The Impact of Trauma on Body and Mind
Trauma deeply impacts both the body and mind, influencing everything from emotional well-being to physical health. This article, explores how trauma shapes our brain, disrupts relationships, and creates lasting patterns of stress. Discover the key signs of trauma, its effects on our daily lives, and powerful treatment options that can help you or a loved one begin the journey of healing.
What is Trauma?
When you think of trauma, what comes to mind? For many, it’s the aftermath of natural disasters, wars, or other catastrophic events. However, trauma isn’t exclusive to such grand-scale incidents. It also stems from the silent, persistent pain inflicted by dysfunctional families or abusive relationships. These experiences profoundly affects mental and physical health, disrupting our ability to feel safe or connected to ourselves and others. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines it as:
““An emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, crime, natural disaster, physical or emotional abuse, neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, death of a loved one, war, and more. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.””
Trauma's effects are pervasive, whether caused by a single event or prolonged exposure to adverse environments. Understanding these impacts is crucial for enabling healing and recovery.
The Connection Between the Body and the Brain
In The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, the intricate relationship between trauma, the brain, and the body is explored. Traumatic experiences activate the brain’s alarm system—the amygdala—responsible for initiating the "fight or flight" response. During this state, your heart races, breathing becomes shallow, and clarity of thought diminishes. Typically, the brain's frontal lobe, its "watchtower," intervenes to calm you down. However, for individuals with trauma, this function is compromised, leaving the brain hypervigilant and on constant alert for threats.
When escape isn’t possible, as is often the case in childhood abuse or domestic violence, the body resorts to a freeze response. This survival mechanism may help in the moment but often results in chronic shutdown. The body remains in a heightened state of alarm, while emotional disconnection becomes a default coping strategy. This imbalance can result in hyperawareness to external stimuli but detachment from internal emotional experiences—a state described as depersonalization.
The Role of Shame
Trauma survivors often carry profound feelings of shame. They may berate themselves for how they reacted—or didn’t react—during the traumatic event. This self-blame can be paralyzing, rooted in the false belief that they should have fought harder, escaped sooner, or responded differently.
Shame becomes a heavy burden, feeding feelings of helplessness. When individuals experience trauma, their stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, surge to prepare their body for action. However, if they’re unable to act—whether due to physical restraint, fear, or being too young to fight back—these stress hormones remain in the system, leaving the body locked in a state of fight, flight, or freeze.
Unprocessed shame compounds the issue. Survivors may avoid seeking support because they feel too humiliated to recount their experiences. They despise their fear, dependence, or even rage during the event, unaware that these were natural survival responses. This self-directed shame can lead to further emotional isolation, preventing them from processing the event and completing their body's stress cycle.
Breaking this cycle requires both the body and mind to relearn a sense of safety. While it’s not necessary for a survivor to relive every detail of their experience, it is crucial for them to learn to tolerate the emotions tied to the memory without being overwhelmed by them.
Relational Trauma & Attachment
Relational trauma occurs within the context of relationships, often involving betrayal or harm inflicted by someone close—such as a parent, partner, or trusted figure. This type of trauma can be particularly damaging because human beings are wired for connection. When the relationships meant to provide safety and love become sources of fear and pain, the impact is deeply destabilizing.
You may wonder why someone would return to an abusive partner or maintain loyalty to abusive parents. The answer lies in attachment theory. From infancy, we are biologically programmed to seek connection with our caregivers, even when they fail to provide consistent safety or affection. For children in abusive homes, this bond becomes complex. Despite mistreatment, they remain loyal, as their survival depends on their caregivers.
Over time, this dynamic often repeats in adulthood. People who grew up in toxic or neglectful environments may unconsciously seek relationships that mirror these patterns. The chaos feels familiar; it’s what they know. They may struggle to believe they deserve healthier connections or fear the vulnerability required to trust someone new.
Attachment Wounds: Lasting Effects on Relationships
The brain is a social organ, shaped by early interactions. Positive relationships stimulate the brain to associate connection with safety and pleasure. When caregivers are attuned to a child's needs, the child learns to self-regulate, fostering resilience. However, when caregivers are neglectful or abusive, the child’s emotional regulation mechanisms don’t develop properly. This can lead to dissociation, where the individual disconnects from their feelings or even their sense of self to survive. Learn more about attachment and how parental bonds shape adult relationships here.
For survivors of relational trauma, closeness can evoke feelings of fear, vulnerability, or betrayal. They may shut down emotionally, use addictions to numb their pain, or experience chronic physical symptoms like tension or pain. Healing these wounds requires building new, positive relational experiences.
Treatments - Healing from Trauma
Recovery from trauma is not linear, nor is it a one-size-fits-all process. Healing requires addressing both the physical and emotional impacts of trauma. Below are some proven methods:
Therapeutic Approaches
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
This evidence-based therapy helps process traumatic memories, reducing their emotional intensity and teaching the brain to recognize the event as being in the past.Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS focuses on reintegrating fractured parts of the self, encouraging survivors to address their trauma with self-compassion and gain greater emotional regulation.Neurofeedback
This therapy uses brainwave monitoring to help regulate activity, fostering healthier patterns and reducing symptoms like anxiety and hypervigilance.Somatic Therapy & Mindfulness
These approaches focus on reconnecting with the body and learning to process emotions in real-time, helping to calm the nervous system and reduce fight-or-flight responses.Movement, Art, and Yoga
Physical and creative therapies are powerful tools for reconnecting with the senses, promoting healing, and restoring emotional balance.
Rebuilding Trust Through Relationships
Safe, supportive relationships are essential to recovery. Whether through therapy, peer groups, or trusted loved ones, connection helps trauma survivors relearn trust, emotional regulation, and self-compassion. However, rebuilding trust can be challenging, especially when trauma stems from betrayal by loved ones.
Medication
While medications can provide temporary relief, they don’t address the root causes of trauma. Long-term healing requires building emotional and physical self-regulation skills.
Resources For Support
If you or someone you know is navigating trauma, these resources can provide additional guidance:
Trauma Center: Offers courses, lectures, and specialized resources for trauma recovery.
American Psychological Association Trauma Resources: Information and tools for trauma survivors and their families.
Veilig Thuis: Dutch resource for reporting domestic violence and child abuse.
Slachtofferhulp: Support services for victims of trauma in the Netherlands.
Take the First Step Toward Healing
Healing from trauma is a courageous journey, and you don’t have to walk it alone. As a therapist, I work with individuals who have experienced trauma, offering a safe and compassionate space to explore their experiences, rebuild a sense of safety, and foster growth. Together, we can address the challenges of the past and work toward creating a more connected and fulfilling present.
If you’re ready to take the first step, feel free to reach out to schedule a consultation. Therapy can be a powerful tool to support your journey toward healing and well-being.
References
van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.
American Psychological Association. Trauma. https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma
