--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Traumatic events, by definition…" description: "\"“Traumatic events, by definition, overwhelm our ability to cope. When the mind becomes flooded with emotion, a circuit breaker is thrown that allows us..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/susan-pease-banitt-106440_anaolgy_traumatic-events-by-definition-overwhelm_1437884.jpg" --- # Traumatic events, by definition, overwhelm our ability to… ![“Traumatic events, by definition, overwhelm our ability to cope. When the mind becomes flooded with emotion, a circuit breaker is thrown that allows us to survive the experience fairly intact, that is, without becoming psychotic or frying out one of the brain centers. The cost of this blown circuit…” quote by Susan Pease Banitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/susan-pease-banitt-106440_anaolgy_traumatic-events-by-definition-overwhelm_1437884.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/susan-pease-banitt-106440_anaolgy_traumatic-events-by-definition-overwhelm_1437884.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/susan-pease-banitt-106440_anaolgy_traumatic-events-by-definition-overwhelm_1437884.jpg) > ““Traumatic events, by definition, overwhelm our ability to cope. When the mind becomes flooded with emotion, a circuit breaker is thrown that allows us to survive the experience fairly intact, that is, without becoming psychotic or frying out one of the brain centers. The cost of this blown circuit is emotion frozen within the body. In other words, we often unconsciously stop feeling our trauma partway into it, like a movie that is still going after the sound has been turned off. We cannot heal until we move fully through that trauma, including all the feelings of the event.”” Susan Pease Banitt ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Trauma freezes emotions; full processing is needed for healing. **In simple terms:** Trauma blocks feeling; process to heal. Key Takeaway Allow full emotional processing. Themes trauma healing psychology Mood reflective somber Type Brain:1 Copying:0 Electric:0 Emotions:1 Feelings:1 Flooding:0 Frozen:1 Heal:1 Healing:1 Metaphor:1 Overwhelmed:1 Posttraumatic-stress:1 Posttraumatic-stress-disorder:1 Psychology:1 Psychosis:0 Ptsd:1 Ptss:1 Survival:0 Trauma:1 Traumatic:1 Traumatic events:1 Traumatic experiences:1 Traumatized:0 Unconscious:0 Feeling Trauma:1 Trauma Including:0 Fully Trauma:0 When to use this quote - therapy sessions - mindfulness practice - support groups Key Concepts neuroscience circuit breaker metaphor emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - What emotions are you avoiding? - How can you safely revisit trauma? A Different Perspective Some may suppress emotions for safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Flooding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flooding/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Posttraumatic-stress-disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posttraumatic-stress-disorder/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Psychosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychosis/) [Ptsd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ptsd/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma/) [Traumatic events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traumatic-events/) [Traumatic experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traumatic-experiences/) ## Related quotes > [“Blame is a Defense Against Powerlessness Betrayal trauma changes you. 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