Youth with Eddie, a Crossnore horse. (courtesy of L. Pasquale)
“Animals are the most loyal friends. They ask no questions, they pass no judgments.”
– George Eliot
Exposure to trauma and adversity often leaves us struggling to find the words to express our emotions and our experiences. In this challenging journey, animals can offer comfort and guidance, which are influential in healing.
Using animals as metaphors for trauma resilience, we can uncover new ways to understand and process our healing. Animals carry unique qualities – compassion, courage, memory, vision, and wisdom – essential for navigating adversity. For example, the elephant embodies strength and memory, reminding us of our capacity to endure. At the same time, the owl represents vision and wisdom, helping us see paths forward even in the darkest times. These symbols enrich our understanding of resilience in ways that often transcend words.
This concept originates from D.W. Winnicott’s idea of transitional objects, which he first introduced in the mid-20th century. Items like blankets or toys help children transition from dependence to independence, offering security as they build emotional resilience.
Expanding this idea to animals, we see that they can create links between understanding and emotional experiences.
Creating Safe Enough Spaces
Like Winnicott’s transitional objects, animals serve as psychological connections during tough times, helping us navigate emotional journeys. They create safe spaces where feelings can flow, providing comfort when needed.
At Crossnore’s Center for Trauma Resilient Communities (CTRC), animals play a key role in creating healing spaces.
These spaces foster open communication and symbolize resilience, encouraging us all to explore our trauma collectively. Individuals can find relatable and personal connections in their healing journeys by identifying with different animals.
Animals help individuals find personal connections in their healing journeys. They help facilitate communication, express feelings, share insights, and integrate trauma resilience principles into routines and rituals. We invite you to use these animals similarly.
Introducing CTRC’s Trauma Resilient Animals
Giraffe: Compassion
The giraffe symbolizes compassion, highlighting the importance of kindness, support, and connection in our lives.
A giraffe’s heart weighs 25 pounds, symbolizing the power to circulate blood through their necks and the capacity for love. Just as their heart sustains their body, compassion has the ability to nurture relationships and communities. The giraffe’s heart also represents resilience in compassion, showing that compassion requires strength, especially during challenging times.
Elephant: Memory
The elephant symbolizes trauma resilience through their use of memory and ability to recognize and respond to what’s happened – or what’s happening – by learning from past experiences.
Elephants’ remarkable memories represent the ability to learn from trauma and adversity. This ability to remember can be a practical tool for individuals, helping them navigate future challenges more effectively. In addition, elephants exhibit a wide range of emotional memory. Their capacity to feel can represent the resilience found in embracing, processing, and regulating one’s emotions rather than suppressing them. These behaviors signify the importance of processing adversity and traumatic stress as a pathway to healing.
Lioness: Courage
A lioness shows courage by combining strength, protection, teamwork, and determination to face challenges.
Lionesses often confront challenges head-on, showing courage to persist and adapt. Lionesses are fiercely protective of their young and their pride. This protective spirit highlights the importance of safeguarding loved ones and oneself during times of adversity, emphasizing the role of nurturing in resilience. Lionesses also support each other. Their commitment to one another encourages us to understand that courage can be found in showing up for others and working together.
Horse: Vision
Horses signify vision and resilience in the face of adversity, demonstrating how intuition and a broader perspective can guide individuals toward the future.
In many cultures, horses are seen as guides or symbols of vision, helping individuals navigate through difficult paths. This symbolizes the clarity gained from overcoming stress, suggesting that resilience leads to personal insight. This forward momentum signifies the importance of focusing on the future and not getting stuck in the past.
Llama: Responsibility
Llamas thrive in groups, relying on social bonds for support and companionship, highlighting the importance of community and connection in building resilience.
Llamas represent resilience through their ability to travel challenging terrain while carrying heavy loads for long distances. They collaborate in groups, offering mutual support and asserting their boundaries when necessary to protect themselves. With their gentle and calm nature, llamas symbolize the importance of maintaining composure, even when faced with adversity.
Monkey: Play
The Monkey is a lively symbol of de-stressing and play, reminding us of the importance of laughter, social interaction, joy, and curiosity.
Monkeys are known for their playful behavior, often participating in games and tricks that showcase their joy and fun-loving nature. These highly social animals frequently groom each other and engage in group play, highlighting the importance of social connections and community in alleviating stress. Their playful spirit symbolizes the significance of relaxation and lightheartedness in improving well-being. Monkeys encourage us to reconnect with our playful selves and rediscover the joy in life.
Owl: Wisdom
The owl is a powerful symbol of growth and wisdom. It embodies the idea that valuable insights and life lessons can be gained through challenging experiences and overcoming adversity.
Owls thrive in various environments due to their resilience and adaptability. Their excellent night vision and sharp observation skills symbolize their ability to navigate complex and confusing times. In many cultures, owls are seen as guides during times of change, portraying the movement from pain to healing. Their presence reminds us that personal growth is possible, often leading to wisdom and insight.
Hummingbird: Activism
The hummingbird symbolizes the active involvement of community members in supporting one another, highlighting the importance of collective power in building resilience.
Hummingbirds symbolize a passionate drive that can inspires change. They remind us that enthusiasm and commitment take many forms, and meaningful change often requires collaboration, no matter how small each contribution. Hummingbirds show us that small actions can have a big impact, reinforcing the idea that we can all contribute to building a resilient community.
Finding Strength in Your Inner Animal
Using animals as metaphors for trauma resilience, we unlock new pathways for understanding and healing. Each animal represents a unique facet of resilience, symbolizing qualities like compassion, courage, memory, vision, and wisdom—essential for individual and collective healing.
What does your inner animal voice reveal?
Do you need your inner giraffe to embrace concern and care for others?
Do you need your inner owl to skillfully navigate complexity or your inner horse to expand your vision and focus?
Your inner monkey can help you lighten your mood and rediscover joy.
Maybe it’s your inner llama reminding you when to release burdens or your inner lioness empowering you to face difficulties with bravery.
Perhaps you need to strengthen your inner elephant to remind you of all the ways your inner hummingbird inspires you to take action to nourish your community.
Where does the voice of your inner animal guide you?
