Understanding Trauma and How it Impacts the Nervous System
- tatianaszulclmhc
- Mar 17
- 3 min read
Understanding Trauma
What is Trauma?
Contrary to popular belief, trauma is not the event itself. While traumatic events can lead to trauma, the event alone is not the trauma. Trauma is actually what happens inside your body when survival energy is not released during a perceived or actual threat.
To get a better understanding of trauma think of trauma as anything that is too much, too fast, too soon for your nervous system to process. What’s important to understand is that your nervous system does not distinguish between a real threat and a perceived threat—it reacts the same way to both.
Examples of Trauma
Big T Trauma: Events like abuse, accidents, war, or natural disasters
Small t Trauma: Ongoing stress, childhood emotional neglect, or feeling unseen and unheard
Generational Trauma: Patterns passed down through families that affect nervous system regulation
How Trauma Affects Your Nervous System
Your nervous system has three primary responses to a threat:
Fight (attack the threat)
Flight (run away from the threat)
Freeze (shut down if neither fight nor flight is an option)
If the survival energy from these responses isn’t released, the traumatic energy stays trapped in your body, keeping your nervous system in a constant state of survival.
Signs You’re Stuck in Survival Mode
Even if you consciously know you’re safe, your body may still react as if the trauma is happening in the present moment. Here’s how this can show up:
Fight Response
Feeling constantly angry or irritable
Being easily frustrated, argumentative, or defensive
Reacting strongly to small triggers because your nervous system is responding to past trauma
Flight Response
Living in your head, constantly overthinking and analyzing
Experiencing panic, worry, fear, or hypervigilance
Feeling restless, needing to stay busy, or avoiding emotions
Struggling to slow down, meditate, or feel comfortable in your body
Freeze Response
Feeling stuck, numb, or disconnected from yourself or others
Experiencing brain fog or going on autopilot
Zoning out or struggling to engage with the present moment
The Path to Healing Trauma
Many people try to remember the traumatic events to heal, but the truth is, you don’t need to recall the event to heal from trauma. That’s the beauty of Somatic Experiencing.
What Is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing is a body-based approach to healing trauma and rewiring the nervous system. Unlike traditional talk therapy, it does not require you to talk about or remember your trauma. Instead, it focuses on discharging the stored survival energy in your body.
How to Create Safety in Your Nervous System
To release trapped trauma, your nervous system must first feel safe. Here’s how you can start:
Connect with Pleasant Sensations – Notice when you feel warm, calm, happy, or nurtured.
Extend the Moment – When you laugh or smile, take an extra few seconds to feel it in your body.
Engage in Slow, Intentional Breathing – This signals to your nervous system that it’s safe.
Grounding Techniques – Use sensory tools like deep pressure, cold water, or movement to bring your body into the present moment.
By consistently practicing nervous system regulation techniques, you can start to show your body that you are no longer in danger.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If this resonates with you, I invite you to explore somatic healing deeper. Book a drop-in Somatic Experiencing session here to experience how nervous system work can help you heal from trauma—without needing to talk about it.
I hope this post was helpful! If you have any questions or insights, I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s keep this conversation going!