‘Trauma Bonding’ Might Not Be Quite What You Think |
At the end of September, Malika Brittingham was arrested after falsely reporting an active shooter at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. She’d sent a text saying that she’d heard five or six shots and was “hiding with her co-workers.” After a lockdown and law enforcement response, Brittingham sheepishly admitted she’d made it up so she could “trauma bond” with her coworkers.
In other words, like combat soldiers in a foxhole, she thought they’d grow friendlier toward her after having shared a profound sense of fear for their lives. Prior to this, she'd felt ostracized.
Brittingham had misconstrued the meaning of trauma bonding. The phrase has traditionally referred to a bond that forms between a victim of abuse and the abuser, usually via a cyclical pattern of nasty and nice that keeps victims compliant. The loop might involve betrayal and apology, or punishment and reward, or abuse and affection. This strategy addicts victims to the periods of post-abuse relief. It’s also been called........