Lorwen C Nagle, PhD Profile picture
Jan 12 13 tweets 4 min read Read on X
The most taboo, weirdly romanticized, yet misunderstood topic of 2025:

Childhood trauma.

Dr. Jordan Peterson says it's why your Dad left, why your Mom cried alone, and why you're always anxious...

Here's how to reverse its damage naturally: 🧵 Image
Dr. Peterson says memories older than 18 months still stirring up emotions are a red flag of trauma that needs unpacking.

1st understand trauma happens in 2 stages:

1. Embodied terror
2. Conceptual processing
Terrible memories stay terrible until intentionally deconstructed.

When broken into manageable parts and challenged they dissolve.

Feel the feelings, but don't let them rule you.

As a Harvard-trained psychologist, here are 5 strategies I use with clients...
1/ Reframe distorted thoughts to loosen trauma's grip.

-Identify cognitive distortions
-Practice self-compassion over self-blame

You can't change what happened, but you can change the meaning you ascribe to it.
2/ Avoid trauma talk during an active crisis.

Dr. Peterson stresses not rushing to analyze trauma in the midst of a crisis.

When the house is on fire, just get out!

Well-intentioned "help" can backfire if mistimed.
3/ Old baggage loves to resurface in relationships.

-Focus on the current issues, not the past.
-Set clear conditions to resolve conflicts.
-Fight over what's happening NOW, not over everything.

One dispute pulls the thread, and suddenly every fight is about everything.
4/ You're not alone.

Shame from trauma is a universal human experience.

And, healing shame takes courageous vulnerability.

But you need to know: that vulnerable child isn't YOU anymore!
5/ Exposure therapy gradually desensitizes you to trauma triggers:

-Retrain your brain to lower reactivity.
-Always work with a trauma-informed therapist.
-Confront memories, situations, sensations in controlled doses.

It may feel slow-- even difficult --but you're reclaiming your life...
As a child, I experienced abandonment trauma.

By age 5, I'd crafted an alter ego that was tough and a tomboy. It
shielded the vulnerable side of me. And, I became self-alienated.

By 20, despite honors in school and blinding success, I fell into deep depression.

Years of therapy, spiritual work and working with others brought me to my true self. This could be your story too.
I have clients who've healed from horrible trauma.

Take the case of Rick, a 42 year-old founder I treated, he was riddled with chronic insomnia.

He would lie awake for hours, around 3 AM.
During therapy, he described growing up in a home where his father would come home drunk at 3 AM...
His father threw furniture and shouted waking the whole family every night.

As a little boy, Rick felt he must stay alert to keep safe and help his mother.
1 month into therapy, Rick was able to sleep through the night.
I've dedicated my life to helping people transform with mindfulness.

-Release anxiety naturally.
-End the cycle of overthinking.
-Transform fear through presence.

If you're facing these issues, schedule an Enlightenment Call to see if
I can help: calendly.com/lorwen_consult…
And, if this resonated with you, follow @LORWEN108 for similar threads on anxiety, stress, and mindfulness.

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More from @LORWEN108

Jun 15
Your brain was NEVER designed to speed 80 mph in a 10-ton metal box.

Or, scroll 10X images in 20 minutes.

Here are 5 reasons why...

You can't sleep, overthink, and feel exhausted.

And, how to break free (Harvard-backed neuroscience)...🧵 Image
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1/ Anxiety and panic attacks aren't just fight or flight.

They come from chronic dysregulation of your neurobiological brain networks.

• The Salience Network (SN)
• The Default Mode Network (DMN)
• The Executive Control Network (ECN)

This chronic imbalance drives panic attacks, overthinking, and people pleasing.Image
2/ The Salience Network (SN) acts as a gatekeeper.

It decides what deserves your attention.

But when everything is alarming—speed, noise, novelty, unpredictability—it stays on high alert.

This is the basis of chronic anxiety.
Read 20 tweets
Jun 6
I'm 63.

At age 10, I began searching for life's deepest truths.

I devoured the Upanishads, Buddhist texts, and Christian mysticism.

Here are 8 insights from my lifetime of inner work. A THREAD Image
1/ Eastern spirituality has been watered down in the West.

Texts like the Shiva Sutras and Chandogya Upanishad aren't about becoming mindful; they point to a reality shift:

You are not the watcher—you are the creative force itself. Image
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2/ Consciousness is energy in motion.

The Kashmir Shaivism says:

Consciousness is Spanda--a vibratory pulse that generates all reality.

Imagine a mirror that not only reflects but brings forth what it sees.

That’s what “I am That” truly means. Image
Read 14 tweets
May 25
The hidden cost of living inside other people’s worldviews:

Anxiety.
Overthinking.
People-pleasing.

Ludwig Wittgenstein points the way, and I'll show you how to break free.🧵 Image
Image
You weren’t born anxious.

You were trained to ignore your inner voice and obey invisible rules.

This training came from parents, your culture, and school.
Each had an agenda for who you should be.

You inherited their worldviews.

And now you call it “reality.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein-- one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century--warned us of this mistake.

He understood how language, logic, and understanding shape our worldviews. Image
Read 24 tweets
May 20
The trauma trap no one talks about:

I call it: The Safety Script.

A survival mode that looks like self-care but's really...

Overthinking, people-pleasing, and perfectionism all rolled into one.

Here are 5 ways to break free from it and thrive...🧵 Image
Image
The “Safety Script” is the hidden trauma loop behind overthinking, people-pleasing, and perfectionism.

You think you're being careful.

You think you're being kind.

But you're actually stuck in a persistent trauma loop--

a blend of "fawning" and "functional freeze" that looks like self-care.
Our nervous systems run on 2 safety modes (rarely talked about).

These safety modes kick in when fight or flight isn't an option.

They are:

1. Fawning
2. Functional Freeze

They appear reasonable and cautious, but they're really trauma patterns backed by fear and embarrassment.
Read 21 tweets
May 18
Perfectionism is never about getting it right.

It’s about protection.

Until you feel safe, your efforts will never feel like freedom.

Here are 7 steps out of perfectionism (you won't get anywhere else)...🧵 Image
Image
Perfectionism is a nervous system stuck in survival mode.

You're fleeing shame, failure, and fear of abandonment.

You’re not being “pushed by a vision.”

You're being pulled by your fear.
When you strive, your amygdala—the brain’s fear center—fires up.
[Not your reward system].

Achievement brings relief and shockingly, a brief feeling of hollowness.
...never joy.

You're escaping a threat, not pursuing meaning.

Big difference! Image
Read 19 tweets
May 13
The most overlooked, deceptively simple path to true freedom:

Facing your inner demons.

Here’s Naval Ravikant’s 7-step framework for peeling back
your false self—and reclaiming your authenticity.

Most founders never get this far.
A THREAD 🧵 Image
Who is Naval Ravikant?

A Silicon Valley legend.
Early investor in Uber, Twitter, and AngelList.
Built billions through clarity and long bets.

But his real success?

Freedom from his inner demons and the ideal/false self he grew up with.

A freedom most people have never experienced in their lifetime.
Naval isn't your typical founder.

He doesn't preach hustle and self-improvement.
He talks genuinely and exudes present-moment awareness.

Naval is coming from his authentic self.

He recognizes that behind every win is a quiet unraveling:

• Of his ego
• Of his desires
• Of his need to perform

Here are his 7 steps to becoming who you were truly meant to be:Image
Read 14 tweets

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