By Christine Hubbard
As a trauma therapist, I often talk with clients about big T trauma and little T trauma.
Big T trauma refers to the events most people immediately associate with trauma. These are intense, frightening, and often life-threatening experiences such as:
- Serving in combat
- Experiencing physical or sexual abuse
- Surviving a natural disaster
- Being the victim of a violent crime
- Living through domestic violence
When someone goes through an event like this, the brain often becomes programmed for danger. It stays on high alert, scanning the environment for threats. This can show up as being easily startled, avoiding reminders of the incident, or even experiencing flashbacks—when the brain reacts to a trigger, such as a sound or smell, as though the person is back in the traumatic situation. These reactions are often dramatized in movies and TV, but they’re very real for many people.
Little T trauma, on the other hand, doesn’t usually involve a single event. Instead, it’s made up of smaller, more subtle experiences that happen repeatedly over time. Examples include:
- Being dismissed by a parent when you share something you’re excited about
- Walking on eggshells to avoid emotional outbursts from a partner, parent, or boss
- Feeling unsupported, left out, or lonely
Even though these experiences may not seem “big enough” to be considered trauma, they still impact the brain and body in significant ways. Over time, little T trauma can create the same kinds of responses we see with big T trauma—feelings of danger, hypervigilance, and negative beliefs about ourselves or others.
The good news is this: therapy can help.
Therapy gives you the tools to reprocess trauma so it doesn’t stay stuck in your brain and body. With support, you can learn how to calm your nervous system, remind yourself that you are safe, and replace old, painful beliefs with healthier ones.
Whether you’re struggling in relationships because you don’t feel “good enough,” avoiding a highway after a car accident, or feeling like you can’t trust others to stick around, therapy can help you retrain your brain and soothe your body.
You deserve peace. You deserve to live the life you were meant to live—and healing is possible.