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A curated collection of Books, Videos, Articles and more to educate consumers, caregivers and professionals about Complex Trauma.

Sympathetic Nervous System

A branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for rapid activation of the fight-flight components of the body’s emergency survival response in the face of actual or perceived threat, emotional or physiological overwhelm, or traumatic memories, reminders and conditioned reactions. Triggers accelerated heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle contraction and release of adrenaline, epinephrine and other stress hormones used to fuel the body’s survival response. Research suggests that approximately three-quarters of humans demonstrate an SNS-dominant response to trauma characterized by physiological hyperarousal.