What is trauma?

What Is Trauma—and How Does It Affect the Nervous System?

When most people hear the word trauma, they picture a specific event—something big and external. But here’s the thing: trauma isn’t really about the event itself. Trauma is what happens inside your nervous system during and after that experience.

When life feels overwhelming, your system can get flooded. Sometimes it doesn’t fully reset, leaving you stuck in survival mode long after the situation has passed. That’s when things like hypervigilance, emotional numbing, intrusive thoughts, or deep-seated beliefs like “I’m not enough” can show up.

The Nervous System’s Role

Think of your nervous system as a finely tuned instrument built to keep you safe. When something stressful or overwhelming happens—whether it’s one big event or a series of smaller ones—your system may shift into survival mode: fight, flight, or freeze.

From there, you might notice things like:

• Feeling “on edge” all the time

• Shutting down emotionally or feeling disconnected

• Getting pulled back into intrusive thoughts or memories

• Holding onto fears or beliefs like “I’m unsafe” or “I’m unworthy”

These aren’t signs of weakness. They’re actually your body’s way of trying to protect you. Trauma isn’t about being fragile—it’s about how stress gets stored and carried in the body over time.

Moving Toward Healing

Healing from trauma is about gently reconnecting with yourself—mind, body, and emotions—so you can move out of survival mode and back into living. This takes courage and vulnerability, but that’s also where the real transformation happens.

As Brené Brown reminds us: “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity.” In other words, opening up to our pain (with safe support or therapy) is often the very thing that leads us to healing—and to a more authentic life.

She also writes, “Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” Trauma may feel like darkness, but within it lies the possibility of profound growth and resilience.

The Bottom Line

Trauma leaves its mark on the nervous system—it can linger long after the original experience is over. But healing is absolutely possible. With compassion, vulnerability, and support, your nervous system can settle, and you can begin to live from a place of safety, connection, and strength.