It's a quiet morning, and you’re sipping your coffee, thinking about all the things you have to do today. Suddenly, a loud noise from the street sends a jolt through your body. Your heart starts racing, your palms sweat, and for a moment, you’re brought back to a place of danger and fear. This is the unseen effects of trauma, gripping your daily life, influencing your reactions, thoughts, and feelings in ways you might not even realize.
How Trauma Affects Our Daily Lives
Trauma, whether from a single event or prolonged exposure, can leave a lasting imprint. The effects of trauma can linger in our bodies as unreleased emotions, or express themselves as anxiety and depression.
Emotional Turmoil
Trauma can trigger intense emotions. We can have feelings during or after experiencing trauma [1]:
- Anger
- Numbness
- Loss of identity
- Fear
- Grief
- Worry
- Irritability
- Confusion
- Restlessness
- Lack of direction
- Hypervigilance
- Shame
These emotional reactions can surface unexpectedly, making it difficult to navigate daily interactions and responsibilities. Even a simple disagreement at work might spiral you into overwhelming anxiety or an intense anger outburst.
Physical Symptoms
The body can also respond to trauma with physical symptoms.
- Headaches
- Body pains
- Shaking
- Fatigue
- Sweating
- Changes in how we eat
- Memory loss
- Dizziness
- Changes in vision
These symptoms are not just “in your head” but manifestations of your body’s stress response. For instance, someone with trauma might experience debilitating migraines whenever they feel threatened or stressed.
Mental Strain
Aside from emotional and physical symptoms, trauma can also lead to mental health conditions such as PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and CPTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). It can also make us more vulnerable to developing mental health problems including anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, and more.
Long-Term Effects of Trauma
Meme from CHEEZburger (2024)
The long-term effects of trauma are profound and multifaceted, often interweaving into various aspects of your life. From developing mental health conditions and physical symptoms, to difficulty with day-to-day aspects of your life including [2]:
- Self-care
- Maintaining a job
- Trusting others
- Making decisions
- Coping with change
How Our Bodies Respond to Danger After Trauma
Our bodies are incredibly adaptive, and after experiencing trauma, they often remain in a heightened state of alertness known as hypervigilance. When we feel threatened or stressed, our bodies naturally release two hormones – cortisol and adrenaline. It’s the body’s way of preparing to respond to danger and can react with [3]:
- Freeze – feeling unable to move
- Flop – doing what you're told without protest
- Fight – fighting, struggling, protesting
- Flight – running or hiding
- Fawn – trying to please the one harming you
Our bodies can be in these states long after we experience trauma. If a situation reminds you of your trauma, it can affect how you think, feel, and even behave.
Confronting My Trauma
My trauma, and I’m sure most people can relate to this, feels like a brick wall built piece by piece, like a game of Jenga. As you try to unpack it during the healing process, it feels like the whole thing will topple over at any moment. Burnout drastically changed my day-to-day life. I was forced to look at not only the immediate reasons for my burnout but also the unhealed trauma that had contributed to it.
From the parentification I experienced as a child to the hyper-individualism and independence I adopted as survival techniques, I found it hard to allow others, including my partner, to help me. I felt like a child again, learning new habits and coping skills from scratch.
My partner gladly pushed his own experiences to the side to support me, giving me the time and grace I needed to start healing. We weren’t perfect, and our negative coping skills often surfaced. But, this allowed me the space needed to learn emotional regulation, to let go of some of my hyper-independence, and to trust that I could rely on him for support. In turn, this experience strengthened our relationship, allowing me to be there for my partner when he needed support.
Healing from trauma requires patience, understanding, and the willingness to lean on others. By confronting my trauma and learning to trust and rely on my partner, I was able to rebuild my life with a stronger foundation.
Effects of Trauma
Trauma’s impact on your daily life is profound, influencing emotions, physical health, and mental well-being. Understanding these effects and recognizing the symptoms are the first steps towards healing. It’s essential to acknowledge that healing from trauma is a journey, one that requires patience, compassion, and often professional support.
References
[1] Department of Health & Human Services. (2001, June 14). Trauma - reaction and recovery. Better Health Channel. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/trauma-reaction-and-recovery
[2] Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US). Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2014. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 57.) Chapter 3, Understanding the Impact of Trauma. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/
[3] Effects of trauma. Mind. (n.d.). https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/trauma/effects-of-trauma/