Trauma can make you feel on edge, easily startled, or constantly braced for something bad to happen. You might also feel numb, disconnected, or detached — like you’re watching your life from the outside. Sleep and concentration often suffer. Your body might feel heavy or tense, and your energy levels may fluctuate between restlessness and exhaustion.
Healing from trauma means helping both the mind and body relearn what safety feels like. My approach blends evidence-based CBT with gentle holistic practices that regulate the nervous system and help you reconnect with yourself at a pace that feels grounded and supportive.
Understanding Trauma Through a Cognitive Behavioral Lens
Understanding Trauma Through a Cognitive Behavioral Lens
Understanding Trauma Through a Cognitive Behavioral Lens
Trauma can shift how you think, feel, and interpret the world. When something overwhelming happens, the brain may start associating certain memories or sensations with danger, even long after you’re safe. The protective part of your mind becomes overly reactive while the calmer, logical part struggles to step in — creating a trauma response cycle where emotional and physical reactions reinforce each other:
- A reminder or sensation triggers a surge of fear or tension.
- Your body reacts with hypervigilance, overwhelm, or shutdown.
- You may avoid certain places, feelings, or memories to protect yourself.
- The temporary relief reinforces the sense of danger, keeping trauma “alive.”
This cycle can lead to intrusive memories, self-blame, numbness, or feeling unsafe. CBT helps you understand these as survival responses and gently shift them. Gradual exposure allows your system to relearn: “I can handle this. I am safe now.”
Understanding Trauma Through a Holistic Lens
Understanding Trauma Through a Cognitive Behavioral Lens
Understanding Trauma Through a Cognitive Behavioral Lens
The body often carries trauma just as deeply as the mind does. Stressful experiences can keep you stuck in survival mode, leading to tension, numbness, or disconnection. From a holistic perspective, shifts in breath, digestion, and energy reveal how safe or unsafe your body feels — creating a mind–body cycle where emotional and physical reactions reinforce each other:
- The body senses danger and moves into fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown.
- You may feel detached from yourself or your surroundings as a protective response.
- Physical symptoms like tension, heaviness, restlessness, or numbness become familiar.
- The body stays “on alert,” making it hard to feel calm, grounded, or present.
Over time, this can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Holistic practices like grounding, breathwork, somatic awareness, and gentle movement help your body relearn calm and move out of survival mode so you can feel more present and connected.