WOUNDED ARCHETYPES

‘Wounded Archetypes’,  a major series of fifteen works in oils was created as the artist’s response to processing her own post abandonment syndrome following a painful relationship betrayal,  using art.

Post Abandonment Syndrome represents a severe, complex psychological reaction to profound relational loss  or sudden abandonment by a primary attachment figure, such as a parent or caregiver or spouse.  Because these wounds are so deep stand often trigger even deeper childhood abandonment o betrayal wounds, sufferers can struggle to process them with language. The resulting trauma becomes deeply embedded in the body's nervous system and the emotional right hemisphere of the brain. 

This leaves individuals struggling with an overactive fight-or-flight response, chronic hyper-vigilance, deep self-sabotage, and an intense fear of rejection that disrupts adult relationships. 

Art-making bypasses the traditional limitations of talk therapy by accessing these non-verbal, physical trauma memories directly through sensory and visual expression. When a person creates art, they engage sensory-motor pathways that help ground a hyperactive nervous system and demonstrably lower physiological stress hormones like cortisol. 

This creative process introduces a vital psychological distance, allowing overwhelming emotions like shame and terror to be safely projected outward into a tangible object rather than remaining trapped internally. 

Ultimately, the tactile experience of shaping art within a supportive environment helps individuals rebuild their emotional regulation, giving form to unvoiced grief and actively rewriting the neural pathways damaged by early isolation.