When we think of trauma, we often focus on memory, emotion and the mind alone. But trauma also lives in the body and the nervous system. In the private practice of Newland Therapy, we recognise how deeply trauma can affect the full person — mind, body, nervous system — and how understanding this can bring hope for healing. Below are five insights grounded in science about trauma and how you can begin the journey toward regulation, safety and healing.
1. Trauma lives in the body, not just the mind
Trauma doesn’t only live in your mind — it also lives in your body. Even when the event happened long ago, your nervous system can still respond as though the danger is present. That’s why small, seemingly random triggers can create outsized emotional or physical reactions. Research on autonomic nervous system regulation in trauma shows persistent dysregulation long after the event.
2. Trauma can affect memory
Trauma can change how your memory works. The hippocampus, which functions as the brain’s “memory organizer,” may become altered in people with PTSD or trauma histories. As a result, memories can feel out of order, jumbled, or as if they are happening now instead of in the past.
3. The brain prioritises survival over logic
When your nervous system senses danger, your brain shifts into survival mode. The prefrontal cortex (responsible for logic, reasoning, decision‐making) tends to down‑regulate, while the amygdala (the brain’s threat detector) dominates. This helps explain why trauma responses can feel illogical — because they are not designed to be logical, they are designed to protect.
4. Chronic trauma can shift your nervous system’s baseline
If your body lives for extended periods in fight, flight, freeze or fawn states, it can come to view those as its “normal.” This means that calm, safety and regulation may feel unfamiliar or even unsafe. Recognising that this is a physiological shift — not a personal failure — is key to recovery.
5. Healing is possible: the power of neuroplasticity
Healing takes time — but the good news is your brain and body are designed for adaptation: this is neuroplasticity. With consistent practice, compassionate support, and nervous‐system‐aware therapeutic work, your nervous system can learn what safety feels like again. The survival responses you developed were learned — and they can be unlearned.
What this means for your healing journey
- You are not too sensitive or overreacting. Your system is doing the job it knows how to do.
- Learning why triggers happen can help reduce shame and self‑judgment.
- Nervous system regulation matters: grounding, breathwork, somatic therapies, and working with a trauma‑informed therapist all assist.
- You can feel safe in your body again — but it takes time, patience and support.
At Newland Therapy, we honour both mind and body in trauma healing. If you find yourself surprised by strong reactions, disconnected from your body, stuck in survival patterns long after an event, please know: you are not alone — healing is possible. Let’s explore trauma‑informed support together.
References
Peckham, H. (2023). Introducing the neuroplastic narrative: A non‑pathologizing biological foundation for trauma‑informed and adverse childhood experience aware approaches. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1103718. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1103718 Frontiers
Cross, D., Fani, N., Powers, A., & Bradley, B. (2019). Neurobiological development in the context of childhood trauma. PMC 6428430. https://doi.org/10.3349/PMC6428430 PMC
StatPearls. (2024). Neuroplasticity – adaptive structural and functional brain changes. NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557811/ NCBI
“You don’t have to be broken forever — the brain can change.” (2024). In Sabino Recovery. https://www.sabinorecovery.com/rewiring‑the‑brain‑after‑trauma/ Sabino Recovery