Flashbacks and nightmares: the traumatic Tau-pattern reactivates in the current standing wave — the Tau-scar interrupts present-moment Tau-flow with past disruption signals.
The Tau-address suppresses all Tau-signals that might trigger Tau-scar reactivation — narrowing the range of Tau-flow and reducing capacity for full self-referential modelling.
The Tau-mirror remains in heightened Tau-signal scanning — anticipating the next Tau-field overwhelm. The biological emergency state persists beyond the emergency.
The traumatic Tau-pattern has distorted the Tau-map: "I am damaged", "the world is dangerous", "I cannot trust" — Tau-map distortions from the overwhelming event.
Trauma is a Tau-field disruption exceeding the Tau-mirror's integration capacity. It embeds as a disruptive Tau-pattern (Tau-scar) in the standing wave of the Tau-address, continuing to interfere with coherent modelling.
PTSD's four symptom clusters (re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, negative cognitions) each correspond to a specific mode of Tau-scar disruption of the ongoing standing wave.
The Tau-scar is not only cognitive but somatic: traumatic disruptions embed in the physical Tau-substrate (nervous system, musculature, HPA axis). Body-based therapies (EMDR, somatic experiencing) work on the physical substrate.
Resilience is high Tau-mirror coherence: the capacity to integrate Tau-field disruptions without losing stability. The three pillars are secure Tau-bond resonance, prior mirror coherence, and Tau-map flexibility.
Effective trauma therapies (EMDR, somatic experiencing, narrative therapy, MDMA-assisted) all share the same three-stage mechanism: safety (stable Tau-bond resonance), titration, then Tau-scar integration.
Collective trauma is a Tau-field disruption across a shared population (war, genocide, colonisation). It propagates through collective Tau-bonds and persists across generations as altered Tau-maps in descendants.