Trauma is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot these days—but here’s the truth: if you’ve lived through something overwhelming, painful, or deeply unsettling, and it’s still affecting how you think, feel, or relate to others, it’s worth paying attention to what I want to talk about today. It’s time to find ways to heal from trauma.
As a therapist who’s done my own hard work recovering from trauma, I don’t say this lightly: trauma can change everything—unless you face it and start the work of healing. It can affect your relationships, your physical health, your ability to trust, and your day-to-day mood.
The good news? It doesn’t have to control your life forever. You can move forward. And when you do, life starts to feel lighter, safer, and more genuinely connected. It becomes easier to feel happier. It frees you!
What Trauma Really Is
It’s More Than Just a Bad Memory
Trauma isn’t just what happened to you—it’s how your mind and body reacted to what happened. Trauma can result from a single distressing event (acute trauma), repeated exposure to difficult situations (chronic trauma), or ongoing emotional and psychological abuse, especially from childhood (complex trauma).
If your nervous system wasn’t able to process those events in real time, they get “stuck,” and your body stays in a state of survival. You might not even consciously remember some trauma, but your reactions, behaviors, and emotional patterns carry the imprint. Healing your neurologic functioning following these events allows you to heal from trauma forever.
How Trauma Affects the Brain and Body
When you experience trauma, your brain goes into protective mode. The amygdala (your fear center) goes into overdrive, scanning for danger—even when none is present. Your prefrontal cortex (your rational, thinking brain) starts to lose control. And your hippocampus (responsible for memory and emotional processing) may struggle to make sense of time or sequence. Let’s find ways to identify these things in order to heal from trauma.
That’s why people with unprocessed trauma often:
Feel anxious for “no reason”
React intensely to minor stressors
Experience memory gaps or flashbacks
Struggle with focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation
Your body also keeps the score—muscle tension, fatigue, digestive issues, and sleep problems often show up when trauma is stuck in the system.
How Trauma Shows Up in Everyday Life
Emotionally and Mentally
You feel emotionally numb or, on the flip side, constantly overwhelmed
You have intrusive thoughts or memories you can’t control
You avoid certain people, places, or conversations that trigger old pain
In Relationships
You’re hyper-independent, afraid to rely on anyone
You have difficulty setting boundaries
You feel easily triggered by your partner or isolate to feel “safe”
You may feel stuck in toxic relationships that mirror past patterns
In Behavior
You find yourself people-pleasing or perfectionizing to avoid conflict
You shut down emotionally when things get hard
You procrastinate or self-sabotage without knowing why
Healing Is Possible—But It’s a Process
Trauma recovery is not linear. Some days feel empowering. Others feel like you’ve taken three steps back. That’s normal. Clearing the emotional responses to physical history and interactions is the key in being able to experience life without reacting to the past.
There are stages to trauma recovery:
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Stabilization – Learning to regulate emotions and feel safe
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Processing – Reprocessing the trauma (often through therapy)
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Reintegration – Rebuilding your identity and reclaiming your life
Tools That Work: Trauma Therapy That Goes Deep
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
This is one of the most powerful tools I offer. EMDR helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories and release the emotional charge connected to them—without having to relive every detail. Using bilateral stimulation (like eye movements or tapping), the brain essentially files the trauma away, where it belongs: in the past.
Many clients who’ve tried everything—talk therapy, journaling, even medication—find that EMDR is what finally helps them move forward and heal from trauma by separating emotional responses from trauma.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This approach helps clients recognize and shift trauma-driven thinking patterns. For example, the belief “I’m not safe” becomes “I am safe now, and I have choices.”
Somatic Work
Because trauma is stored in the body, we also bring in movement, breathing, and grounding exercises to reconnect you to a sense of safety in your own skin.
Healing Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma often sets the stage for emotional patterns and coping mechanisms that carry into adulthood. People who experienced emotional neglect, abuse, or abandonment often:
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Struggle with self-worth
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Fear rejection or being “too much”
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Become overachievers, caregivers, or avoiders
This doesn’t have to be you. We live in a world where we are told we have a pass to not perform, to not live our best lives, because of what has happened to us. Stop allowing outside factors or events to dictate who you want to be, and what you can show up for and heal from trauma.
Inner child work, reparenting, and EMDR can be incredibly effective in helping clients recover from early trauma and stop repeating painful patterns.
You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: The Power of Support
Finding the Right Therapist
Look for someone trauma-informed—trained in EMDR, somatic therapy, or internal family systems (IFS). Most importantly, choose someone you feel there can be change with. Find someone who you can feel safe and empowered with. The therapeutic relationship itself becomes a model for trust, safety, and healing.
Trauma Support Groups
Sometimes, the most healing thing is simply knowing you’re not alone. Support groups provide a space to connect, share, and witness others on similar journeys. Whether online or in-person, these spaces can normalize your experience and reduce shame in order to open the path to empowerment.
Overcoming Triggers and Rebuilding Your Life
Managing Triggers
You don’t have to avoid every trigger forever. Through therapy, you’ll learn how to respond—not react—to those moments. We’ve talked extensively about these tools on the blog, but here is a review:
Grounding tools
Breathwork and body awareness
Cognitive reframing to remind the brain you’re safe now
Rebuilding Identity Beyond the Trauma
You are not your trauma. Healing creates space to explore who you are beyond survival mode. Feel free to grab a journal or notebook and consider these questions:
What do you love?
What brings you peace?
What kind of relationships do you want to build?
Ready to Heal? Here’s What’s Next
If you’re wondering whether trauma work is for you, consider this:
Do you feel stuck in patterns you can’t explain?
Are you constantly on edge, exhausted, or emotionally shut down?
Have you tried traditional therapy with little relief?
You don’t have to wait for a breakdown to start healing. You don’t have to keep managing symptoms that can actually be resolved.
How to Work With Me
I offer in-person and virtual EMDR therapy for individuals ready to face their trauma and move forward. I can’t tell you how many effective this therapy is and how much power it can give someone to overcome trauma and things that might be keeping them “stuck”.
Conclusion: You Can Heal From Trauma
Not everyone suffers from trauma. Evaluate exactly how you might be responding to events in your life, and take the right steps to either overcoming or finding help to those events.
You are not broken—you’re wounded, and wounds can heal. With the right support and tools, you can process the past, take your power back, and finally feel like yourself again.
You don’t have to stay in survival mode. There are ways to disconnect emotional responses to events that happened in the past. The life you want is on the other side of trauma—and it’s absolutely worth fighting for.
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