The inability to escape in childhood

It is now known that early trauma, lack of bonding and attunement adversely affects brain development and in infant trauma there is no way to escape the threats or deficits that may be an ongoing part of relational trauma, abuse or misattunement. The only means of avoiding the knowing of distress become freeze, arrest, collapse, dissociation or splitting, all of these responses leave the vibration of original traumas undischarged in the system of the experiencer. These responses result in a state of being which involves high levels of unresolved anger and incomplete fight-flight responses. A degree of numbing takes place and ongoing problems with connecting lead to withdrawal, a person no longer tries, they react defensively or protectively and their parasympathetic nervous system overrides the sympathetic leading to all kinds of locked in trauma symptoms.

When freeze and dissociation dominate a person, their level of emotional resilience also decreases, in this situation meeting later development tasks becomes even more difficult..

Since connection is the first need thar needs to be met as a foundation, followed by the needs for attunement, trust, autonomy and love and sexuality when that earliest need is frozen or over-ridden the later developmental hurdles can be even more impossible to navigate. In addition, in developmental trauma, the capacity for healthy aggression as well as social engagement are severely limited, leaving the trauma sufferer deeply hamstrung and unable to embrace new experiences of joy. And as the person turns away from relationships, they seek soothing strategies that may be destructive such as addictions.

A lack of coherence in memory is present due to neurological and emotional overwhelm resulting in high levels of activation which lead to rapid breathing, muscle bracing or slackness and a disconnection of breathing between different bodily areas. Holding our breath and bracing or muscular collapse may lead to many long term complications on a bodily level and overwhelming problems with anxiety leading to even more avoidance.