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

Aug 28
Your brain was NEVER designed for modern-day Western society.

As a Harvard-trained psychologist, here are 5 reasons why you can't:

-Sleep
-Overthink
-And, feel exhausted.

Read this NOW if you want to be free....🧵 Image
Anxiety isn’t a “disorder.”

It’s a powerful signal meant to wake you up from the hypnotic trance of modern-day living.

It’s telling you that you’ve drifted away from your true self and what it means to be truly human.
Three core networks run your reality:

* Salience Network (SN)
* Default Mode Network (DMN)
* Executive Control Network (ECN)

When hijacked, they trap you in survival mode 24/7. Image
Read 13 tweets
Aug 22
If you think you have Trauma, science says it didn't start with you.

Unhealed trauma doesn't just disappear—it gets passed down through DNA as self-sabotage, cycles of failure, and toxic relationships.

Here's what science says about generational trauma (and how to break the cycle):Image
Image
First, what is inherited trauma?

It’s the psychological and biological footprint of your family’s unresolved trauma.

It's passed down through generations as unexplained health issues, anxiety, and emotional stuckness.
Here's where it gets interesting... Image
Scientists have discovered that trauma ACTUALLY changes your genes.

When your ancestors experienced war, poverty, or sexual abuse, their bodies adapted to survive.

These changes—called epigenetic tags—alter how our genes are expressed. When you are born, you carry these epigenetic tags.

You may think you inherited your grandmother's hair color or height, but you also inherit her emotional trauma.Image
Read 15 tweets
Aug 19
I'm a Harvard-trained psychologist who works with ultra-successful high-net-worth individuals...

And I hate to break it to you, but the cost of overthinking and anxiety is the life you could have lived.

Here's the protocol I created that actually works: 🧵 Image
Image
Most of my clients are accomplished professionals — dentists, doctors, and company founders with impressive careers.

Despite their success, they struggle with overthinking and procrastination. They can't seem to shake it.

But why?
Most therapy focuses on your conscious mind, which is only 10% of what you are aware of.

But Carl Jung discovered the real leverage point:
Your unconscious mind already knows how to change.

It's been trying to tell you. You haven't been listening.

Here's what I've observed:
Read 22 tweets
Aug 18
"Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75." Benjamin Franklin

Most are walking-dead:

• Stuck in your parents' dream
• Lost in soulless jobs
• Tangled in traumas

If this is you, here are Carl Jung's 7 laws for finding your purpose:

1/ Your Purpose Is Expiring Soon. Image
Carl Jung identified 2 distinct life phases:

- 1st half: Build your life, achieve goals, establish identity
- 2nd half: Find meaning, integrate shadow, seek wholeness

Many midlife crises occur when people cling on for too long. Image
Your purpose evolves as you do...

- The ambitious entrepreneur might need to become a mentor.
- The dedicated parent might need to rediscover their individual identity.

Jung taught that psychological growth continues throughout life—if we're willing.

But why is this important? Image
Read 22 tweets
Aug 17
Lucian Freud didn’t just paint people.

He entered their psyche.

Here’s the untold story of Freud’s great-grandson...

And, what he reveals about your anxiety...🧵 Image
Image
Born in 1922, Lucian Freud inherited

Sigmund Freud's passion for emotions and the unconscious.

But he chose NOT to study people in the consulting room.

He chose to paint them in his studio. Image
His paintings revealed unspoken feelings that dripped off the canvas.

They revealed loneliness and an inner preoccupation.

Profound psychological disturbance is visible in the body.

The result: viewers were both riveted and repelled by his work. Image
Image
Read 18 tweets
Aug 15
You don't have a "change is hard" problem.

You have a comfort problem.

As a Harvard-trained psychologist, I've found most people would rather stay miserable than feel temporarily uncomfortable.

Here's the science behind why you're stuck (and how to break free): Image
Image
Your brain is literally wired to keep you stuck.

Status Quo Bias makes you overestimate the pain of change and underestimate your ability to adapt.

Researchers Samuelson & Zeckhauser found we'll choose familiar misery over unfamiliar possibility every single time.
Here's what's really happening:

Loss aversion kicks in. Your brain focuses on what you might lose (comfort, predictability) rather than what you could gain.

Kahneman & Tversky's research shows we feel losses 2x stronger than equivalent gains. Image
Read 10 tweets

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