Let's be clear, trauma does weird stuff to our brains. It's normal, it's supposed to. Trauma rewires our brains to look for threat, it's a survival technique. So let's look at how trauma affects the brain.
If you’ve experienced trauma, you may have noticed changes in how you think, feel, and react to the world. You might struggle with anxiety, feel constantly on edge, or experience vivid flashbacks. These reactions are not a sign of weakness—they are your brain’s way of protecting us after a distressing event.
When we understand how trauma affects our brains it can help us make sense of what we are going through and how we react to things.
How Trauma Affects the Brain
Trauma Puts the Brain into Survival Mode
When we experience trauma, our brain’s main goal is to keep us safe. Three key parts of the brain are involved:
Amygdala (The Alarm System)
This is the part of our brain responsible for detecting danger and triggering the fight, flight, or freeze response. It’s an ancient response that originates in fighting off sabre toothed tigers!
After trauma, our amygdala becomes overactive, making us feel constantly on guard or easily startled.
This is why loud noises, certain smells, or places that remind us of the trauma can feel overwhelming—even when we are safe.
Hippocampus (The Memory Keeper)
The hippocampus helps process memories and distinguish between the past and present.
Ordinary memories are given a date and a time stamp and are filed, even bad ones.
Trauma can disrupt this process, which is why we might experience flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, or difficulty remembering details. Trauma memories basically don’t get the date stamp and float around hijacking us.
Our brain sometimes struggles to recognize that the danger is over, causing past trauma to feel like it's happening right now, and doesn’t that feel awful?!
Prefrontal Cortex (The Rational Thinker)
This part of the brain helps with logic, decision-making, and emotional regulation.
Trauma can weaken the prefrontal cortex, making it harder to focus, manage emotions, or feel in control of our thoughts.
This is why after trauma, we might feel overwhelmed by emotions or struggle with decision-making.
Trauma gets Stuck in the Body
Trauma isn’t just a memory—it’s an experience that gets stored in our nervous system. Even when we know we are safe, our body might still react as if the trauma is happening. This can cause all sorts of things to happen
Anxiety or panic attacks
Trouble sleeping or nightmares
Feeling numb, disconnected, or “zoned out”
Feeling like we are somehow “not quite here”
Physical symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, or stomach issues
This stuff is not all in our heads, our brain and body are doing their best to alert us to threat and keep us safe. Unfortunately it all gets a bit out of hand
The good news is we can retrain our brains to feel safe again
How the Brain Heals
Our brains are very very clever and are capable of healing and rewiring. This is through a process call neuroplasticity. Good trauma informed therapy helps us to process traumatic memories safely so we don’t get retraumatised and end up feeling worse.
Grounding techniques can be really helpful. Things like breathing techniques and other exercises can calm the amygdala and remind our brains that we are safe in the present.
Mindfulness and meditation can be useful. They can help us to feel more in control of our emotions. Two things to remember with this.
While guided meditation is helpful, trying to empty our minds isn’t! Often the trauma can rush in to fill the gap. Trust me you do not want that happening
If, like me, you have ADHD meditation can feel like having the top layer of your skin removed! Try other calming things instead, like walking or dance. Activities like yoga, walking, or dancing help release trauma stored in the body and signal safety to the brain.
Self compassion is key. Lets be kind to ourselves. Healing takes time. Being patient with ourselves and recognising that our reactions are normal can help ease feelings of frustration or shame.
We are NOT broken
If you’re struggling with trauma, you are not broken, your brain is simply trying to protect you. Understanding how trauma affects the brain is the first step towards healing. With the right tools and support, we can retrain our brains to feel safe again.
You deserve healing, and it is possible. 💙
If this rings a bell for you and you would like to explore it further please get in touch via the contact page
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