Hi Christina Hughes, thank you for writing such a thorough reply and sharing your story! I can’t imagine dealing with physical trauma and then not having boundaries with others who want to trauma dump on you. I’ve never heard of that phrase, but I like it. Congrats on practicing self-care around this.

I want to back up my claim that my behavior was not trauma dumping but a lack of boundaries stemming from insecurity or a desire to connect. Unfortunately, that desire to connect was more about trauma bonding or sharing in a way that I needed their approval over. It wasn’t that I needed her to be my therapist (tho I did use most of my past relationships for that); I wanted to create a false sense of intimacy by sharing my wounds too quickly.

I hope that makes sense. I think I can determine what ego-driven behavior is, and I don’t believe this is it. It’s insecure, boundary-less behavior motivated by either a desire to connect or out of self-sabotage. I’m still contemplating that one.