What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

by Bruce D. Perry

Connectedness counters the pull of addictive behaviors. It is the key.

accumulated a house full of nice things and the picture of your life fits inside a beautiful frame, if you have experienced trauma but haven’t excavated it, the wounded parts of you will affect everything you’ve managed to build.

This is why, in therapy, it often takes ten to twenty sessions before the client begins to feel safe enough to share some of their most emotionally difficult experiences.

What attention, nurturing touch, reassurance—basically, what love—didn’t you get? I realized that neglect is as toxic as trauma.

connectedness to other people is so key to buffering any current stressor—and to healing from past trauma. Being with people who are present, supportive, and nurturing. Belonging.

Even the most seemingly resilient people can be drained by relational poverty and ongoing stress, distress, and trauma.