The phrase “out of sight, out of mind,” sounds great in theory. If you aren’t thinking about something, then it can’t cause you distress, right? We wish this were true. Unfortunately, even when you push something out of your mind (or try to) it can still impact you.
Trauma, especially, has a profound effect on mental and physical health. Many are surprised to hear that after a traumatic experience, the body holds on to trauma.
How Your Body Stores Trauma
Sends Your Amygdala Into Overdrive
The amygdala is part of the brain that is responsible for detecting threats and alerting the rest of your body and mind to them. During a traumatic experience, this portion becomes activated as a way to help you survive or escape from that situation. This occurs because it activates the fight, flight, or freeze response that our bodies have naturally developed.
During ancient times, this function was paramount to the survival of our ancestors. It helped them to decide whether or not they wanted to stay and fight through the danger, try to flee, or freeze as a way to survive.
Even after the traumatic experience is over, the amygdala can keep these high-alert signals active. In turn, this activates cortisol, the stress hormone, to stay elevated and impact you in negative ways.
Overactive Amygdala = Decrease In Executive Functioning
Executive functioning refers to the ability to make decisions, have memory skills, and be able to think flexibly.
When the amygdala is overactive, it can hinder the ability to have successful executive functioning. Controlled by the frontal lobe of the brain, executive functioning helps also helps us to concentrate on tasks. Traumatic experiences take up the space needed for these skills to fully thrive. After going through a traumatic experience, it becomes the primary focus of the brain.
Triggers Are Activated
The word trigger has been recently thrown around as a buzzword. However, triggers are a very real emotional response. When a person encounters anything remotely similar to the traumatic event – it can cause them to have a very emotional, distressing and often physical response to it.
Triggers occur when the individual encounters or experiences certain people, sounds, smells, sights, objects, or even a places.
Stress Intolerance
Trauma, at its core, is a response to a highly stressful and emotional situation. After the event is over, a lot of people find that they have a reduced tolerance for stress.
Because the body remembers trauma, it develops a very adverse reaction to any type of stress. Even the most minor of stressful situations can send somebody into an elevated state of stress and anxiety.
Trauma Causes Physical Symptoms
When the body holds on to trauma, it can also impact our physical health. Unresolved, stored trauma manifest itself in any number of the following ways:
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Insomnia
- Muscle tension or aches
- Headaches
- Stomach or digestive issues
How To Heal From Past Wounds
Healing from trauma can seem impossible to do. Especially if the event or situation occurred a long time ago. However, it doesn’t matter if the trauma happened last month or a decade ago – healing from it is absolutely possible.
Trauma is complex. Not just because of what happened but of how it affects us in the long term. It can leave you feeling stuck in a place of sadness and hopelessness.
Maybe you have thought about reaching out for support but feel ashamed of what happened or you feel as if you wouldn’t be taken seriously for feeling traumatized by something. First, know that trauma is never the person’s fault who it impacts. If it affected you mentally or physically, then you should absolutely be taken seriously.
At The Therapy Team all our therapists are trauma-trained and we offer a judgment-free environment for our clients to unpack their trauma. You deserve to find relief. Please reach out to any of our experienced trauma-trained therapists to schedule a session so we can talk about trauma therapy and how it can benefit you.
