## Colophon tags:: url:: https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html %% title:: Do you know what trauma bonding actually means? type:: [[clipped-note]] author:: [[@livemint.com]] %% ## Notes > Do you know what trauma bonding actually means? — [view in context](https://hyp.is/JlxScvHzEe-tjzvZ-2vlwA/www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html) ⬆️ date:: [[2025-02-23]] > At a recent gathering, someone said they had “trauma bonded" with another person over the challenges of working in similar roles—not an accurate use of the word — [view in context](https://hyp.is/T7M9_PHzEe-Hg-sFk9Eh1A/www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html) ⬆️ I have done this… 😐 (used the term incorrectly, that is) > The rise of therapyspeak—using psychology jargon in everyday conversation—has reduced complex concepts to oversimplified buzzwords, fuelling their widespread misuse. This trend not only trivialises serious mental health issues but also gives people the licence to use terms like “bipolar," “schizo" and “retard" to label others callously. — [view in context](https://hyp.is/aTnGxPHzEe-hEI_AYyOWrw/www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html) > Language should evolve, after all. I asked a few mental health professionals if they could hypothetically replace “trauma bonding" with a clearer term, what would it be? — [view in context](https://hyp.is/bEALgPHzEe-QVPfI6MQZfw/www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html) > “Even when you know the relationship is harmful, you choose to stay in it and often start to build narratives around the abusive partner’s goodness to continue to feed into the cyclic loop of dysfunction and hope." — [view in context](https://hyp.is/jN0DKvHzEe-ifJe8fjJHQw/www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html) ⬆️ Also see: bell hooks - all about love. > “Let’s just call it an ‘emotional attachment in an abusive relationship,’" she proposes. — [view in context](https://hyp.is/rRfBmPHzEe-decu2J2zQcw/www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html) > Is changing an existing term the solution, though, asks Avneet Kaur, a psychotherapist from Bengaluru. Since the term is academically established and well-understood within the field, she argues that the real issue lies in misinformation. “What could help is raising awareness about its actual meaning and promoting clearer terms to describe bonding over shared trauma," she says. — [view in context](https://hyp.is/uSgXWPHzEe-tTM8HPDs3Kg/www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/trauma-bond-psychology-speak-relationships-abuse-therapy-11740060699228.html)