The Wound that Stays

Trauma is not just something that happened. It is something that continues to happen — and it can be felt through your body, in your relationships and daily experience, even a long time after the original event has passed.

The word trauma comes from the Greek, and it means "wound." We are left with a trauma wound when an experience overwhelms our capacity to process it. Our nervous system becomes stuck, and life continues to be filtered through the moment that overwhelmed us.

In moments of overpowering experience, we find ways to adapt and survive. Someone who dissociates during an attack is adopting a creative way to survive, where the mind leaves a situation the body cannot escape. This is evidence of resilience. However, sometimes the mechanisms that protect us at times of danger continue to operate after the threat has passed, and cause difficulties in daily life. For example, the emotions that were buried at the time may surface as anxiety or other physical symptoms.

Why the Body Holds On

When we are exposed to overwhelming situations, the amygdala acts as our brain's threat detector, triggering the fight, flight, or freeze response even before our conscious thought can intervene. In trauma, the amygdala can become sensitized and read memories or reminders of the original event as danger. Simple things in our environment, like a tone of voice or a smell, can set off that same alarm, even a long time after the threat itself has passed.

Under stress, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for reasoning and the capacity to recognise that a memory is not a present threat, goes partially offline. This is why trauma responses can feel so disorienting and beyond conscious control. In those moments, the body is acting from instinct and still fighting to survive.

Recognising the Signs

Trauma can manifest in many ways. Some people experience flashbacks - unsettling moments that feel like re-living the traumatic experience itself. These can feel as intense as the original event. When this happens, it is important to re-ground and pay attention to the here-and-now and how the present circumstances are actually different from the past.

Many people experience anxiety, which is felt as physical tension, racing thoughts, and a constant sense of being in danger, and can have a significant impact on daily living.

When we become overwhelmed over time, we may also respond by shutting sensation down. Disconnection from our body or difficulty experiencing pleasure are the nervous system's way of reducing an unbearable signal.

All these are not signs of weakness but the scar of something overwhelming that your system did its best to survive.

Healing the Wound

Healing starts from feeling safe. Being in a space where it is possible to explore your thoughts and feelings at your own pace and in a safe way is the starting point to processing past experiences without becoming overwhelmed.

Slowly, you can start to untangle all the overwhelming thoughts and emotions while staying grounded and aware of your in-the-moment experience.

With time, the memories that once felt unbearable start to lose their grip and become part of your past. You gain more choice over your experience and how you respond to situations.