What Is Trauma? A New Way to See the Cracks in Our World

Trauma is often thought of as something that happens to us—an event so overwhelming it leaves scars on our bodies and minds. But this view barely scratches the surface of what trauma truly is. Trauma isn’t just a personal experience; it’s a rupture in the relationships that sustain life. It impacts how we relate to ourselves, to others, and to the systems and environments we live in.

In dominant frameworks, trauma is often reduced to a problem within the individual. It’s diagnosed, pathologized, and treated as something to “fix.” But what if trauma is more than that? What if it’s a crack, as Bayo Akomolafe might say, that offers not just pain but also the potential for transformation?

Rethinking Trauma Through a Relational Lens

Traditional models of trauma emphasize the individual: their symptoms, behaviors, and recovery. While these approaches have their place, they often miss the broader picture. Trauma doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It emerges in relationships—between people, communities, and systems. When these relationships are fractured, the effects ripple outward, touching everything.

For example, consider how colonial systems have inflicted trauma on both people and the land. The separation of humans from nature, the extraction of resources, and the erasure of Indigenous ways of being aren’t just historical events; they are ongoing traumas. These systemic fractures disrupt relationality, perpetuating cycles of harm across generations.

Trauma as a Geography of Rupture and Possibility

In my PhD work, I explore trauma as a geography—a map of wounds and connections. This concept, inspired by relational ontologies, invites us to see trauma not just as damage but as an opportunity to mend and reimagine. When we view trauma as a rupture in relationality, healing becomes about more than just recovery. It becomes an act of repair, a weaving back together of the threads that connect us to ourselves, each other, and the Earth.

This perspective shifts the focus from individual pathology to collective possibility. It recognizes that trauma isn’t solely something we survive—it’s something we can transform. The cracks created by trauma are also openings, spaces where new ways of being can emerge.

An Invitation

What if you saw trauma not as a burden to be carried alone, but as an invitation to reconnect? How might it change the way you approach healing if you viewed it as a shared journey, one that involves not just personal growth but also relational repair?

Trauma asks us to lean into the cracks, to sit with discomfort, and to reimagine the relationships that sustain life. It’s not an easy process, but it’s a necessary one—one that holds the potential to transform not just ourselves, but the world we inhabit. Let’s explore this path together, weaving a new story of connection and care.