I have had clients express to me lately that they don’t think they’ve experienced trauma but as they tell their histories, it becomes clear to me they have. I try to express to them that there is Trauma (capital T) and there is trauma (lowercase t) or whacks vs. lacks. While we understand that physical or sexual abuse is considered a true “whack” or Trauma to your life, it’s the not so clear-cut “lacks” or trauma (little t) that we tend to bypass or disregard when we do an inventory of our lives. Lacks can include feelings that stem from being put up for adoption (abandonment), being neglected or left alone as a child to navigate life without much parental guidance, and a parent who has an addiction or is incarcerated to name a few. All of these situations constitute trauma. If you’ve experienced a “lack” of a parent being present or something similar, you’ve experienced trauma. The next question is how do such “lacks” affect you today? If you live in northern Colorado (Fort Collins, Windsor, Greeley, Loveland), contact Mending Hearts Counseling today (970-545-1111) to schedule an appointment.