Existential Injury Pathway Project
Where personal pain meets systemic context: understanding pathways of disconnection, survival, and healing
About the Project
The Existential Injury Pathway Project explores how chronic stress, oppressive systems, identity disruption, trauma, displacement, and adaptation can shape experiences of alienation, numbness, burnout, despair, or loss of meaning.
Rather than locating suffering solely within the individual, this framework considers how internal distress often develops in relationship with external conditions.
The project invites a more compassionate, contextual understanding of pain—and a broader imagination for healing.
Why This Matters
Many people experience distress that does not fit neatly into diagnostic categories.
They may feel:
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disconnected from themselves
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estranged from community
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emotionally flattened or exhausted
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unable to access meaning
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trapped in survival modes that once protected them
This project examines those experiences not as personal failures, but as understandable responses to lived conditions.
Conference Poster
A visual summary of the current framework and research directions
Connect With the Project
If you'd like to connect, collaborate, consult, or talk about research opportunities or speaking engagements, I'd love to hear from you!
I’m Nicole Marshall Concha
I am a 40ish fat, Hispanic, neurosensitive cis-woman and mother. I'm an anti-diet therapist and therapeutic coach specializing in trauma, disordered eating, IPV, anxiety, grief and loss, and parenting
My work is firmly grounded in fat liberation, intersectional feminism, anti-oppression frameworks, self-compassion and existential thought. I am certified in Body Trust® and nonprofit leadership, and have extensive training in HAES®, Intuitive Eating, IFS, ACT, MI, and mindfulness practices.