there's the possibility of something being encoded in our brain as traumatic.

And if there's a direct threat to any of those values, then there's the possibility of something being encoded in our brain as traumatic.

Now, there's this concept in society on social media in the clinical realm of big T versus small T trauma. Big T trauma being something that we just lived through here in Los Angeles, these fires, or any natural disaster, or a direct assault, or something that is very clear that if you told another human this happened, societally that other person would say, yeah, that's definitely traumatic.

Now, there's this concept in society on social media in the clinical realm of big T versus small T trauma. Big T trauma being something that we just lived through here in Los Angeles, these fires, or any natural disaster, or a direct assault, or something that is very clear that if you told another human this happened, societally that other person would say, yeah, that's definitely traumatic.

Now, there's this concept in society on social media in the clinical realm of big T versus small T trauma. Big T trauma being something that we just lived through here in Los Angeles, these fires, or any natural disaster, or a direct assault, or something that is very clear that if you told another human this happened, societally that other person would say, yeah, that's definitely traumatic.

Small T trauma are often just as impactful, but they're missed in the trauma dialogue, and they create ongoing traumatic stress as well in the system. But there are things that directly threaten those core values in more subtle ways, such as coercive control. feeling assaulted or humiliated or intimidated all of the time in ways that don't leave an actual mark perhaps on the body.

Small T trauma are often just as impactful, but they're missed in the trauma dialogue, and they create ongoing traumatic stress as well in the system. But there are things that directly threaten those core values in more subtle ways, such as coercive control. feeling assaulted or humiliated or intimidated all of the time in ways that don't leave an actual mark perhaps on the body.

Small T trauma are often just as impactful, but they're missed in the trauma dialogue, and they create ongoing traumatic stress as well in the system. But there are things that directly threaten those core values in more subtle ways, such as coercive control. feeling assaulted or humiliated or intimidated all of the time in ways that don't leave an actual mark perhaps on the body.

Those small T traumas can be just as impactful on how the mind-body system is experiencing and processing data. Whether it be a big T or a small T trauma, when those experiences happen, it fundamentally changes the way our brain and our body are making sense of the world around us.

Those small T traumas can be just as impactful on how the mind-body system is experiencing and processing data. Whether it be a big T or a small T trauma, when those experiences happen, it fundamentally changes the way our brain and our body are making sense of the world around us.

Those small T traumas can be just as impactful on how the mind-body system is experiencing and processing data. Whether it be a big T or a small T trauma, when those experiences happen, it fundamentally changes the way our brain and our body are making sense of the world around us.

One of my favorite examples of this is if we go back to February of 2020. If somebody sneezed, then it may have been a simple, Gesundheit, bless you. Not an entire fearful mind-body reaction to, oh my gosh, is that person sick with a virus that could kill us? Fast forward to August 2020, a sneeze for many people had a very different connotation.

One of my favorite examples of this is if we go back to February of 2020. If somebody sneezed, then it may have been a simple, Gesundheit, bless you. Not an entire fearful mind-body reaction to, oh my gosh, is that person sick with a virus that could kill us? Fast forward to August 2020, a sneeze for many people had a very different connotation.

One of my favorite examples of this is if we go back to February of 2020. If somebody sneezed, then it may have been a simple, Gesundheit, bless you. Not an entire fearful mind-body reaction to, oh my gosh, is that person sick with a virus that could kill us? Fast forward to August 2020, a sneeze for many people had a very different connotation.

That's a type of neuroplasticity known as stress-induced structural plasticity. Now, sitting here in 2025, a sneeze for many people, once again, is just a sneeze. That's how our brain is supposed to respond to threats and then also unlearn threats when it's no longer actually threatening to us.

That's a type of neuroplasticity known as stress-induced structural plasticity. Now, sitting here in 2025, a sneeze for many people, once again, is just a sneeze. That's how our brain is supposed to respond to threats and then also unlearn threats when it's no longer actually threatening to us.

That's a type of neuroplasticity known as stress-induced structural plasticity. Now, sitting here in 2025, a sneeze for many people, once again, is just a sneeze. That's how our brain is supposed to respond to threats and then also unlearn threats when it's no longer actually threatening to us.

When we're living in a state where there is constant internalization of fear, of trauma, where our brain has learned and started to design itself around traumatic experiences, even if the trauma is no longer happening, the traumatic event might have been, you know, for two years during one's childhood, but if those two years were impactful enough, the brain is still going to be harnessing and utilizing the neural pathways set down during those childhood years.