The Impact of Trauma
What is trauma?
Trauma is the emotional response that can result from living through a distressing event.
Whether that is living through long-term exposure to a traumatic environment, like childhood abuse or neglect, or a single distressing event like a car accident, or sexual assault. Trauma is the way your brain processes these events and impacts your ability to function in your life. Many people describe trauma as the event- but in fact, trauma is the way your brain and your body respond to the distressing event.
What does that have to do with what you're experiencing in the here and now?
As humans, we are hardwired to survive. We don’t survive horrible experiences by slowing down and making well-thought-out decisions.
Instead, we survive because our brains and our bodies have the instinct to survive built into them. At the moment our brains perceive a life threat, our unconscious survival responses are set into motion.
these survival instincts are also known as fight, flight, fawn or freeze.
Fight-
This response is triggered when danger is detected and your nervous system energizes to attack and/or be aggressive to fight off that danger.
Flight-
This response is triggered when danger is detected and your nervous system deems it safe to flee the scene and get yourself to safety.
Freeze-
This response is triggered when danger is detected and your nervous system freezes your body, being unable to fight or flee.
Fawn-
This response is triggered when danger is detected and to stay safe, you avoid or placate conflict through people-pleasing behaviors.
When we experience traumatic or highly stressful events, our nervous system can become stuck in these survival responses. Once again, these are unconscious patterns that can cause significant distress in our everyday lives and can lower our ability to function in the day-to-day.
this is because survival responses are still engaged as if the danger and/or threat never ended.
What brain science has taught us is that trauma is most likely to be remembered in the form of emotions, bodily sensations, changes in breathing, heart rate, bodily tension, collapse, or the feeling of being overwhelmed. This is because as a result of highly stressful or disturbing experiences. People’s biology shifts to the biology of threat- staying hyper-alert, feeling chronically unsafe, and having difficulty remaining in the present moment.
The impact of traumatic experiences is located in the survival part of the brain, which does not return to baseline after a threat is over.
in other words, even though the traumatic experience is “over” our brain and body are still living as if the threat is still imminent.
Some of the ongoing trauma symptoms and difficulties for people who have been traumatized are:
Irritability
Decreased concentration
Numbing
Loss of interest in activities
Insomnia
Emotional overwhelm
Hopelessness
Self-harming behaviors
Few or no memories
Nightmares/flashbacks
Hypervigilance
Mistrust
Panic attacks
Chronic pain
Substance abuse
Feeling out of body
These trauma symptoms can be indicators of the ways that your mind and your body adapted to the threat and danger of traumatic experiences. Or, how your brain and your body managed the feelings and bodily responses connected to the experiences.
You aren’t responsible for the traumatic experiences that you have endured throughout your life.
But, you have been left with the impact of that trauma and the often trying and painful process of recovering from those experiences.
We want you to know that it is possible to feel better. The symptoms that you are experiencing are not a life sentence. Healing is possible. If you need support trauma therapy in Pennsylvania is a good place to start!
Begin PTSD Treatment and Trauma Therapy in Pennsylvania for Support and Healing
The trauma therapists here at Reclaim Therapy are passionate about helping people heal from traumatic experiences and the ripples that those experiences cause in everyday life.
We are a group of trauma therapists, trained in EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and Somatic therapies. If you are looking for Trauma therapy in Pennsylvania, we’re ready and prepared to support you in your healing journey. Contact Reclaim Therapy when you’re ready!
🧡,
Other services at Reclaim Therapy
If you are seeking more specialized support, we can offer EMDR therapy, Trauma therapy, eating disorder treatment, therapy for binge eating, body image therapy, and online coaching.