76% of Canadians report having experienced a traumatic event. Trauma results in behavioral, emotional, and physical symptoms such as anger, moodiness, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, sleep problems, and addiction. Most survivors may have temporary difficulty coping, but with time and self-care, they usually get better. Some people have symptoms for much longer. If the symptoms persist for months or years—flashbacks, re-experiencing the traumatic event, impairing your daily life—you may have PTSD.
People who had abusive childhoods already have symptoms of core dysregulation that make them vulnerable to trauma events in adulthood, and are more likely to take longer to recover than people who had stable childhoods.

Trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk emphasizes that only when a trauma survivor feels safe in their body, and able to “tolerate feeling what they feel and knowing what they know,” can healing occur. Training the brain to self-regulate restores cognitive functioning and emotional regulation, turning off your internal alarm system so that you feel safe in your body again.