Understanding Trauma Responses and Healing

The Three Levels of Threat Response

1. Social Engagement – calling out for help and comfort.

2. Fight or Flight – defending yourself or running away.

3. Freeze/Collapse – shutting down when there is no escape.

 

Trauma and the Body

• How repeated trauma (especially from caregivers) leads to C-PTSD.

• The freeze/dissociation response.

• Physical symptoms: lowered heart rate, shallow breathing, digestive shutdown.

 

Why Triggers Feel Like Danger

• Trauma memories reactivate as if happening now.

• The stress system doesn’t reset properly.

• Example: the "car brake lights" metaphor.

 

Long-Term Consequences

• Chronic stress = risk for autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia.

• PTSD can isolate survivors (“those who know” vs. “those who don’t”).

 

Moving Toward Healing

• Healing requires engaging body and mind.

• Telling your story helps, but the body also needs to learn safety again.

• Community support, love, and self-compassion are key.

 


 

Understanding Trauma Responses and Healing

1. The Three Levels of Threat Response

When we feel threatened, our nervous system instinctively moves through three possible survival strategies:

1. Social Engagement – We first call out for help, seeking comfort and support from people around us.

2. Fight or Flight – If help doesn’t come or danger is immediate, we shift to survival mode: we either fight off the threat or try to escape.

3. Freeze or Collapse – If escape or defense isn’t possible (being trapped, held down, or repeatedly abused), the body shuts down to preserve energy. This is the freeze response, often involving dissociation.

 

2. Trauma and the Freeze Response

• Repeated trauma, especially from caregivers or trusted individuals, often leads to Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).

• The freeze state may include dissociation—disconnecting from relationships, experiences, or even daily life.

• Physiological effects include:

• Slowed heart rate (“heart drops”).

• Shallow breathing or difficulty breathing.

• Digestive shutdown (nausea, diarrhea, bowel issues).

• Reduced metabolism and chronic fatigue.

 

3. The Science Behind Trauma (Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score)

• When fight or flight cannot resolve the threat, the reptilian brain activates a last-resort shutdown.

• This is controlled by the dorsal vagal complex (DVC), part of the parasympathetic nervous system.

• In this state:

• Awareness shuts down.

• Physical pain may not register.

• Survivors appear disengaged or numb.

 

4. Why Triggers Feel Like Danger

• Trauma is not only an event from the past — it leaves lasting imprints on the mind, brain, and body.

• When triggered, the right brain reacts as if the event is happening now, while the left brain (logic and time awareness) often shuts down.

• Triggers may include smells, songs, colors, names, or familiar faces.

• Example: A car slamming its brakes → a trauma survivor’s body reacts with panic, but unlike a non-traumatized person, the stress system doesn’t reset.

 

5. Long-Term Consequences of Unresolved Trauma

• Stress hormones remain elevated even when danger has passed.

• This causes ongoing agitation, panic, and health issues.

• Survivors may develop:

• Fibromyalgia

• Chronic fatigue

• Autoimmune conditions

• Socially, survivors often feel divided from those who “don’t understand,” leading to isolation.

 

6. Healing from Trauma

• Telling your story can bring meaning, but words alone don’t reset the body’s automatic responses.

• Real healing involves teaching the body and mind that the danger is over.

• Effective trauma recovery requires:

• Engaging both body and mind in treatment.

• Support from community and safe relationships.

• Self-compassion and understanding of trauma responses.

 

7. Final Thoughts

• Trauma responses are normal survival mechanisms, not weaknesses.

• Understanding them helps survivors normalize fear, uncertainty, and physical symptoms.

• With compassion, support, and appropriate healing practices, survivors can reclaim safety, joy, and connection.

 



Popular posts from this blog

Healing the Inner Child

But here’s what I want you to know— That frozen child inside you is not lost. They are waiting, yes, but also ready. Ready for you to come back, Ready for you to hold them with kindness, To whisper to them that they are safe now. You have the power to rewrite that old blueprint. To teach your nervous system a new way— One where love is unconditional, Where safety is the foundation, And where your whole self can finally breathe. This journey is not about perfection. It’s about presence. Showing up for yourself again and again— With patience, with grace, with fierce tenderness. You are not broken. You are becoming. You are healing. And that child, your truest self, Is here with you, every step of the way. So breathe deeply. Hold your heart gently. And say to yourself: I am safe now. I am enough. I am worthy of love—just as I am. This is how you begin to heal. [  Return home  ]
Read more

Do You Feel Like You’re Wasting Your Life? Jungian Psychology Explains Why...

Do You Feel Like You’re Wasting Your Life? You’re Not Alone Have you ever felt a silent, gnawing fear that you’re wasting your life? No matter how busy you keep yourself—surrounded by people, chasing goals, ticking off obligations—deep down, something essential feels missing. You’re existing , not truly living . Maybe you call it anxiety. Maybe a doctor called it depression and prescribed pills to silence it. But the emptiness remains. And here’s the truth: Your suffering is not a mistake. It’s not just anxiety. It’s not just depression. It is a message —a call from the deepest part of you. Jungian Psychology: Your Pain Is Not Pathology, It’s a Calling Carl Gustav Jung, the pioneer of depth psychology, believed that what we call mental disorders are often not illnesses to be suppressed, but attempts by the psyche to heal itself. Your anxiety, sadness, and sense of emptiness are not enemies. They are warnings : Your life, as it is right now, does not serve your soul. Perhaps you’re stuc...
Read more

HOME – The Invitation of the Inner Child

You can’t go back and change what happened. But you can stop repeating it. You can stop silencing yourself to keep the peace. You can stop chasing people who don’t see your worth. You can stop abandoning yourself when life gets hard. The inner child isn’t a weakness; they are the foundation of your truth—your sensitivity, creativity, and deepest joy. You don’t need to heal perfectly. You just need to be willing to listen. Because the moment you turn inward and say, “I see you, I hear you, I choose you”—that’s the moment you finally come home. Welcome home.
Read more