Trauma is natural, animals can process it so well and we as humans, we were also built for that. But we have built such an unnatural world. Prisons, deportation, poverty, white supremacy...you name it.

What's NOT natural is man made cages and racist laws. It's also NOT natural that we cant process out of our bodies. GOOD NEWS, practices like this can help us feel more than just pain, they help us stay present, build resilience to manage trauma and traumatic events. It is possible to rewire our brain after severe trauma but it takes a lot of time, patience, and intentionality and access to resources and community care.

“Collective trauma is trauma that happens to large groups of individuals and can be transmitted trans-generationally and across communities.  War, genocide, slavery, terrorism, and natural disasters can cause collective trauma, which can  be further defined as historical, ancestral, or cultural.

Some of the symptoms of collective trauma include rage, depression, denial, survivor guilt and internalized oppression, as well as physiological changes in the brain and body which can bring on chronic disease. International relations are affected by collective and historical trauma as nations and peoples carry the weight of their own historical trauma with them as they wage war against each other.”

you can support Claudia's healing from deportation directly @claudiarising on VENMO