How Trauma Rewires the Brain — and What It Takes to Heal
Trauma changes the brain — but not in the way some people think. It doesn’t break you; it protects you. 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 adaptive, not because we are defective.
Trauma and the Brain: Three Key Areas
When you’ve lived through repeated stress, your brain’s alarm system can get stuck on on.
Comments
Post a Comment