Understanding Complex Trauma: How Survival Strategies Shape the Present
Margaret Brennan, PhD Margaret Brennan, PhD

Understanding Complex Trauma: How Survival Strategies Shape the Present

Complex trauma develops through repeated or prolonged experiences that can shape how we see ourselves, relate to others, and respond to the world around us. This article explores the survival strategies that can develop in response to complex trauma and how those strategies may continue to shape our lives long after the original experiences have passed.

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The Window of Tolerance: Why Stress Feels Impossible to Manage
Margaret Brennan, PhD Margaret Brennan, PhD

The Window of Tolerance: Why Stress Feels Impossible to Manage

Ever wonder why the same stressor barely registers one day and completely overwhelms you the next? Learn about the window of tolerance — the nervous system's zone of regulation — and how somatic, body-based therapy can help widen it.

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Why Trauma Can Make It Hard to Feel What's Happening Inside: Understanding Interoception and Exteroception
Margaret Brennan, PhD Margaret Brennan, PhD

Why Trauma Can Make It Hard to Feel What's Happening Inside: Understanding Interoception and Exteroception

Trauma can make it difficult to recognize what's happening inside your body, leaving you feeling disconnected from your emotions, physical sensations, and needs. Learn how interoception and exteroception work, why trauma disrupts these processes, and how trauma-informed therapy can help you reconnect with your nervous system.

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What is Somatic Therapy? How the Body Heals from Trauma
Margaret Brennan, PhD Margaret Brennan, PhD

What is Somatic Therapy? How the Body Heals from Trauma

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach to healing trauma that focuses on how experiences are held and processed through the nervous system. This blog explores how somatic therapy works, what to expect in sessions, and how it can support deeper emotional and physiological healing.

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Common Mental Health Challenges and When Therapy Can Help
Margaret Brennan, PhD Margaret Brennan, PhD

Common Mental Health Challenges and When Therapy Can Help

Mental health challenges are more common than most of us realise — and more treatable than many people think. This guide walks through the most common concerns people bring to therapy, what they actually feel like from the inside, and how to know when it might be time to reach out.

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Understanding the Five F's: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, and Flop Responses
Margaret Brennan, PhD Margaret Brennan, PhD

Understanding the Five F's: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, and Flop Responses

When we face stress or danger, our nervous system automatically activates one of five survival responses: fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or flop. Through the lens of Polyvagal Theory, we can understand why these responses happen, recognize our own patterns, and learn to build a more flexible nervous system that can return to safety and connection.

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What Is Oppression-Based Trauma? Understanding the Impact of Systemic Harm
Margaret Brennan, PhD Margaret Brennan, PhD

What Is Oppression-Based Trauma? Understanding the Impact of Systemic Harm

Oppression-based trauma is the ongoing emotional and psychological harm caused by systemic discrimination and marginalization, distinct from traditional trauma which stems from acute, individual events. Healing requires affirming, justice-oriented care that acknowledges the impact of systemic harm and supports collective recovery.

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