If you were a lab rat, you’d do the same thing

In this episode of TraumaTies, Bridgette Stumpf and Lindsey Silverberg explore how behavior is shaped by environment, experience, and survival. Through famous studies on addiction, learned helplessness, and hope, they challenge the idea that behaviors like avoidance, substance use, or shutting down are signs of weakness. Instead, they ask a different question: What purpose did this behavior once serve?

Key Takeaways

Many behaviors make sense when viewed through the lens of survival.
Addiction is often connected to isolation, suffering, and unmet needs.
Change happens when people experience safety, connection, and agency.
Hope is more than a feeling—it can be cultivated through relationships and action.
Sometimes the most powerful form of support is simply showing up.

Resources Mentioned

Dr. Gabor Maté and The Myth of Normal
Bruce Alexander’s Rat Park research
Research on learned helplessness and agency
Hope science and hope mapping

Connect and Learn More

☑️ Bridgette Stumpf | LinkedIn

☑️ Lindsey Silverberg | LinkedIn

☑️ Volare | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

☑️ TraumaTies Website | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Brought to you by Volare, TraumaTies: Untangling Societal Harm & Healing After Crime is a podcast that creates space and conversations to dissect the structural and systemic knots that keep us from addressing trauma.

Rooted in a belief that survivors of crime deserve respect for their dignity in the aftermath of victimization, Volare seeks to empower survivors by informing them of all of the options available and working to transform existing response systems to be more inclusive of the diverse needs that survivors often have after crime.

Volare also provides free, holistic, and comprehensive advocacy, therapeutic, and legal services to survivors of all crime types. Visit our website to learn more about how to access our trauma-informed education training and how to partner with us to expand survivor-defined justice.

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