Trauma Manifesting in Daily Life: How to Break the Cycle!

Trauma Manifesting in Daily Life: How to Break the Cycle!  

In the best cases, we are only minimally exposed to trauma, with many protective measures in place. However, that’s not the case for many of us, and even more so if you are a human living under current political, economical and environmental instability. In that case, especially if unresolved, the effects of trauma are likely still showing up in your life. 

Trauma is not what happened, but rather how it happened. Its your nervous system’s response in the moment of an adverse situation. The belief that your life, or someone else’s life, was at risk, whether perceived or witnessed. Witnessing a stressful event can trigger a stress response, too.

Having words for the adverse situation can help with understanding and processing it. When we don't have the words, we might not have access to the specific memory of the event or situation. But the body and nervous system still hold the memories. 

How Trauma Presents Itself in Daily Life

Sometimes, trauma shows up as a knot in your throat. One that you force yourself to push down, convinced it doesn't really bother you. 

Feeling that punch in your gut after seeing something that reminds you of what happened.

The silent tears that roll down your face when no one sees you. Your tearful response appears to be how you react to anything and everything. 

The panic attack that catches you off guard and makes you hide because it feels like nobody will ever understand. 

All the words you cling to when feeling frustrated that you can’t truly express yourself. 

The intrusive images of the violence you witnessed, but because it didn’t happen to you, you tell yourself it shouldn't bother you. 

The shame of opening up about what you went through because people might see you differently. 

Wanting to trust your partner but feeling like you can’t turn to them when you need them most.

Intense emotions, or feeling numb. Feeling so angry, so frustrated, even over the smallest things.

Understanding the Trauma Cycle

I often hear people talk about experiencing the effects of trauma but blaming themselves for it. People often believe that they are the problem, that, surely, there’s something wrong with them. My job often involves helping people understand that they are responding appropriately to abnormal circumstances. This helps us find a way to progress toward repairing, regulating, and reprocessing the trauma. 

Trauma is complicated. It often traps us in shame, into the dark space where we believe we should have known better, done better, thought smarter, fought harder, spoken louder…

Trauma isn't only about what happened. Sometimes, it’s about what didn’t happen — like there being no one else to step in and protect us. 

Trauma is the feeling of brokenness that makes you believe you're not enough, that you don’t matter, and that you'll never get past it.

To understand how the trauma is still keeping us stuck, we need to understand the triggers, or reminders, that continue to activate the stress response. It can be a smell, a sense of feeling unsafe, a word, a place, a person…

It is also useful to understand how your nervous system reacts to stress. Are you freezing, fleeing, fighting, or frowning? These responses can change depending on the stressors. All normal responses to abnormal situations! In therapy, we help you recognize this, and oftentimes it leads us to a state of gratitude for how these responses protect us.

Because humans are amazing, our bodies tend to find ways to help us feel safe from stress. We often develop coping skills to help us exit the stress response. While not always healthy, coping skills often help us survive. Some examples include drinking, excessive working, and substance abuse—things that provide temporary relief. 

The relief is often accompanied by feelings of shame, which are a hallmark of trauma. It sustains the cycle and keeps us stuck in the belief that we're the problem. 

How to Interrupt the Cycle

A life stuck in trauma feels draining, hopeless, and joyless. Trauma takes away your focus on the present and the opportunity for a different future. However, it doesn't have to stay that way. Trauma experiences can be transformed into more neutral or even positive memories, freeing us from the toxic trauma cycle. We can help you understand your stress response, triggers, and nervous system response, and break out of that negative cycle. Yes, there is a way to move past trauma. 

We have tools like Eye Movement Reprocessing and Desensitizationus resolve traumatic experiences. (EMDR) that are proven to help. This doesn't mean you'll suddenly forget what happened, but it does mean you'll develop a more organized and integrated perspective. 

EMDR helps the brain and nervous system reprocess stressful experiences that have caused negative reactions, resulting in reduced symptoms and a better quality of life.

Safety is a key part of trauma work. In therapy, we can manage many factors to keep it safe. That’s why choosing the right therapist is so important.  

Effective trauma therapy encourages you to connect with your body, mind, and spirit. It fosters a connection with yourself and others without forcing you to relive the trauma or push through the symptoms. 

While understanding is important, learning new responses helps us rewire our brains as we adopt safety as an embodied state. 

Trauma Therapy at Blue Mist Psychotherapy

At Blue Mist Psychotherapy, we focus on trauma-centered therapy in a caring, non-judgmental setting. Our approach respects your pace and understands that trauma recovery is not a straight line. We prioritize safety. We hold your story from an empowered perspective, where you decide how you’d like to define it.

Whether trauma manifests as anxiety, emotional numbness, relationship issues, or chronic stress, trauma therapy can help you feel more grounded, connected, and in control of your responses.

We understand that you are not your trauma. That you are an amazing human who has had to endure difficult situations, but you are not defined by them. We don’t assign blame. We help you break generational cycles and transform them into generational healing that you can pass down. What a gift to your loved ones!

Reach out today! We are ready and honored to join you in this journey!

Here to support you!

-Julissa

The following content is intended solely for learning and educational purposes.  It is not meant to replace the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider(s). We recommend discussing any treatment or care decisions with your healthcare provider. The mention of any product, service, or therapy does not imply endorsement by Blue Mist Psychotherapy PLLC.