Trauma: The Role it Plays and how it Affects Us

Blog Post by Lucy Collins

Trauma refers to a highly emotional response to a distressing, negative or intense event that overwhelms a person's capacity to cope with life. Trauma is relative to each individual and it is not always the event itself that causes the size/intensity of a traumatic response, but how an individual interprets the event, that has a lasting effect. Quite often people assume that the definition of trauma refers to experiences such as being in a warzone, or catastrophic events, but for example two people may experience the same incident (e.g a car crash) one may be able to move on without being too affected, but the other may experience intense PTSD symptoms even years after the crash.

Traumatic events can range from childhood neglect or abuse to accidents, the loss of a loved one, repeated emotional invalidation or conflict etc. and can leave lasting imprints on both the mind and body. When a trauma occurs, we respond in one of three ways: Fight, Flight or Freeze/Faint, where we lose intellectual control and the body becomes hyper- focused on keeping us alive, so keeping us in that fear response. Moving forwards, this fear response then becomes our new automatic pattern whenever the trauma is re-triggered. We develop specific reactions or behaviours around things that remind us on an unconscious level of the past trauma, until the pattern is finally resolved and released on an unconscious and somatic level.

According to an article published by the National Library of Medicine:

 “Trauma, including one-time, multiple, or long-lasting repetitive events, affects everyone differently. Some individuals may clearly display criteria associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but many more individuals will exhibit resilient responses or brief subclinical symptoms or consequences that fall outside of diagnostic criteria. The impact of trauma can be subtle, insidious, or outright destructive. How an event affects an individual depends on many factors, including characteristics of the individual, the type and characteristics of the event(s), developmental processes, the meaning of the trauma, and sociocultural factors.”

Psychologically, trauma can distort our perception of safety, trust, and self-worth, leaving us feeling totally disempowered and helpless or a victim of our circumstances. It may lead to anxiety, depression, hypervigilance, or dissociation as the mind attempts to keep us safe due to potential recurring threat. The brain's stress response system becomes dysregulated, keeping us in a heightened state of alertness or emotional numbness long after the threat has passed, and this state can be triggered by a number of external factors as we move through life.

Unprocessed trauma can subtly dictate our behaviours, relationships, and even our perception of the world, leading to unhealthy views of ourselves and others. We may develop unconscious coping mechanisms such as emotional withdrawal, people-pleasing, perfectionism, substance use, or unhealthy relationships as ways to ‘protect’ ourselves from re-experiencing the original pain from past trauma. The ironic thing is that the mind is trying to protect us, but patterns of self-sabotage can often creep in and take over if we have not dealt with past trauma.

The 5 Unconscious Forces That Trigger Fear Responses

Beneath our conscious awareness lies a powerful network of unconscious influences that shape how we think, feel, and behave. These five core drivers often operate in the background, yet they play a profound role in every decision we make and every emotion we experience:

1.     Stress – The body's and mind’s natural response to external pressure or internal demand. It’s the physiological and psychological tension that arises when we feel overwhelmed, challenged, or threatened.

2.     Trauma – Unresolved emotional wounds from past experiences. These intense moments may have passed, but their emotional imprint lingers, often resurfacing in the present through re-triggering.

3.     Protective Mechanisms – Behaviours and mental states such as anxiety, depression, or procrastination that the mind develops to shield us from reliving past pain. Though often maladaptive, they are born out of a need for self-preservation.

4.     Emotional Triggers – Instinctive emotional responses to certain people, situations, or memories. These reactions—such as anger, sadness, fear, guilt, or hurt—can arise suddenly and powerfully, as in the case of road rage or unexpected tears.

5.     Limiting Beliefs – Deep-seated negative perceptions we hold about ourselves. These beliefs shape our self-image, influence our confidence, and ultimately restrict what we believe is possible for us.

Things that may trigger past unresolved trauma can include: tone of voice, facial expression, smells, similar situations or locations linked to past trauma, and can unexpectedly resurface emotional pain, throwing us back into a reactive state to our current circumstances. Over time, these patterns can limit our life is countless ways, however there is always hope...

Healing often begins with awareness in how we are currently suffering, followed by therapeutic support, additional practices like somatic therapy, self-regulation tools, hypnosis and the gradual rebuilding of inner safety and trust, along with a supportive external environment and community of safe people.

If you are interested in finding out more about how I might be able to support you moving forwards, and to find out more about how hypnotherapy works, contact me today for a free 15 minute discovery call or to book in for an Initial Consultation: lucy.collins@groundedchoicehypnotherapy.com