I cannot overstate the impact of trauma. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but traumatic experiences shape people in profound ways, which in turn shapes how they act in the world. That’s why when people heal, it ripples out and touches others as well as the whole. Much of the strife and division and hatred we see today stems all the way back to traumatized individuals, in my view (there are of course other factors at play as well).
Trauma can be defined as an event that causes severe emotional distress. It often overwhelms the individual’s capacity to cope or process what occurred. Common responses to a traumatic experience include fear, helplessness, confusion, dissociation, rage, shame, and depression. Most people experience some form of trauma in their lifetime, whether minor or massive, infrequent or repetitive.
Trauma can affect a person’s sense of safety, emotional well-being, and reactions to everyday stress. Some people experience heightened alertness, difficulty relaxing, emotional overwhelm, or a persistent feeling of being stuck in survival mode long after a distressing event has passed. Responses vary greatly by person and situation, but there is usually a connection between trauma and the brain, body, emotions, and autonomic nervous system. There are a number of ways you can work with your nervous system and help it stabilize after trauma.
Remember that the tips and insights I’m sharing here are not meant to replace professional help. Definitely reach out to a trauma-informed therapist or other practitioner if you need it. If you are seeking support downstream of acute trauma, I offer support sessions for empaths and HSPs as well as my ebook. You can reach out at [email protected].
Trauma can influence stress responses, emotional regulation, and the ability to feel safe. The goal is not to force the nervous system to reset instantly, but to develop supportive practices to manage stress and reconnect with a sense of safety.
Recovery is individual and may take time. We will be going over several gentle approaches in this post, including grounding techniques, movement, and supportive routines.
The short answer is yes. The body is more viscerally connected to your emotions and triggers and subconscious mind. It does “remember” trauma in a sense, in that the intensity is stored in the recesses of your mind and body. As famed trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk once said (and named his book), “The body keeps the score.”
Reminders of a traumatic experience may trigger emotional or physical stress responses even after the event has passed. Sometimes these triggers seem unrelated or are very subtle (they can also be loud and dramatic). Reactions may include feeling anxious, panicked, sad, or depressed; becoming unusually alert; struggling to relax; or avoiding certain people, places, or situations.
The autonomic nervous system regulates automatic bodily functions and is “in charge” of responding to perceived threats. So this is the system of the body most affected by trauma usually. Traumatic events are perceived as threats in all kinds of ways, whether that be a literal threat to life, health, or home; or an emotional threat like rejection, abandonment, gaslighting, or abuse. To read my post about how to heal from abandonment, go here.
Here are the main ways trauma affects the nervous system.
You have probably heard the phrase fight or flight to describe the stress response. Trauma is a huge stress, so the nervous system can get stuck in one of these states. There are actually thought to be about 6 possible responses, as discovered through research and practice. They are: fight, flight, freeze, fawn, fine, and faint. They are pretty self-explanatory in what they mean, but for more details check out my blog post here.
In addition to or instead of these specific types of responses, some people simply become more stressed overall or over a longer period of time than is warranted. A heightened state of anxiety, depression, panic, hypervigilance, or overthinking is a common way trauma manifests. It is the body’s ineffective, though “logical” biologically, method of managing trauma’s aftereffects. You can learn more about how to address catastrophic thinking here, and how to address rumination here (both maladaptive coping mechanisms).
The nervous system may get “hijacked” or stuck when there is a traumatic event (and especially if there is more than one). This primal response usually involves the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for danger. The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are other areas of the brain that might also “light up.” Any of the 6 trauma responses I just mentioned can occur, and the brain may switch into a survival mode of sorts that lasts. Stress hormones like cortisol continue to be pumped out, even after the threat has passed.
Survival mode is a heightened level of stress and strain on the body and mind. This means you may have trouble sleeping, relaxing, trusting others, or feeling safe.
The following approaches will help you manage stress, develop a greater sense of safety, and support trauma recovery over the long term.
Deep breathing and grounding practices like earthing help discharge excess emotion and bring you back into the present moment. Trauma keeps the nervous system anchored in the past, but you can re-center through these techniques. Deep breathing helps you calm down by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for “rest and digest”). Allow your out-breath to be longer than your in-breath, which calms the body.
Grounding refers to focusing your energy into your feet or the earth. Walking barefoot outside on the grass is ideal, but just sitting in a chair or on the floor and imagining a root going down into the center of earth or simply into your feet works too. Another way to ground is to look into Somatic Experiencing (SE). Developed by Peter Levine, PhD, it is a gentle therapy that guides people to become more aware of their body sensations and what surrounds them in any given moment (such as, “I see the blue color of my couch; I am noticing my cat’s soft hair right now.”).
The vagus nerve is one of the main components of the parasympathetic nervous system. It is responsible for “rest and digest” that I mentioned earlier, aka the mechanism that signals safety; while the sympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, activates with stress. Trauma can disrupt the rest and digest part of your nervous system, so resetting your vagus nerve may help. If this interests you, look into the various exercises. They are similar to the methods I just covered, and include deep breathing, humming or singing, gargling, and stretching. Many people also share how cold water immersion is helpful. You can splash cold water on your face, take a cold shower, dunk yourself into an ice bath, or hold an ice pack on your cheeks or neck (check with your doctor before trying these).
To read more about how to release trauma from the body, read this post next.
Taking care of yourself may sound boring or unhelpful, but it is massively important. Things that seem simple actually do make a difference. For example, making sure you eat healthy meals with enough protein. This can help stabilize you mentally as well as nourish your body. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night in a cool, dark room, and limit screen time before bed and overall if possible.
Another example is setting boundaries with draining people, or taking more time for yourself than usual. Rest and alone time are powerful ways to reset and release what you’ve taken on from others, traumatic or not.
Finally, as I touched on earlier, don’t hesitate to seek out a trauma-informed mental health professional for further support. Sometimes we need extra help getting through tough times. And trauma is the hardest stressor that life can bring. In particular, I recommend finding an EMDR eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapist (EMDR therapy). This method appears to be one of the most effective so far in helping people process and “file away” trauma so it no longer has such a detrimental effect on the brain and body. I’m sending you a hug and good wishes on your journey!
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