Healing The Oppressed Body – Andrea Gutierrez – Glik

Let’s take a deeper look at who is driving your bus most of the time. This is the part of you that leads most of your day- to-day experience. One good way to get to know your parts is to pay attention when you have a stressful decision to make. Scan your mind for a minor inner conflict in your life.

Don’t choose something trauma-related or triggering for now. It’s okay if a traumatic conflict comes up; you can always use your Container and Safe Place (see chapters 1 and 2) to ground yourself and save the heavy content to talk about with your therapist, sponsor, or a safe loved one later.

Sometimes “minor” issues lead to bigger stuff, and if that feels okay, just go with it. Make sure to check in with your body to sense whether you are inside your window of tolerance (see chapter 1) or if you need some containment (chapter 2). The most common type of inner conflict I hear is “part of me wants or thinks this and another part of me wants or feels something totally different.” This can look like “should I stay or should I go?”

in a job, city, or relationship. Once you’ve identified your inner conflict, notice which parts show up and who needs to be heard first. The point of this exercise is not to find the right answer to your conflict. It’s to hear from all your parts so you can better understand how your core Self feels about the conflict. This practice is meant to help you unblend and allow all of your parts to exist while also connecting to your Self once again.

We do this exercise by checking in with all parts. Simply doing this stimulates the unblending process, making more room for Self to get back into the driver’s seat. Listen to the different opinions that arise internally. Sometimes it helps to write them down or sketch them out as they come up. Imagine or even draw the bus and which part is sitting where and what they have to say. Remember, the point of this exercise is not to come to a definite conclusion.

It’s important to have no agenda when working with parts other than to hear them out. Ask yourself these questions to find out more about your parts: What do you notice inside your body when you think of this inner conflict? What sensations and tension do you notice? What parts of your body light up when you drop in? Who is driving the bus of this inner conflict? As in, whose voice is the loudest?

Copyright © 2026 by Andrea Gutiérrez-Glik Penguin Random House values and supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. Please note that no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.

A Penguin Life Book VIKING and VIKING ship colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Cover design: Colin Webber Cover art: Josie Portillo Book design by Daniel Lagin, adapted for ebook by Maggie Hunt library of congress control number: 2025028228 Hardcover ISBN 9780593656761 Ebook ISBN 9780593656778 The authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin D02 YH68, Ireland, https://eu- contact.penguin.ie. prhid_prh_7.4_155277653_c0_r0 OceanofPDF.com CONTENTS DEDICATION AUTHOR’S NOTE INTRODUCTION PART 1 UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF TRAUMA’S IMPACTS CHAPTER 1: How Our Bodies Respond to Trauma CHAPTER 2: How Our Brains Respond to Trauma PART 2 TWO FOUNDATIONAL THEORIES BEHIND TRAUMA HEALING FOR OUR OPPRESSED BODIES CHAPTER 3: How Our Relationships Are Shaped by Trauma CHAPTER 4: How Our Sense of Self Is Shaped by Trauma PART 3 UNDERSTANDING AND HEALING FROM YOUR TRAUMA CHAPTER 5: Healing from Oppression-Based Trauma CHAPTER 6: Healing from Childhood Trauma CHAPTER 7: Healing from Legacy Burdens and Inherited Trauma CHAPTER 8: Healing from the Trauma of “Modern Living”: Surviving Capitalism and Global Traumas PART 4 NOW WHAT?

CHAPTER 9: Next Steps on Your Healing Journey Epilogue ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES ABOUT THE AUTHOR OceanofPDF.com To my clients and my consultees. Thank you for your trust, your raw vulnerability. None of this exists or means anything without you. OceanofPDF.com A note about case examples: The case examples in this book are an amalgamation of fifteen years of client work. No case example reflects one client in particular, and any identifying info has been significantly altered.

If you are a past or current client and see yourself in one of these characters, please know that I have seen hundreds of clients with similar issues and identities. I have done the best of my ability to honor you and everyone else I have worked with within these pages.

I cherish and respect you all beyond words. OceanofPDF.com W Introduction hen I was twenty-one years old, I started seeing a therapist. I had just fully come out, leaving the last relationship that had tethered me to the confines and semi-comfort of heterosexuality.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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