A Thousand Cuts
2026
In this time of unprecedented daily catastrophes, I felt compelled to make work that speaks to this moment.
You may have heard the terms, “Big T” and “Small t” to categorize traumatic events, but there is no hierarchy to incoming wounds registered by the nervous system.
Society identifies “Big T “ trauma as major events such as wars, terrorist attacks, accidents, sexual or physical assault, domestic violence, betrayal, emotional neglect, abuse or the death of a close loved one.
“Small t” traumas are seen as less impactful yet can still leave their marks on the individual:
Divorce, infidelity, moving, bullying, financial worries, job loss, injustice, discrimination, chronic mental or physical illness, adoption or miscarriage, the loss of a pet, political unrest, to name a few.
No matter the severity of the event, it's about the nervous system’s response and how the body processes or stores the pain, not necessarily the event itself.
Trauma occurs when there are incomplete self protection responses in our body that are waiting to resolve. What is an incomplete self-protection response? Fight, flight and freeze. The impulse to run or flee. The impulse to fight. The impulse to shut down and hide. And for many women- the fawning reflex is also deployed to save ourselves from further violence. These impulses become stuck in our bodies, which results in trauma symptoms including but not limited to sleep disturbances, restlessness, anger, dissociation, fatigue, flashbacks, nightmares, low self-esteem, intrusive thoughts, eating disorders, chronic fatigue diseases and PTSD.
Just because an event is over and we survived it, does not mean this incomplete survival energy is still not stuck in our bodies. If our body did not get to do what it needed to do during a traumatic event, it will attempt to replay patterns or behaviors as a way to release that old energy.
The nervous system holds a story that needs to be told. Art is one of my ways.
