For many clients who are trapped in the past by trauma, December is the most triggering time of the year. Sensory stimuli seem to be everywhere, relational pressures mount and anniversary reactions abound, while the contrast between the idealised picture of Christmas and the trauma survivor’s internal reality only compounds the sense of isolation. Andy Cottom, a psychodynamic psychotherapist who specialises in working with the impact of war and violent crime, contemplates the timelessness of PTSD – and reminds us of the true meaning of trauma.