Adult Child Why peace feels unsafe: Trauma Healing Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory w/ Carmen Dominguez
When survival mode is all you’ve ever known, safety can feel threatening. This episode will help you understand why your body doesn’t trust what your brain says is fine—and why healing doesn’t start with your story, it starts with your body.
Psychotherapist Carmen Dominguez joins us to unpack why so many trauma survivors can’t stay regulated, even when life is going well. We explore the polyvagal theory—and how nervous system dysregulation fuels everything from addiction and people-pleasing to codependency and emotional shutdown.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
• How polyvagal theory explains trauma responses like people-pleasing, addiction, emotional shutdown, and the fear of calm — even when life is finally “safe”
• The role of “invisible trauma” — like chronic emotional neglect and unmet childhood needs — in shaping adult dysregulation and self-abandonment
• Why codependency isn’t a character flaw, but a nervous system adaptation rooted in the fawn response and emotional neglect
• The real reason healing doesn’t stick: how we retraumatize ourselves by doing trauma work before the body feels safe
• What to ask a therapist before working with them — and how to spot whether they truly understand nervous system healing or are just using the buzzwords
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