What Happens to Your Brain When You Experience Trauma?
Traumatic experiences cause our brains to behave differently. Our elite stress response prepares and protects us in times of danger. However, when we endure a particularly nightmarish event (or series of events), that response can short-circuit.
Left unchecked, this malfunction can become a long-term issue, leading to debilitating conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). Until you confront, process, and resolve the trauma, you might struggle with fragmented memories, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, and more.
Learning about how trauma affects your brain is a great first step toward healing.
What Happens to Your Brain When You Experience Trauma?
Amygdala: This tiny structure is where you will process possible threats. It triggers the fight-or-flight response, but that reaction tapers off when the danger is gone. A trauma-impacted amygdala is hyperactive. This can leave you “stuck” in a state of high alert.
Hippocampus: This is where memories are formed and stress is regulated. A trauma survivor may experience a shrinking of the hippocampus, which allows the hyperactive amygdala to become more dominant.
Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): You might call this your area of executive function. When all is well, the PFC helps you control impulses, make decisions, and regulate emotions. Trauma impairs all of these crucial tasks and, once again, leaves room for the amygdala to establish an irrational environment.
How Do These Brain Changes Alter Your Perception, Behavior, and Beliefs?
Based on the information above, let's learn about what can become your brain’s new normal after a traumatic experience.
You grow jumpy, easily startled, and tense. Life feels like a daily battle in which you must stay perpetually prepared for trouble. Ultimately, your nervous system struggles to return to its baseline.
Memories become untrustworthy. As a result, you may forget entire segments of the experience or event that caused the trauma. Because what you remember is not stored in a healthy way, you're left susceptible to sudden unwanted flashbacks. You may even begin to doubt your own memory and your current perception of the event(s).
The worst-case scenario is your default setting. Every situation, no matter how mundane or benign, is fraught with fear. You simply expect the worst in everything you do.
You begin avoiding anything — people, places, and more — that may remind you of what you’ve gone through. Self-isolation is common as you start believing no one can possibly understand what you’ve been through or not wanting to be a burden to others.
You lose trust in others and may turn to self-medication to ease the pain and discomfort. Some people heavily rely on these measures just to get through the day.
The Body Holds Onto Trauma Until You Take Active Steps to Resolve It
It’s not just your mind that feels like it’s turned against you. PTSD and C-PTSD create daily, chronic stress. This will also take a physical toll. Unexplained symptoms may arise seemingly out of nowhere. From muscle tension to fatigue to digestive problems and beyond, the appearance of these symptoms only serves to add to the fear that the worst is about to happen.
So, What Next?
For starters, take heart in the dual reality that the help you need is available, and the trauma-based changes in your brain can be reversed. When you connect with a professional who is experienced in therapy for trauma, you take the first giant step toward recovery. Working together, you can recognize counterproductive patterns, identify your triggers, and move toward healing. I’d love to help make this happen for you. If you’re struggling due to PTSD or C-PTSD, I invite you to reach out and set up a free and confidential consultation as soon as possible.
