This is not a replacement for therapy or medical treatment. 

Trauma can happen when we go through something deeply distressing, terrifying, or overwhelming — something that shakes our sense of safety or control. It might be a single event, like an accident, illness or a loss, or it might come from ongoing experiences, such as abuse, neglect, or long-term stress. Trauma looks and feels different for everyone and what feels traumatic to one person might not to another — and that’s completely okay.

What’s important is this: if something hurt you, scared you, or still affects you in ways you don’t fully understand, it’s valid. Your experience matters.

How Trauma Can Show Up in Your Life

Trauma doesn’t always look the way people expect it to — and it often shows up in ways that are confusing or overwhelming. You may notice changes in your emotions, thoughts, body, or behavior, even long after the traumatic experience has passed. This is not a sign of weakness. It’s your body and mind doing their best to cope.

Here are some common ways trauma can manifest:

• Emotional signs like anxiety, sadness, fear, irritability, guilt, shame, or anger.

• Thinking-related symptoms, including flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, or difficulty concentrating and remembering things. You might feel disconnected from yourself, or feel like you are reliving your past as if it were happening again. 

• Physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, stomach issues, or a racing heart — even when nothing seems “wrong.” You might also experience an increased startle response, feeling on edge, or constantly scanning your surroundings.

• Behavioral changes, like pulling away from others, sudden outbursts, avoidance, using substances to cope, feeling out of control, or struggling with self-harm. These reactions may feel confusing or unpredictable. 

Sometimes, trauma doesn’t show up until much later in life. Things that you may have buried for years may be brought to the surface by something seemingly small. That’s not weakness — it’s your mind trying to protect you the best way it knows how. Your nervous system knows how to keep you safe, it’s working overtime, which can feel uncomfortable, confusing, and sometimes scary. 

When these symptoms continue over time and start to interfere with daily life, they may be part of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or another trauma-related condition. Reaching out to your doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist trained in trauma can help you figure out what kind of treatment you need. No matter what it’s called, your experiences are valid — and with the right support, healing is absolutely possible.

You Are Not Broken — Your Brain Is Working Overtime

Trauma impacts how the brain and body respond to stress. It can put you in a constant state of “fight, flight, or freeze,” even when there’s no immediate danger. In fact, sometimes your body can’t tell the difference between feeling scared and actual danger.  This isn't a character flaw — it's a survival response designed to keep you safe. Your brain and body are working overtime and really good at protecting from what feels dangerous! However, this can be confusing, scary and overwhelming, especially when your responses are difficult to control.  

What Healing Can Look Like

Recovery from trauma is possible but often requires time, support, and professional care. Key components of healing include:

• Therapy: Evidence based approaches like Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and somatic therapies can be highly effective.

• Support systems: Trusted relationships and safe environments are crucial.

• Mind-body practices: Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness help reconnect the body and mind.

• Self-compassion: Recognizing that healing is a journey and treating yourself with patience and kindness.

Healing from trauma is not about “getting over it” — it’s about creating space for your experience(s) to be seen, heard, and processed in a way that feels empowering and safe.

In therapy, healing might include:

• Understanding your experiences and how they’ve shaped you

• Recognizing triggers and nervous system responses that cause distress

• Learning tools to regulate your nervous system

• Building safety in your body, relationships, and environment

• Reconnecting with parts of yourself that you may have shut down

• Finding your voice and your sense of choice again

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