Trauma

Trauma is not an event — it is what happens *inside* the nervous system when an event exceeds the person's capacity to cope. Two people can experience the same event; one integrates it, one is wounded by it. The difference lies not in the event but in the resources available at the moment of impact.

Types: - Acute trauma — a single overwhelming event (accident, assault, natural disaster) - Complex/developmental trauma — repeated violations, usually in childhood (neglect, abuse, chronic instability) - Collective/historical trauma — harm passed across generations and communities (genocide, colonization, systemic violence)

What trauma does to the body: - The nervous system freezes in a partial state of emergency long after the threat has passed - Triggers activate the survival response (fight, flight, freeze) even in safe environments - Memory of the event can be stored somatically (in the body) rather than as narrative

Why it matters for peace: The phrase "hurt people hurt people" is a compression of the research: unresolved trauma frequently drives cycles of harm. The path from personal wound to community healing runs through acknowledgment, safety, and the slow rebuilding of the capacity for trust.

Compassion — for self and other — is both a precondition for healing and one of its outcomes.