Her story is a familiar one in this postmodern world, one that is shared now for many generations, we're told. Sue did her best to appear normal to the community she lived in. She made sure her hair and clothes were neat and presentable when she went out to the grocery store or to church on Sundays. She also ensured her children wore their Sunday best so as not to send the wrong signals to the public. Like her husband, Sue continued to deal with childhood trauma, though she was unaware that it was the main emotional challenge to her nervous system, which was always on the verge of breaking down at any given moment. Childhood is the period of our life where abuse is the most traumatic for us. It's difficult to say exactly what flavors the trauma came in. It is most obvious that her adult siblings were all impacted by abuse, whether physical, verbal, emotional, or sexual, from an alcoholic father and a likely narcissist mother.

The “past determines your present action and behavior” (Miller). We can continue to repress our childhood memories, ignoring that they exist, and be driven by repressed memories and feelings that determine nearly everything we do or fail to do.

Trauma pain (TP) is generally experienced when you are the object of a narcissist's control or an alcoholic’s rage and abuse. It also happens at the hands of a pedophile or sexual abuse of any kind. It can be physical, emotional, and sexual.