Understanding trauma: what it is, what it looks like, and how to heal from it
Understanding Trauma
Trauma is more than just a bad experience—it’s something that deeply affects your emotions, mind, body, and relationships. Many people think trauma only comes from extreme events like violence or abuse. But in reality, trauma isn’t about what happened—it’s about how your nervous system responds to it. If an experience is overwhelming, frightening, or too much to handle, it can leave a lasting impact, even if someone else might have experienced the same situation differently.
Trauma can show up in many ways, including:
• Feeling constantly on edge or anxious
• Struggling with self-doubt, shame, or persistent sadness
• Finding it hard to trust others or form healthy relationships
• Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected from yourself
• Experiencing physical symptoms like exhaustion, trouble sleeping, or being easily startled
What Causes Trauma?
Trauma is personal—what overwhelms one person may not affect someone else in the same way. It can come from a single shocking event, like a car accident, medical procedure, or violent attack. It can also come from ongoing stress, such as growing up in a neglectful home, experiencing chronic illness, living in poverty, or being in an unhealthy relationship.
The more adversity someone faces, the harder it can be to cope, especially if they don’t have strong support systems. This is why two people can go through the same event, but only one may develop trauma symptoms—it depends on their history, capacity to bounce back, and the help they had at the time.
Types of Trauma
• Acute Trauma – Trauma that comes from a single overwhelming event.
• Chronic Trauma – Trauma caused by repeated or ongoing stress over a long period.
• Complex Trauma – Trauma that happens in close relationships over time, often starting in childhood.
• Secondary (Vicarious) Trauma – Trauma that comes from being exposed to someone else’s suffering, often seen in caregivers and support professionals.
Healing from Trauma
Healing is possible, whether you want to return to the way life was before your trauma or find a new way to live if you’ve never known life without it. The process takes time, patience, and support, but with the right approach, you can move from just surviving to truly living.
Some of the most important parts of healing include:
• Learning how to be with and process your emotions instead of avoiding them
• Rebuilding a sense of control and safety in your life
• Finding ways to reconnect with yourself and the world in a way that feels good to you
Therapeutic Approaches for Trauma
Many therapy methods can help with trauma, including:
• Somatic Therapies – Help you tune into your body’s sensations, urges, and movements to process and release trauma.
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy – Helps you understand and connect with different parts of yourself that drive your thoughts and behaviors.
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) – Uses eye movements and other techniques to help process traumatic memories.
• Brainspotting – Helps locate and process emotions and memories by using eye positions linked to brain activity.
Ideally, all trauma therapy should be trauma-informed, meaning it recognizes how deeply trauma impacts people and provides care in a way that feels safe, respectful, and empowering.
The Bottom Line
Trauma can make life feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to stay stuck in survival mode. Healing is possible. With the right support and moving at a pace that feels right, you can release the hold trauma has on you and build a life that feels safe, fulfilling, and truly yours.