Complex trauma is often misunderstood or perceived as a vague and confusing description for what someone has gone through. Most people associate trauma with a single, clearly identifiable event. Complex trauma is different and it doesn’t feel tied to one memory or experience. It develops over time in childhood through repeated experiences that are tied to pain, fear, invalidation, boundary violations, and abandonment.

The kind of exhaustion that many lawyers experience doesn’t appear in one singular moment. It’s one that builds over time and starts to become noticeable once it affects other areas of your life. At work, you keep showing up, performing, meeting deadlines, managing clients, and billing your hours. Other people might think you seem fine (especially your coworkers who may even admire you). But internally you feel like something is deeply wrong or missing.