Key points

Parental PTSD involves a nervous system stuck in survival and a narrative shaped by loss and fear.

Chronic stress rewires the body for danger, keeping parents on alert long after the crisis has passed.

Regulation tools help, but real healing requires addressing the meaning and identity wounds trauma creates.

When we stop trying to fix ourselves, the body softens, awareness widens, and presence becomes possible again.

Five years ago, I wrote about parental trauma . Since then, through my own experience parenting a child with PANDAS /AE and sitting with hundreds of parents raising children with complex medical, developmental, or psychiatric needs, I’ve learned this: We’ve been approaching it all wrong.

This week, as we commemorate PANDAS Awareness Day, I’m reminded t

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