This is part two of an unofficial two-part series on why people do evil things… If you missed last week’s installment, you can find it here.
* * *
One of the most compelling stories of early trauma (medical in nature) I’ve ever heard is the history of Ted Kaczynski, aka: The Unabomber.
I may have first heard about the connections with his early trauma in a masterclass with Peter Levine as Peter interviewed his mother* a while back about what happened to her “little Teddy” and how he was never the same after being hospitalized for a serious skin rash.
*This interview can be found in the book Peter co-authored with Maggie Kline, called ‘Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes: Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing.’
There are other chilling details to this story that I talk about in this week’s vlog:
This video was originally released in 2018, but I’m resharing it now as an important case study for understanding early traumatic stress that is not at the hands of the parents or an abuser per se, but rather resulting from an effort to help (rather than harm) an infant in a medical setting.
When you hear the full story, it might offer a little understanding — from a nervous system point of view at least — of how “evil” can show up in some.
Speaking of medical settings and trauma…
I wrote an article on this a while back, as did my husband and colleague Seth Lyon.
If this is an area that interests you, as it does me, or maybe you work in a medical setting and you’ve always wondered how certain procedures might impact a person’s physiology later in life, I strongly recommend these two pieces of writing for a deeper dive.
You can read mine here: Time to talk about surgical trauma – a personal story
You can read Seth’s here: Planes, babes, & incubators: exploring coupling dynamics
Here’s to greater understanding of how our physiology works and providing better aftercare for infants, children, teens, and adults following necessary medical and surgical interventions!
* * *
Additional resources and references mentioned in this video:
➤ Book: Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential–and Endangered by Bruce D. Perry, M.D., PH.D. and Maia Szalavitz
➤ Book: Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes: Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing by Peter A Levine, PhD and Maggie Kline
➤ TV Series: Manhunt: UNABOMBER
Resources for learning more about early trauma and its impact: