Landmarks of emotion

I was recently introduced to a new model of stress/trauma response, known as the Landmarks of Emotion, developed by Kristy Arbon from Heartworks.

This model defines six separate landmarks (or internal states):

	Landmark	Do we act out of choice?	Do we feel ready for action?	Description
	Rest	Yes	No	Feeling easeful and effortless. In this space we can tend to ourselves, restore our equilibrium and digest our experiences.
	Challenge	Yes	Yes	Using our resources successfully so that we can learn and grow. This landmark allows us to plan, create, negotiate and problem-solve. We are boundaried yet flexible, and have adequate motivation and purpose to meet our goals.
	In-choice Reach	Yes	Yes	Looking to others when we start to feel that our need exceeds our resources. This may involve seeking connection, collaboration or feedback. We need help, but are still empowered to make decisions and take in information.
	Out-of-choice Reach	No	Yes	Automatically looking to be rescued by someone we feel has more power than us. This may involve pleading, appeasing, offloading or seeking validation. We need help because we feel disempowered and out of our depth, so we grasp for reassurance and safety.
	Defend	No	Yes	Using our automatic instinctive resources successfully to fight or flee. This means moving away from relying on others for safety and toward relying on ourselves. Nevertheless, fighting (arguing, blaming, projecting) or fleeing (abandoning, avoiding, dismissing) are not choice-based actions, they are reactions.
	Overwhelm	No	No	Beyond the scope of our resources and automatically checking out or shutting down. In this space we disengage, dissociate and distract ourselves. It differs from rest because in overwhelm we have no more resources with which to defend ourselves, similar to a freeze response.

The use of the word ‘choice’ here denotes two elements. The first is agency. That is, the freedom to make decisions and advocate for one’s needs. The second is rationality, meaning our decisions, actions and reactions are guided by reason, rather than instinct and raw emotion.

Movement between landmarks is not linear or time-bound. This is particularly important where trauma is present, as this model acknowledges the very natural journey from security to insecurity and back again.

I can attest to feeling disheartened when trauma I thought I had resolved re-surfaced recently, and I suddenly found myself moving between out-of-choice reach and defend. In short, without agency or rationality, I was left grasping for anything resembling reassurance and control, and feeling uncomfortably exposed in the process.

But on this point, Arbon is clear:

“…this is not failure – this is our system working to integrate and being very thorough in the process, returning to what needs to be returned to.”

I particularly love this model for the way it normalises a range of human responses, beyond fight, flight and freeze. These landmarks have given me a new frame of reference for understanding my experience, both past and present. For example, feeling thrown back to a time when I felt under siege and perpetually out of choice doesn’t have to be disempowering. It was then of course, but it doesn’t have to be now. It can simply be the way my mind and body return to difficultly in order to make meaning and guide future choices.

From this understanding, our journey through the landmarks demonstrates our innate ability to regulate and even heal ourselves, provided we truly give ourselves the chance to do so.

Photo credit: My AI

Landmarks of Emotion was developed by Kristy Arbon at Heartworks Training, with the support and input of the Somatic Self-Compassion community.

This model was adapted from material in:

• Arbon, K.S. & Duncan, S. (2020) Somatic Self-Compassion Companion Notes
• Forner, C.C. (2017) Dissociation, Mindfulness and Creative Meditations: Trauma-Informed Practices to Facilitate Growth
• Kraybill, O.G. Expressive Trauma Integration model eti.training
• Levine, P.A. (2010) In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness
• Luckner, J.L. & Nadler, R.S. (1997) Processing the experience: Strategies to Enhance and Generalize Learning
• Matsakis, A. (2003) The Rape Recovery Handbook: Step-by-Step Help for Survivors of Sexual Assault
• Porges, S.W. (2017) The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe
• Siegel, D.J. (2012) The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are