Episode 11.1: Seeing Safety-How Your Eyes Hold Your Trauma Story

In this season premiere, Chloé sits down with Dr. Samantha Slotnick, a behavioral optometrist who approaches vision care through the lens of trauma, safety, and whole-body integration. What started as a referral to address Chloé's persistent neck tension became a profound exploration of how our visual system reflects and reinforces our deepest patterns of protection and perception.

Dr. Slotnick shares her revolutionary approach that asks not "how clearly can you see?" but "how safe do you feel to see?" This conversation will challenge everything you thought you knew about eye care and open your eyes to the intricate connections between vision, trauma, and feeling safe in your own body.

In This Episode:

The Revolutionary Approach to Vision Care

• Why Dr. Slotnick considers herself a "medium" using optometric knowledge
• How behavioral optometry differs radically from traditional eye exams
• The concept of prescribing for potential rather than perfect clarity

Vision as a Safety System

• How trauma shapes our visual field and movement patterns
• Why some people unconsciously limit their peripheral vision
• The connection between high ACE scores and visual processing

The Sternocleidomastoid Connection

• How neck tension relates to visual engagement with the environment
• Why this muscle is crucial for survival and environmental scanning
• The link between head positioning and feeling safe to see

Beyond 20/20 Vision

• Why "perfect" prescriptions can sometimes cause more problems
• How weaker prescriptions can reduce headaches and eye strain
• The concept of visual "graph paper" between your two eyes

The Integration Journey

• How vision therapy works like "marriage counseling for wayward eyes"
• The connection to counter-strain therapy and somatic release
• Building networks of trauma-informed practitioners

Key Quotes

"The purpose of this lens for you—it's not to see more clearly. It's for you to feel safe so that you can see what you're ready to see."

"How we move through space is very much informed by the world we perceive, and how we manage our emotions in our inner world tends to inform whether we feel safe to move openly, or whether we are on alert."

"I cannot write the prescription that I measure for a person and expect them to make progress. If I want to move you towards a space in the future, I need to write a new potential for you."

Connect with Dr. Slotnick:

• Website: drslotnick.com

Resources Mentioned

• PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) - Mentioned as background for understanding body asymmetries
• Neil Hallinan - PRI practitioner who referred Chloé
• Dr. Miho Urasaka - Physical therapist specializing in counter-strain therapy

Takeaways for Your Journey

1. Question Your Vision Care: Traditional eye exams may not address how your visual system integrates with your whole-body experience
2. Consider Your Safety System: Notice how stress and hypervigilance might be affecting your visual field and peripheral awareness
3. Explore Body Connections: Persistent physical tension (like neck pain) might have visual or sensory components
4. Seek Integrated Care: Look for practitioners who consider trauma, nervous system regulation, and whole-body patterns
5. Trust Your Process: Sometimes "perfect" isn't the goal—feeling safe and integrated matters more than technical perfection

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes this season where we'll continue exploring the many ways we can shift our vision & persepctive.