This assessment is the proprietary intellectual property of Sylvia Chestnut and Restored Autonomy,
11111 Katy Freeway Suite 910, Houston TX 77079. EIN 39-4123233. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or derivative use is prohibited.
Framework: The CC-7 Classification™ · The Shame Architecture™ · The Keys of Autonomy™
Creator: Sylvia Chestnut · U.S. Military Veteran · https://restoredautonomy.com
Contact: 844-FEEL-STRONG · [email protected]
The Trauma Bond Strength Assessment™
Understanding the Biochemistry of Attachment
Trauma bonds are not evidence of love or weakness. They are neurobiological adaptations — your brain's response to an environment of intermittent reinforcement, unpredictable threat, and manufactured dependency. The bond operates through the same dopamine and cortisol pathways that drive any addiction. This assessment evaluates the current strength of that neurobiological attachment, not to judge your experience, but to make the invisible mechanics visible.
Begin the Assessment
Enter your details below to access your personalized results.
By continuing, you agree to receive insights from Restored Autonomy. Unsubscribe anytime. We respect your privacy.
Question 1 of 13
Despite knowing the relationship is harmful, you experience intense longing during periods of separation — a pull that logic alone cannot override.
Question 2 of 13
The 'good moments' occupy disproportionate space in your memory — as though your brain has filed them separately from the harm, giving them preferential recall.
Question 3 of 13
You experience physical symptoms during separation — anxiety, insomnia, nausea, chest tightness — that mirror withdrawal more than heartbreak.
Question 4 of 13
You find yourself defending the person who harmed you — to friends, to therapists, to yourself — with explanations that minimize the pattern and maximize the exceptions.
Question 5 of 13
After a harmful episode, the return of kindness or normalcy produces a relief so intense that it feels like love — and that feeling is stronger than the fear that preceded it.
Question 6 of 13
You have left or attempted to leave, only to return — and each return was preceded by a belief that something had genuinely changed.
Question 7 of 13
You feel responsible for this person's emotional wellbeing — even after they have demonstrated no reciprocal responsibility for yours.
Question 8 of 13
You experience cognitive dissonance — holding two contradictory truths simultaneously: 'this person is harmful' and 'this person is the only one who understands me.'
Question 9 of 13
The thought of this person being with someone else produces visceral distress that is not proportional to the quality of the relationship.
Question 10 of 13
You have made significant sacrifices — financial, professional, personal, relational — to maintain this bond, and the cost feels simultaneously unbearable and impossible to stop paying.
Question 11 of 13
Other relationships feel flat or insufficient by comparison — not because they lack depth, but because they lack the neurological intensity of the trauma bond.
Question 12 of 13
You keep waiting for the version of this person you first met — and that waiting feels more like a biological imperative than a conscious choice.
Question 13 of 13
When this person approves of you, the world stabilizes. When they withdraw, it destabilizes entirely. Your internal weather system has been outsourced.
