Is Trauma Stopping you Living your life?
posted 14th January 2025
Trauma can leave lasting imprints on both the mind and body, and while it is often associated with significant events like accidents, abuse, or loss, trauma is unique to each person.
It is less about what happened and more about how your nervous system responded. For some people, a seemingly small experience, like a harsh comment, being ignored as a child or an injury can trigger a profound stress response that lingers long after the event has passed. What might be traumatic to one person, may not be to another. It very much depends on our past experiences and the messages onboarded.
How Trauma Manifests in the Body
Our bodies are incredibly adept at survival and when faced with a threat, our nervous system shifts into a protective mode, ‘fight, flight, or freeze’. This response is vital in the moment, but what happens if it never switches off? For many people who have experienced trauma, the nervous system remains on high alert and this can be ongoing for years. This chronic state of stress can lead to a host of physical and emotional symptoms, including:
• Mood fluctuations: anxiety, depression, or irritability may stem from the unresolved emotions connected to trauma.
• Sleep disturbances: difficulty falling or staying asleep is common, especially if hyper-vigilance or nightmares are at play.
• Fatigue: constant anxiety and tension drains energy, leaving you feeling perpetually exhausted.
• Low Motivation: not feeling like doing the things you used to enjoy and isolating yourself from people and social activities.
• Digestive issues: stress and trauma can disrupt gut health, leading to symptoms like IBS or indigestion.
Trauma Held in the Body’s Cells
The impact of trauma is not just limited to our thoughts or emotions, it can be stored in the cells of our bodies. This concept, often referred to as cellular memory, suggests that unresolved trauma embeds itself in our cells, tissues, muscles and organs. Over time, this can manifest as chronic tension, unexplained pain, or heightened sensitivity to triggers.
For instance, certain movements or positions may evoke discomfort or unease without any clear physical cause. These sensations often stem from the body’s memory of a traumatic event, with triggers arising in various forms, such as a sound, smell, a movement or even a specific time of year. This can provoke a cascade of emotions and physical reactions, such as tightness in the chest, nausea, or a sudden feeling of dread and these responses are your body’s way of saying that something needs attention.
It is also common for people holding trauma in their cells to experience heightened emotional states. You might feel an overwhelming sadness or anger without understanding why, as though the body is processing what the mind has not yet fully acknowledged. This can be particularly confusing, but is a normal response to trauma’s lingering effects.
The Mind-Body Connection
It can be tempting to dismiss these symptoms as just stress or to focus solely on treating the physical aspects. But the mind and body are not separate entities, they are deeply intertwined. When we have experienced trauma, our brains can become stuck in a feedback loop, interpreting everyday situations as threats. This heightened state of awareness can exacerbate symptoms and make recovery feel out of reach.
Imagine feeling a knot in your stomach every time you enter a crowded room, you might consider this to be social anxiety, but it could be your body’s way of recalling a time when you felt unsafe in a group setting. The physical sensation is not always random, it can be a signal from your body asking for attention and care.
Recognising the Role of Trauma
If you’ve been struggling with unexplained symptoms or feeling as though traditional treatments haven’t addressed the root of your issues, it might be worth exploring whether trauma could be a contributing factor. Here are some steps to consider:
1. Listen to your body: pay attention to recurring symptoms and patterns. Are there certain situations or memories that seem to trigger them?
2. Seek support: trauma is not something to navigate alone. A compassionate therapist, trained in trauma-focused approaches like CBT, EMDR or somatic therapy, can help you uncover and process the root causes.
3. Practise self-compassion: it’s important to treat yourself with kindness, like you would treat someone you care for.
4. Explore holistic healing: Techniques like mindfulness, yoga, or breathwork can help calm the nervous system and create a sense of safety within your body.
Evidence-Based Therapies: CBT and EMDR
Two highly effective therapeutic approaches for addressing trauma and its symptoms are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT helps you identify and change unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours that might be reinforcing your symptoms. If you’ve been avoiding certain situations due to fear or anxiety, CBT can guide you in gradually confronting those fears in a safe and structured way. It also equips you with practical tools to manage stress and reframe negative thoughts, helping to reduce the physical and emotional burden of trauma.
• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR is a specialised trauma therapy that uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, to help you process and reframe traumatic memories. EMDR has been shown to be particularly effective for conditions like PTSD, but it’s also helpful for a wide range of trauma-related issues. The goal is to reduce the emotional intensity associated with these memories so they no longer trigger overwhelming symptoms.
It is believed that EMDR helps the brain to refile the trauma memory in the correct location, so there is less, or no emotional reaction to the memory, and it feels simply like a memory; something that happened in the past.
Both therapies address the mind-body connection in unique ways, helping to restore a sense of balance and safety. They are often most effective when tailored to your individual needs by a trained therapist.
Moving Towards Healing
Healing from trauma is not about erasing the past but learning to coexist with it in a way that feels manageable. It’s about giving yourself the tools to navigate life without being weighed down by what happened to you.
If you recognise yourself in any of the symptoms or scenarios described, know that you’re not alone. Trauma is more common than many realise, and there is a growing understanding of how to support those who are affected. Recovery is possible, and every small step you take towards understanding your mind-body connection is a step towards healing.
Your symptoms are not your fault, and they do not define you. They are simply your body’s way of asking for help and with the right support, you can begin to answer that call.
If you are suffering from any of the symptoms describe and would like to find out more about how cognitive behavioural therapy and/or EMDR can help you to please contact Christina on this link, call for an informal chat on 07398 453243 or email me at christina@cognitive-clarity.co.uk
