Have you ever had an irrational response to being seen, like a controversial post or a photo you put on social media? Have you found yourself censoring your true feelings and opinions so you’re not singled out? Do you tone down your sexiness or strength for fear that you’ll be labeled or even shunned?
These are all modern manifestations of the witch wound, a term for the intergenerational trauma women carry from the atrocities of the witch trials of Europe and the American Colonies.
This is a deep episode that you might find somewhat triggering, much like the experience of the witch wound itself. There’s a lot of information here about trauma, how we inherit it, how we hold it, and how it keeps us from our full potential in business and in life.
If you’re looking to step into your power in any aspect in your life, knowing these unconscious triggers is vital to your expansion. I end the episode with 6 actionable steps to help move through whatever trauma may be holding you back from success and joy.
In this episode I discuss:
- the visceral reaction I had to the term “the witch wound” and how an embodied reaction can be a way to know when to pay attention
- the intergenerational trauma of the witch trials of Europe and the American colonies
- separating out the cultural idea of witch from the historical genocide
- how the witch wound is non-denominational and applies to women of all beliefs
- the repercussions of being outspoken, sexual, assertive, or not obedient
- the ways in which we react to being seen, being bold, or putting ourselves in the spotlight
- our ‘irrational response’ to being seen and heard, and how we censor ourselves
- the consequences of being ‘othered’
- how this might keep us from being successful or pursuing our purpose
- what we mean by intergenerational trauma / transgenerational trauma / historical trauma and how it affects all of us, regardless of our conscious knowledge of the history
- ACES, what they are and how they are related - but separate - from historical trauma
- the legacy of ACES and historical trauma in the body and nervous system
- epigenetics and how historical trauma affects the expression of our DNA
- the systems of oppression that we inherit both explicitly and implicitly
- how secondary trauma has a profound effect on us and how common it is
- the empowerment of understanding your own process, and the power of reframing your responses
- what happens to us when we have a trauma-response, and how the trauma we experience has dramatic and obvious consequences
- how the witch wound and intergenerational trauma is a response to an experience that happened to someone else, but still remains credible threat of violence to women
- my own process of recognizing my nervous system response to trauma and threats
- how I learned to recognize my triggers and keep myself under nervous system threshold
- my own strategies for using the body’s inherent wisdom to regulate and reset
- making different choices before you move into a trauma response
- the takeaway: six strategies to use if the witch wound feels resonant to you and you want a way to move forward when you recognize your own responses to it:
- name it
- un-shame yourself
- titrate your experience and your change
- allow yourself to respond with different choices
- ritualize your experience
- seek and find co-regulation
I didn’t talk about the work of the next two links on the podcast, but wanted to link because I used their writings on the witch wound as part of my research:
Links mentioned on the show:
ACES - Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris TED Talk
My own process: Freeze for action: neurobiological mechanisms in animal and human freezing
Dr. Peter Levine and Somatic Experiencing
Dr. Stephen Porges and polyvagal theory
Dr. Dan Siegel and interpersonal neurobiology
Some reading on trauma:
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