This is how trauma gets stuck. This is what makes it hard for our nervous systems to know that we are safe—that what happened was indeed scary and overwhelming but is now over. When we cannot move through the processes that allow our nervous systems to climb the staircase to safety, or when we try to socially engage and all we get is more judgment and criticism, our systems never get the message that the pain is over. As a result, instead of moving from pain to safety, our systems move from pain to pain.
