The Superpowers of Complex Trauma

The Friday Edition | No. 13

The Superpowers of Complex Trauma

Living with trauma has many facets and differing ways in which it forms up and plays out in our lives. It can be a tightrope walk between trying to navigate a “normal” day and all that must be attended to alongside the chaos, triggers, trauma responses, and physical and nervous systems responses. The emotional roller coaster ride of despair confusion, anger, fear, and anxiety truncated with flashbacks and dissociative episodes showcases even further the unrelenting nightmare of CPTSD and the myriad effects of such a complicated disorder. Therefore, highlighting the superpowers attained as a result of CPTSD, and bringing validation to the superhuman strength and abilities developed over time, and the courage, and endurance needed to “live with” complex trauma is important and necessary.

Much of trauma healing is ham-handed by those without a first-hand understanding of the disorder and/or those having only a professional interest and curiosity to “try” this and “try” that to see what works. It is an attempt at times, of throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks and use that as the method for healing. This is not always the best way to proceed, especially for prescient and critical health issues surrounding complex trauma. Thus speaking on superpowers and bringing validation of the superhuman strength and abilities developed over time, and the courage, and endurance needed to “live with” complex trauma seems fair.

If we look at the secretive nature of trauma, especially if exacted on a child’s first experiences of life and repeated into adulthood, and how it is hidden, dismissed, denied, and then continues on unaided and neglected in the growing individual we see its impact. This impact continues more broadly within the public sphere, as well as in humanity’s understanding of the collective nature of suffering, trauma, and untreated mental issues where we still find a wall of resistance, fear, silence, ignorance, and more rugs to sweep abuse under.