Big 'T' & Little 't' Trauma

Not all trauma looks the same — but all trauma matters.

💥 Big T Trauma
Refers to major, life-threatening, or overwhelmingly intense events, like:
• Assault or abuse
• Car accidents
• Natural disasters
• Combat or war
• Life-threatening illness

These are the traumas we often associate with PTSD — but they’re not the only ones that impact us.

💬 Little t Trauma
Refers to events that may not be life-threatening, but are still deeply distressing or invalidating, especially over time:
• Repeated criticism
• Emotional neglect
• Being bullied
• Medical procedures
• Loss of a pet or job
• Feeling unseen or unsafe in childhood

🧡 The nervous system doesn’t measure trauma by size — it responds to what feels overwhelming, unsafe, or too much to process at the time.

Your pain is valid, even if no one else saw it.
Your experience matters, even if it doesn’t fit a “big T” box.

Healing starts when we stop minimizing what hurt us.