There is life after trauma

Experiences large and small, from verbal abuse and assault to major tragedies, leave people living most of their time on edge, in constant alert. Trauma is a natural response to an abnormal situation, and afterwards the world is experienced through a nervous system that has changed - threatening, dangerous, sometimes cruel.

For people living with post-trauma, something interferes with the system's natural ability to return to calm after stress. The brain and body stay stuck in an unbalanced state of hyper-arousal, even when in reality they are already in a safe place.

How it feels in body and mind

• In the body: chronic stress, racing heartbeat, shallow breathing, panic attacks, restlessness, sleep problems and nightmares.
• In behaviour: avoiding anything that recalls the trauma, withdrawing, closing off from people and situations.
• In emotion: intense waves of shame, anxiety, anger, guilt, frustration and numbness.
• In thought: intrusive memories, looping thoughts, flashbacks.

These symptoms appear because the brain has changed at a physical level - a way of adapting to a world that no longer feels safe. But just as the brain changes in response to trauma, it can also heal. Our brain is adaptive and neuroplastic, and it rewires itself according to what we experience.

Just as the brain changes in response to trauma, it can also heal.

Mindfulness and trauma

Mindfulness practice brings us back to being present in the moment, attentive inward and outward. It is highly effective for regulating emotion and self-management, and it leads us to a more flexible view - the ability to meet what is, from a different perspective. Combining mindfulness with movement also helps on the physical level, releasing the rigidity and automatic patterns the body holds.

One small piece of advice: be wary of magic solutions. Healing should be gradual and part of a process - it is inner work, and quick fixes can do harm. There is a way to be free, and I invite you to walk it together, the natural way.