Trauma & the inner child — "You're not overreacting. You're remembering."
You're not overreacting. You're remembering. That wave of anger over something small. The shutdown when someone raises their voice. The way your chest tightens in a room that should feel safe. That's not weakness. That's an old alarm going off. Your nervous system learned the danger before your brain learned the words for it. So now it fires at shadows — and then you punish yourself for flinching. I've sat with people for 25 years who hate themselves for the exact responses that once kept them alive. You don't heal by shaming the kid inside you. You heal by finally telling him: "You can put the watch down. I've got this now."