Overwhelmed by trauma or thwarted by neglect : the issue of age regression in trauma recovery

Children gradually learn to interpret the message their bodies give them  Indeed, it is by learning to coordinate movement (behaviours) and sensations into a coherent whole that a child learns who he or she is.  By remembering actions that have proven to be effective, and discarding those that are not, children lean how to anticipate what the most appropriate response is and how to time its execution for maximum effect.  In this way, they experience agency, satisfaction and pleasure.  When a child is overwhelmed by trauma or thwarted by neglect, this developmental sequence is aborted or, if already developed, breaks down, and negative emotions come to dominate his or her existence.”

Peter Levine,    In An Unspoken Voice

A huge result of suffering trauma is a state of paralysis.  A frozen stuckness which may hide massive emotions within it, emotions that break out in response to triggers or even to what…