What the Heck is Going On? A Framework to Trauma Work and Basic Needs

We are in the mists of surviving a global pandemic and living in a world that is filled with collective trauma. I hope this framework will be a helpful way to view your survival and future trauma work! In 1943, Abraham Maslow proposed a theory. It was a hierarchy of human needs starting with immediate needs ending with less immediate needs. Usually this is shown as a pyramid diagram. 

At the bottom is the first and largest  physiological need. Think “basic needs”, food, water, and sleep. The second, is safety which includes things like family, employment and health. Without these we would  struggle to thrive. The third is love and belonging, including friendship, intimacy and connection. Esteem follows as the fourth highest in the pyramid along with confidence, respect, self esteem and status. The last ,and highest, is self-actualization, which represents having goals of achieving our  best. If we want to be successful in healing from trauma, I believe we must feel secure in the first two.

Let me share an examples. If you are being chased by a bear, you don’t care if you are feeling loved, you care if you can breathe air so you can outrun this immediate threat. If you are in a refugee camp and don’t have a place to wash your hands, then you aren’t able to process the trauma of lack of belonging, deep grief, etc. 

During crisis, we are often in ‘survival mode’ which means it can be especially important and helpful to focus on the first two stages. It's not that the rest of the stages dont matter...but think about it. If you were doing talk therapy about the ways you don’t feel loved by your family while you're being chased by a bear, does that sound helpful? No, probably not. So in times of high stress, I offer some questions to help ground you. 

When did you last eat? How much water have you had? Do you feel rested? Are you warm?

Then, you can go to the next stage of safety needs and ask these questions: 

Am I in a safe space? Do I feel comfortable? Does my environment feel predictable and secure?

If you feel good about how you answered the questions above, then chances are you are ready to jump into trauma work. You have the stability and foundation of the first to stages to help you regulate as you dive into that hard stuff.