Complex Trauma As children in an unsafe environment, it is NORMAL to adapt to that environment to stay safe. That might mean hiding and becoming invisible to stay safe, numbing by using drugs or food to feel safer, shadowing a parent and never leaving them to feel safer. All of these and so much more are normal. When there is trauma in relationships, in therapy speak, we call it interpersonal trauma. Interpersonal Trauma results in: Difficulty controlling anger and self-soothing in a healthy way. Dissociation - being out of the body Feelings of intense shame, guilt and responsibility Difficulty trusting and being intimate with others Belief that other people are self-focused Physical ailments Prevalent feelings of hopelessness, despair and isolation.