Trauma’s repercussions ricochet throughout the body, affecting us both mentally and physically. While we may be aware of the mental and emotional changes, it is equally important to pay attention to physical symptoms following a traumatic event. If you are experiencing any of the effects outlined by the experts in this article after a traumatic incident, you may want to consider speaking with your own therapist.
How trauma can affect the body physically
“Most of the physiological damage of trauma occurs due to the body being stuck in hyper- and hypo-arousal—fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode,” says Beverly Hills, CA, clinical psychologist Deniz Ahmadinia, PsyD. “Chronic stimulation of the stress response results in elevated levels of cortisol and adrenaline. These somatic changes have a significant impact on our health.”
According to New York psychologist Olivia Verhulst, until healing work is completed, the body will struggle to discriminate between prior trauma and new conditions. This can lead to heightened anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and difficulty in forming healthy relationships. It’s essential to address and process these past experiences to enable the body and mind to respond appropriately to present situations. “Physical symptoms can include increased heart rate, headaches, chronic pain, and feeling on edge.” According to Dr. Ahmadinia, trauma may cause “armoring or chronic muscle tightness, shallow or incomplete breathing, digestive disorders, sleep difficulties from being over-activated, weight gain, and difficulty feeling relaxed and grounded in the body.”
The mental impact of trauma
Trauma affects both the mind and the body. Verhulst explains that during a traumatic experience, the brain’s amygdala—which detects danger—becomes hyperactive. Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex, the reasoning part of the brain, functions less effectively. “After the event, it’s difficult for the body to return to normal, as it generally does after even mildly stressful situations. For example, after a stressful interview, the brain may react to subsequent stimuli in the same way it did during the trauma because the amygdala overgeneralizes risks,” she explains.
The psychological consequences of trauma vary from person to person. Broadly speaking, “Complex trauma—exposure to multiple traumatic events, often of an interpersonal nature, occurring over an extended period—can result in issues including emotional dysregulation, negative core beliefs about the self, and relationship difficulties,” according to Verhulst. It also affects our ability to trust, she adds.
Traumatic events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Verhulst describes PTSD symptoms as hypervigilance, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, emotional distress, and avoidance behaviors. It’s important to remember that not all trauma results in PTSD.
Dr. Ahmadinia adds that traumatic experiences can also lead to “re-experiencing the trauma through memories (emotional and somatic), flashbacks, nightmares, fear, anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional numbness, difficulty concentrating, anger, irritability, guilt, shame, hopelessness, panic attacks, self-destructive behaviors, feeling disconnected from others, loss of sense of self, social isolation, and avoidance.”
Healing trauma
“The first step in working through trauma is recognizing that what you experienced was traumatic for you,” says Dr. Ahmadinia. From there, you can seek education, information, resources, and expert support. “When possible, working with a mental health professional who has specialized training in trauma is highly recommended to help determine the best approach and treatment plan for you.”
Experts may recommend evidence-based treatments. According to Dr. Ahmadinia, this could include Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and, with emerging support, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). “The field is increasingly embracing more holistic, mind-body modalities to address the impact of trauma on the body,” she adds. Dr. Ahmadinia discusses somatic and mindfulness-based therapies, as well as non-Western healing traditions such as yoga, Qigong, and Tai Chi.
