Oh. . . thanks for clarifying. Well, it could still qualify as a protective maneuver. Because the abuse memories were very painful, you could have been protectively trying to ward them off by the way you were sitting (e.g., not wanting to let the pain in). Or if you were feeling very vulnerable, it could have been a way of trying to hide within yourself. Or, if your abuse took place while you were seated in a fetal position, your body may have been taking on a similar position as you struggled to come to terms with what happened to you. There could be so many reasons for this. Can you recall how it made you feel to go into the fetal position? Did you feel comforted, agitated, or fearful? Did you do it during times when discussing your traumas was the most intense? Or was it a way of trying to self-soothe, to contain, the frightened part of yourself that was trying to make sense of what happened to you?