What is Trauma?

What is Trauma?

Trauma is a response to an event that overwhelms a human's capacity to cope. If you are considering trauma treatment, it is important to note that your trauma is not who you are, it is what happened to you. And, even more precisely, it is what is still happening inside of your brain in response to what happened to you. It is a normal reaction of your brain to the situation you were in. 

The unprocessed memories and feelings associated with trauma tend to be stored in the emotion center of the brain (the limbic system) in a "raw" and emotional form, rather than in a verbal “story” mode. The brain starts paying more attention to fearful or threating situations and seeing danger where other people do not. Your ability to live in the present and learn from new experiences can be compromised because trauma changes the brain from a learning curious brain to a survival brain. It splits mind and body as the brain is consumed by the past.