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Here's Trina.

Hi guys. So I wanted to do this episode on trauma bonding because the term has just been getting thrown around so loosely, especially online.

And I don't know about you, but if I'm scrolling relationship content for a while, it's rare not to run into someone talking about it or

hashtagging it. But what a lot of people don't realize is most of the time, that's not even what's

really going on. So on one hand, a lot of people use trauma bonding to describe your typical

unhealthy relationship. You know, the one that's all too common these days, full of ups and downs and

drama, that kind of thing. Or they use the term trauma bonding when they've shared similar

experiences with someone, such as we both lost our parents at a young age. We both went

through bad breakups, terrible divorces. We both

had rough childhoods, that kind of thing. Neither of those is trauma bonding. One version

exaggerates it, and the other is just about being able to relate to each other through shared

life experience. And my guess is it becomes confusing because the word bonding is used, right?

And when you think bonding, you think closeness.

Real trauma bonding, however, is much more serious.

It's not two people helping each other heal. It's when someone mistreats you,

then pulls you back in with affection or guilt. It's that cycle of abuse, the cycle of hurt you,

comfort you, hurt you again. And over time, that roller coaster starts to feel normal, even addictive. You get used to it,

...