What is Trauma?

Understanding The Impact of Trauma on the Mind and Body

January 10, 2025

At Goodsky , we view trauma as a profound force behind most mental health challenges. By understanding trauma’s effects on both the mind and body, we can approach healing from a foundational level, working to build resilience from the ground up. Trauma is not simply a difficult experience; it’s an experience that can fundamentally alter how a person perceives, feels, and interacts with the world. This whole-body approach has helped us see that trauma isn’t just psychological—it manifests physically, emotionally, and mentally, often in ways people don’t expect.

Defining Trauma: More Than Just a Difficult Experience

Trauma is the body’s reaction to an overwhelmingly distressing event or a series of events. Unlike stress, which the body can manage and recover from, trauma leaves a lasting mark, shaping how a person experiences the world. Trauma doesn’t stem just from extreme situations; it can develop from various incidents. Some people may experience trauma from a single event, while others may endure chronic or complex trauma from repeated experiences over time. Experts often distinguish between three primary types of trauma:

Acute Trauma: Usually the result of a single, intense event like an accident, assault, or sudden loss.
Chronic Trauma: Develops from prolonged exposure to distressing situations, such as ongoing abuse, neglect, or living in an unstable environment.
Complex Trauma: Results from repetitive, intense experiences, often relational, such as childhood abuse or other sustained harm within close relationships.

Understanding trauma as multi-faceted allows us to appreciate why individuals respond differently to similar situations. Trauma-informed care is essential, as it respects the unique effects trauma has on each person. At Goodsky, we aim to get to the core of a person’s experiences, acknowledging that trauma impacts each individual uniquely and demands a highly personalised approach.

The Body’s Reaction: How Trauma Manifests Physically

Trauma triggers a whole-body response that is both psychological and physiological. When someone encounters a traumatic event, the body responds in what’s often referred to as the “fight-or-flight” mode. This reaction releases stress hormones, increases heart rate, and prepares the person to respond to the immediate threat. But when the trauma is severe or prolonged, the body may become “stuck” in this heightened state, even long after the event. So what is happening to the body during a stress response:

1. Stress Hormones: In a traumatic event, the body releases cortisol and adrenaline to help us deal with the immediate threat. If this state persists, chronic exposure to these hormones can affect immune function, digestion, and even cognitive health.

2. Nervous System Activation: The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is activated in moments of danger, causing increased heart rate and faster breathing. Following a traumatic experience, some individuals’ nervous systems remain overactive, which can lead to physical symptoms such as digestive issues, sleep disorders, and chronic pain.

The “F” Responses to Trauma

Reactions to trauma are often classified into five main responses: fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and flop. These are survival mechanisms activated in times of danger and can become lasting responses in people with unresolved trauma.

Fight: Confronting or pushing against perceived threats, which can manifest as aggression or defensiveness.
Flight: Avoiding trauma reminders, either physically or mentally, which often leads to patterns of avoidance or withdrawal.
Freeze: A response that can lead to feeling “stuck” or paralysed. Many trauma survivors experience this response through dissociation or numbness.
Fawn: People-pleasing to defuse potential conflicts. This response is especially common among those who’ve endured relational trauma, like abuse.
Flop: When faced with overwhelming stress or danger, some individuals may respond with a “flop” reaction, becoming passive, mentally shutting down, or physically collapsing. This response, similar to “playing dead,” can leave people feeling helpless, disengaged, or disconnected.

In our bottom-up approach to trauma, we recognise these bodily responses as key areas for treatment. Healing from trauma requires re-regulating the nervous system and gently guiding it back to a state of calm and safety, allowing the individual to process their experiences without remaining in a constant state of alert. A customised plan drawing on a wide range of treatment types can effectively address these physical responses and promote holistic healing. This is especially beneficail when traditional methods, like talk therapy and medication, are not working.

The Brain’s Role: Trauma and Mental Health

Trauma fundamentally changes the brain, especially areas like the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. These regions, essential for emotion regulation, memory processing, and decision-making, can become altered, leading to symptoms often seen in conditions like PTSD, anxiety, and depression. These changes include:

Amygdala: Known as the brain’s “fear centre,” the amygdala detects threats. After trauma, this area can remain hyperactive, leaving individuals feeling anxious or on-edge, often without understanding why.
Hippocampus: Responsible for memory, the hippocampus often shrinks in trauma survivors, resulting in vivid, fragmented memories that intrude on daily life. This is a core feature in conditions like PTSD, where traumatic memories replay repeatedly.
Prefrontal Cortex: Handling rational thinking and impulse control, trauma can diminish the prefrontal cortex’s functioning, affecting concentration, impulse control, and emotional regulation.

At Goodsky, we integrate trauma-focused therapies that help stabilise these brain regions and work toward emotional regulation. By understanding these changes in brain structure, we can support individuals to process their experiences, manage triggers, and regain a sense of control in their lives.

Trauma Beyond the Individual:
Intergenerational Trauma

Trauma doesn’t just affect the individual; it can pass down through families. Known as intergenerational trauma or generational trauma, this phenomenon occurs when unresolved trauma impacts children and even grandchildren of those who originally experienced it. Trauma experienced by one generation can subtly or overtly shape family dynamics, parenting styles, and emotional health, creating cycles of trauma within families and communities. Healing intergenerational trauma involves recognising these patterns and addressing their root causes, helping families move toward healthier, more resilient relationships.

The Impact of Childhood Trauma

Childhood trauma, whether through neglect, abuse, or a lack of emotional security, can leave a lasting impact on an individual’s mental and physical health. Experiencing trauma in formative years disrupts healthy brain and body development, making children vulnerable to issues such as low self-esteem, anxiety, and difficulty forming relationships later in life. At Goodsky, we believe it’s essential to understand and address childhood trauma in a safe and supportive environment.

For those interested, our online childhood trauma test can provide insights into how early experiences may still be influencing their present lives. This is a helpful first step for those seeking to understand how past trauma may be affecting their mental health today.

Take The FREE Online Childhood Trauma Test

If your childhood involved difficult experiences, the online ACE test may provide further insights into how these might be impacting your mental health today.

Take The ACE Test →

Take The FREE Online
PTSD Test

If you’ve experienced trauma, consider taking the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) to assess potential PTSD symptoms. This self-report measure evaluates the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms.

Take The PCL 5 Test →

Trauma-Informed Care:
An Approach Rooted in Understanding

Trauma-informed care is an approach that prioritises understanding and empathy. It recognises that trauma affects each individual differently, and that healing requires a supportive environment that respects their unique needs. At Goodsky, our trauma-informed approach is central to our philosophy, providing a safe, compassionate space where clients can explore their trauma without judgment. This form of care acknowledges the whole person—their physical, mental, and emotional health—allowing for a truly holistic healing journey.

Hope and Resilience: Healing from Trauma

Understanding trauma and its wide-reaching effects is the first step toward healing. At Goodsky, we believe in the power of resilience and the potential for every individual to find relief from trauma’s hold. Recovery is possible, and by using our bottom-up approach—addressing trauma at its core level in the body and mind—we offer a path to a more balanced, fulfilling life. Trauma may shape one’s experience, but it doesn’t have to define one’s life. With support, the right tools, and a compassionate approach, individuals can find hope and healing.

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GOODSKY BOOK LAUNCH

Healing Trauma at a Cellular Level

Goodsky’s co-founder, Greg Doney, draws on over 10 years of experience working with Goodsky clients to share his profound insights in Healing Trauma at a Cellular Level. This groundbreaking book combines his expertise with cutting-edge science to reveal how trauma impacts the mind and body—and how personalised healing can restore balance and resilience.