What Is Resilience, Really? Sometimes, the word resilience can feel like a trigger — as if someone is saying, focus on the character you’re building. But let’s be honest: hard times are hard. They can be profoundly discouraging and disorienting, especially when you’re still trying to make sense of what happened. Resilience and trauma recovery are not about pretending things are okay or “bouncing back” as if nothing changed. Resilience is about adapting — finding ways to keep going through profound difficulty. Sometimes, that means things may feel worse before they feel better, as you begin to pick up the pieces and help your brain and body understand that you’re no longer in danger. There are many ways a person can “bounce back” after a profoundly stressful or traumatic experience — and they’re all valid. The goal is to return to a sense of stability: where you’re no longer triggered, dissociative, or constantly scanning for danger. But not being there yet doesn’t mean you lac...

Trauma changes the brain — but not in the way some people think. In this post from the Resolve to Rise series, we’ll explore how trauma reshapes the brain for survival, what neuroscience reveals about those changes, and how healing can help you rewire your brain for calm, safety, and connection. Why Does Trauma Impact the Brain? When trauma happens, your brain doesn’t fail you — it protects you. It rewires itself for survival, even if that means staying on high alert long after the danger has passed. Just as a fever helps fight infection, your brain and body activate certain regions and quiet others in response to threat. Stress hormones surge, heart rate increases, and attention narrows — all designed to keep you safe. This is wisdom at work. Your body knows how to protect you. But when the danger is repeated or prolonged, the brain learns to stay on alert — even when the threat is gone. That’s why emotional regulation, focus, and memory can feel harder. We struggle because we are a...

  Healing from trauma isn’t linear. It doesn’t happen in a neat, step-by-step checklist or through one sudden breakthrough. Trauma recovery is about being intentional — taking small, compassionate steps that calm your nervous system, rebuild resilience, and open the path forward. The Resolve to Rise Roadmap was created to honor this truth. It’s not about erasing the past, but about walking through it with intention — a rhythm you can return to again and again as your capacity grows. The Truth About Healing “Healing doesn’t have to involve reliving the memories.” For many trauma survivors, the thought of revisiting memories feels overwhelming. So instead, they work around the impacts — numbing, pretending things are better than they are, or pushing the pain away. This response is natural. It’s your brain and body trying to protect you. But trauma healing doesn’t always mean diving into the past. The real work begins by finding rest for your nervous system. Your body adapted to pro...