Why the Way We Think About Trauma Often Perpetuates More Trauma
Trauma is a word we hear often, but how we think about it—and how we respond to it—can have profound implications. In many mainstream narratives, trauma is treated as a personal affliction, something that happens to an individual and requires individual healing. While this perspective acknowledges the impact of trauma, it often overlooks its relational and systemic dimensions, unintentionally reinforcing the very cycles of harm it seeks to address.
The Problem with the Individualized Lens
In the dominant worldview, trauma is often framed as an isolated event that disrupts an individual’s emotional or physical state. Healing, in turn, is presented as a process of personal recovery—therapy sessions, mindfulness practices, or self-care routines aimed at “fixing” the person who has been hurt. While these approaches can be valuable, they risk ignoring the broader context in which trauma occurs.
This individualized lens shifts focus away from the relational and systemic roots of trauma. For example, it doesn’t ask why trauma is so pervasive in certain communities or why certain systems perpetuate harm. Instead, it subtly suggests that the individual must adapt to their circumstances, leaving the systems that create trauma unchallenged and unchanged.
The Impact of Disconnecting Trauma from Systems
By isolating trauma from its systemic origins, we fail to address the larger forces that create and sustain cycles of harm. Colonization, racism, capitalism, and patriarchy all contribute to environments where trauma is not an anomaly but an inevitable outcome. When trauma is framed as solely an individual issue, these systems are absolved of responsibility, allowing them to continue operating unchecked.
This disconnection also perpetuates trauma by fostering feelings of shame and inadequacy in individuals. People are often led to believe that their struggles are a personal failing rather than the result of systemic oppression or relational ruptures. This can lead to a sense of isolation, deepening the wounds of trauma rather than healing them.
The Role of Relational Trauma
Relational trauma offers a different perspective. It acknowledges that trauma is not just an individual experience but a rupture in connection—with others, with oneself, and with the larger web of life. When relationships are harmed—whether through personal violence, systemic oppression, or environmental destruction—trauma ripples outward, affecting entire communities and ecosystems.
This perspective shifts the focus from individual recovery to collective healing. It invites us to see trauma not as a defect to be fixed but as a signal that something in the relational fabric needs repair. It’s a call to rebuild connections, not just within ourselves but also with each other and the systems we inhabit.
Healing in a Relational Framework
Healing from trauma in a relational framework means addressing not just the symptoms but the causes. It means questioning the systems that perpetuate harm and working to create environments where care, reciprocity, and justice are prioritized.
This approach also re-frames resilience—not as the ability to endure harm but as the capacity to thrive in connection. Resilience in a relational sense is about fostering communities that support one another, where the burden of healing is shared, and where trauma is met not with isolation but with care and accountability.
An Invitation
How might your understanding of trauma change if you saw it not as an individual burden but as a rupture in the web of relationships that sustain life? What would healing look like if it centered connection, community, and systemic transformation? It’s time to move beyond narratives that isolate trauma and begin to repair the threads that bind us together. Let’s start this journey toward relational healing—together.
