How Trauma Lives Inside

If You're Reading This, You're Already Brave

I see you. Maybe you're curled up in bed at 2 AM, unable to sleep because your mind won't quiet. Maybe you're sitting in your car in a therapist's parking lot, hands shaking as you debate whether to go inside. Or perhaps you're having one of those "good days" where you almost feel normal, but you know the weight is still there, just beneath the surface.

Whatever brought you here, I want you to know something: The fact that you're seeking information about healing means you haven't given up on yourself. That's everything.

You might feel broken right now. You might wonder if you'll ever feel safe in your own skin again, or if you'll ever stop scanning every room for exits. Maybe you've been told to "just get over it" so many times that you've started to believe something is fundamentally wrong with you.

Here's what I need you to know: You are not broken. You are wounded, and wounds can heal.

Your Trauma Is Valid – All of It

Before we talk about healing, let's talk about something crucial: your experience matters, regardless of what happened to you.

Maybe your trauma feels "small" compared to others:

• "It was just emotional abuse – at least they never hit me"

• "Other people have been through worse"

• "I should be stronger than this"

• "It happened so long ago, I should be over it by now"

Stop right there. Trauma isn't a competition. Your nervous system doesn't care if someone else's experience seems "worse." If it hurt you, if it changed how you see yourself and the world, if it's affecting your daily life – it's valid, and it deserves attention and care.

Your inner child who learned to tiptoe around an alcoholic parent? Valid. The part of you that still flinches when someone raises their voice? Valid. The way your body freezes when someone touches you unexpectedly? Valid. The panic attacks that come out of nowhere? Valid.

All of it is valid.

What Trauma Actually Does to You (And Why You're Not Crazy)

Let me tell you something that might change everything: those symptoms you're experiencing? They're not character flaws. They're survival responses.

When trauma happens, your brain makes a split-second decision: survive at all costs. It floods your system with stress hormones, heightens your alert system, and creates neural pathways designed to keep you alive. The problem is, these systems don't always turn off when the danger is over.

So when you:

• Jump at sudden noises

• Feel anxious in crowds

• Have trouble trusting people

• Experience flashbacks or nightmares

• Feel disconnected from your body

• Struggle with intimacy

• Battle depression or anxiety

• Have trouble remembering parts of your past

Your brain is doing exactly what it was trained to do – protect you. But now it's time to teach it that you're safe.

The Day I Decided to Heal (And Why Your Day Matters Too)

I remember the moment I realized I couldn't keep living the way I was. I was standing in my kitchen, having a panic attack because I'd run out of milk. Not because the milk mattered, but because my nervous system was so dysregulated that the smallest disruption felt catastrophic.

I looked at myself in the reflection of my microwave – exhausted, jumpy, barely recognizing the person staring back – and thought, "This isn't living. This is just surviving."

Maybe you've had a moment like that too. Or maybe you're having it right now.

That moment – when you realize you deserve more than just surviving – that's when healing begins.