“Trauma” and “trauma responses” have become regularly used terms in the world of self-help and mental health—especially online. In fact, the TikTok hashtag #traumaresponse has millions of posts from therapists and independent creators. Many of these videos do accurately explain what trauma or trauma responses are, though many don’t, leaving those grappling with trauma and trauma responses more confused than ever.
In this blog, we’ll cover exactly what trauma and trauma responses are, including how to recognize if you’re experiencing a trauma response and how to cope and heal as best as you can.
What is trauma?
Trauma is a very broad term that can encompass lots of different experiences and reactions, so it’s no surprise that there is so much content surrounding the topic.
But in general, trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can happen at any point in life, in childhood or adulthood — and it impacts each of us differently. But regardless of the actual experience itself, Two Chairs therapist Joslyn Reisinger says trauma can be defined as a situation in which “A sense of someone’s security is broken.”
This broken sense of security can happen during a one-time event, like an accident, or it can be ongoing, like abuse or neglect.
In general, trauma can be:
- Acute: Acute trauma occurs typically within the first month of a single event trauma (a car accident, physical attack, etc.).
- Chronic: Chronic trauma arises from repeated and prolonged exposure to highly stressful events. It’s not just a one-time occurrence but something that happens over an extended period(chronic illness, war, neglect, homelessness, emotional abuse, etc.).
- Complex: Complex trauma is exposure to multiple, varied, and often interpersonal traumatic events, typically over a prolonged period. It usually involves harm, exploitation, or neglect from someone you depend on or trust (childhood abuse, repeated domestic violence, etc).
What is a trauma response?
As Joslyn explains, “A trauma response is an emotional or physical reaction to a stimulus that reminds you of a distressing event you once experienced. It’s a term that describes the way in which your body responds to a perceived danger or threat.”
Let’s break that down in order to better understand it.
Think of it this way: Your body has an amazing built-in alarm system uniquely designed to keep you safe. When you encounter danger, your brain activates this system and releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to help you survive. While this primal response is helpful when faced with real, immediate danger, it can be overwhelming when the threat is no longer present, but the body is still reacting as though there is.
So, when we experience sensory input (thoughts, feels, sights, sounds, etc.) similar to the traumatic experience, we can feel “triggered” — even if there isn’t a threat in front of us. The brain identifies the experience or input as similar to the initial trauma and wants to warn us of impending danger, even when there isn’t any. This then leads to emotional dysregulation, or an inability to control one’s own emotional reactions.
Trauma, though, does not impact all communities equally, says Joslyn.
“While we all have these built-in alarm and security systems, every person’s trauma reaction shows up differently, depending on who we are and the type of trauma we experienced or are currently experiencing.” Black, Native American, low-income, and rural populations, for example, suffer disproportionately from traumatic experiences and their devastating consequences.”
What's an example of a trauma response?
You might still be wondering: But what are trauma responses? And what do trauma responses in adults look like?
To really understand what a trauma response is, let’s take a look at an example.
Let’s imagine that Alex grew up in a small town where during his teenage years, he came out as gay. Unfortunately, his coming out was met with hostility and rejection. He was bullied at school, faced derogatory comments, and even experienced physical assault. This lack of personal safety was deeply traumatic for Alex.
Eventually, Alex left his hometown and surrounded himself with a supportive and loving community. Despite that, he continued to experience responses to trauma like:
- Avoidance: As an adult, Alex avoids large social situations, but isn’t sure why—he turns down invitations to family gatherings, high school reunions, and avoids certain public spaces where he previously experienced discrimination.
- Hypervigilance: Alex is always on high alert in public spaces, constantly scanning for signs of hostility or danger.
- Emotional numbness: Alex sometimes finds that he shuts down emotionally and has trouble expressing joy, sadness, or love, even with those he trusts.
- Intrusive thoughts: Alex frequently has intrusive thoughts and flashbacks of the bullying and harassment he faced. These thoughts can be triggered by something as simple as hearing a loud noise or seeing a news story about LGBTQIA+ discrimination.
Though Alex, in his adult life, is no longer experiencing bullying, his brain has adapted to protect him from any future pain. When he experiences similar input that reminds him of his experiences growing up — large crowds, hostility from strangers, vulnerability, etc. — a trauma response emerges.
It’s important to note that Alex, like a lot of adults with childhood trauma, may not label or recognize what they experience in childhood as traumatic, or realize that now, as adults, they are experiencing trauma reactions in response, Joslyn says.
“Because these adults have experienced trauma in their childhood, during such a formative time, their coping strategies have become part of their ‘normal’ everyday behaviors. Often, this makes coping and ‘recovering’ from trauma difficult.”
The impact of trauma on personal well-being
Trauma responses can be incredibly painful—if you’ve experienced trauma, you might often feel like you’re not in control of your emotions or behaviors. This lack of control and overwhelm can be incredibly burdensome and even impact our daily lives.
While the impact of trauma can vary widely, many people who have reactions to trauma struggle with:
- Work and productivity: Trauma responses can inhibit a person's ability to concentrate. Hypervigilance and emotional dysregulation can impair one’s ability to focus and perform effectively in a work or academic setting.
- Relationships: Avoidance behaviors and emotional dysregulation can strain relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners, leading to social isolation and feelings of loneliness.
- Physical health: Chronic stress resulting from trauma responses can contribute to physical health problems such as headaches, digestive issues, and compromised immune function.
- Self-care: Individuals may struggle to engage in self-care activities such as exercise, nutrition, and sleep hygiene due to the overwhelming nature of their trauma responses.
Recognizing trauma response behaviors
As we noted before, trauma responses are different for every person depending on who they are and their unique experiences. However, there are a few common responses to trauma that many people experience:
- Hypervigilance: Constantly being on high alert and overly aware of your surroundings, as if you’re expecting danger at any moment (frequently scanning your environment for threats, difficulty relaxing or feeling safe even in familiar or seemingly safe places, etc.).
- Avoidance: Steering clear of reminders of the trauma, whether they are places, people, activities, or even thoughts, avoiding certain locations, and steering clear of potentially triggering conversations, etc.).
- Intrusive thoughts and flashbacks: Unwanted and distressing memories of the traumatic event that intrude on your thoughts at any time (sudden, vivid memories, nightmares, etc.).
- Dissociation: A coping mechanism where you shut down emotionally to avoid feeling pain or distress (feeling detached or disconnected, difficulty experiencing joy, love, or other positive emotions, etc.)
- Emotional dysregulation: Persistent, often uncontrollable feelings of worry, fear, anger, etc., which are often disproportionate to the current situation (experiencing panic attacks or intense anxiety, having a short temper, feeling “on edge,” etc.).
- Self-destructive behaviors: Engaging in harmful behaviors as a way to cope with or numb the pain (substance abuse, self-harm, reckless behaviors, such as dangerous driving or risky sexual activity, etc.).
Types of trauma responses
Trauma can trigger a variety of responses. In general, reactions to trauma usually take on these six forms: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, Fine, and Faint.
- Fight: The urge to physically or emotionally fight to protect yourself in the face of perceived danger. Example: In response to any criticism, Alex might yell to protect himself.
- Flight: The urge to run, hide and or remove yourself from perceived danger. Example: Alex abruptly leaves a crowded mall to find safety.
- Freeze: An automatic shutdown to perceived danger where the person may literally freeze in place physically or mentally to protect themselves from perceived danger. Example: Alex feels paralyzed when he experiences an intrusive thought about his childhood experiences.
- Fawn: The urge to appease and please the person/source/stimuli of perceived danger to get it to stop. Example: Alex people-pleases friends in order to avoid rejection from them.
- Fine: Pretending everything is okay and self-denying trauma. Example: Alex says he’s fine to avoid discussing his trauma.
- Faint: Physically losing consciousness when exposed to a reminder of the event/trauma. Example: Alex sometimes faints in crowded areas.
How to work through trauma
Working through trauma and trauma responses can be both painful and scary. Dealing with trauma often requires us to face our biggest fears — ones that we’ve been avoiding knowingly or unknowingly throughout our entire lives.
Whether you've experienced acute, chronic, or complex trauma — either in adulthood or childhood — remember to be kind and gentle with yourself. Understanding the roots of your behaviors, and the experiences you endured, takes time, patience, and, most importantly, the help of a professional.
While the following list of strategies can be done independently, it’s highly recommended that you team up with a professional in order to avoid re-traumatization, or the reemergence of symptoms previously experienced as a result of the trauma.
Acknowledge your experience
As Joslyn says, “The first step is being able to identify when you are having a trauma response or signs that your body and nervous system are becoming activated.“
However, it’s important to note that acknowledging these experiences and behaviors might cause us to feel a range of emotions—sadness, anger, fear, confusion — and that’s okay. Give yourself permission to recognize and validate your feelings.
To help you acknowledge your feelings, try:
- Journaling: If you feel comfortable, write down your experience of what happened, how it made you feel, and any thoughts that come up. This can help you process your emotions and gain clarity.
- Engaging in mindfulness: Try specific meditation techniques to help slow your mind in order to let the emotions and thoughts around your trauma come to the surface.
Educate yourself
Understanding trauma and its effects can empower you on your healing journey. Knowledge can help demystify your experiences and reduce feelings of isolation.
Learning about trauma responses, coping mechanisms, and strategies for recovery, specifically, can be helpful.
To help educate yourself, engage in:
- Reading or listening: Read or listen to books or articles written by experts on trauma and resilience.
- Workshops and seminars: Attend workshops or webinars on trauma healing and emotional well-being.
Seek social support
You don’t have to navigate healing alone. In fact, healing alongside trusted family, friends, and loved ones can be one of the best ways to understand your trauma and heal.
To leverage social support in your healing journey, try:
- Reaching out to trusted friends and loved ones: Make a list of people you feel comfortable talking to about your trauma. Reach out to someone on your list and let them know you’d like to share.
- Joining a support group: Search for support groups either online or in person that deal with trauma.
Practice self-care
Taking care of yourself is crucial as you work through trauma reactions.
Self-care isn’t just about pampering — it’s about nurturing your physical, emotional, and mental well-being and doing activities that help you feel grounded and at peace.
To do this, try engaging in:
- Physical self-care: Take walks in nature, practice yoga or meditation, cook nutritious meals, etc.
- Emotional self-care: Try listening to calming music, taking up a new hobby, using positive self-talk, and practicing self-compassion.
Set boundaries
Trauma can affect your relationships and how you interact with others. Setting boundaries is essential for protecting your emotional well-being and creating a sense of safety.
Setting boundaries might look like:
- Saying no: Learning to say no to activities or requests that drain your energy or trigger negative emotions.
- Creating safe spaces: Establishing environments where you feel safe and comfortable, whether at home or in social settings.
- Limiting exposure: Reducing contact with people or situations that cause stress or remind you of the trauma.
Regulate your nervous system
Trauma can put the nervous system in a heightened state of alert, making it difficult to relax and feel safe.
To help regulate your nervous system, try:
- Breathing: Try methods like box breathing; Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts, and hold for 4 counts. This rhythmic breathing helps stabilize your heart rate and relax your mind.
- Grounding yourself: Identify five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This helps bring your focus back to the present moment.
- Sensory regulation: Use weighted blankets, aromatherapy, soothing sounds, or music.
Get professional support
While there are plenty of coping strategies you can use to deal with trauma responses on your own, therapy is one of the best ways to heal.
Without the help of a therapist, unresolved trauma can often continue, resulting in serious physical, psychological, and emotional consequences, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and even physical health complications. Plus, left untreated, a person may find themselves coping in “unhealthy” ways such as substance abuse, binge eating, or self-harm.
However, being in an established therapeutic relationship can help both reduce immediate trauma responses and future ones.
To get the right professional help:
- Look at certifications and skills: When seeking therapists, look for the phrase “trauma-informed or trauma certified” in the therapist’s bio.
- Ask questions: During your first session, ask potential therapists how they typically treat trauma or what their approach to working with trauma is.
Get matched: Above all, the best way to cope and heal with trauma is to be paired with a therapist who’s uniquely trained to help you. With Two Chairs’ science-backed matching process, you can take the stress and effort out of finding the right provider for you, and get support right away.
