Dr. Robyn Koslowitz

Trauma is an experience you happen that makes you feel unsafe.

That makes you feel whether you feel unsafe, like physically unsafe, like I might die or whether you feel unsafe in the sense that I don't I thought I understood this world.

And now I completely don't understand this world.

I thought I was a competent operator of this world.

And now I don't get it.

Picture a kid who's bullied.

Right.

She comes to school and all of a sudden all the other little girls were like, we don't like you anymore.

Right.

She used to understand things like if you're nice to people, they're nice back to you.

If you share your snack, then your friend will share her snack.

She thought she understood the world.

And now all of a sudden, wait, I don't understand the world at all.

And whatever she tries to get the other little girls to like her again, backfires.

So she doesn't feel like a competent operator of the world.

So what's her brain going to do in that moment?

Her brain's going to create some form of software to help her feel safe.

Maybe it's, I don't need other kids.

I can just read and be a perfectionist student.

As long as the teachers like me, I'm good.