Why You’re Not Broken: The Science Behind Your Reactions to Trauma
After trauma, many people ask the same question: “What’s wrong with me?”
Why am I still on edge? Why do I overreact? Or why do I feel nothing at all? Why can’t I just “move on”?
The answer is important and deeply validating: you’re not broken. What you’re experiencing is your nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do.
Trauma Changes the Nervous System, Not Your Worth
Trauma is not defined solely by what happened, but by how your body and brain experienced it. When you’re exposed to overwhelming threat, danger, or loss, your nervous system shifts into survival mode.
This response is automatic and protective; not a conscious choice.
The brain areas responsible for detecting danger (such as the amygdala) become highly alert, while areas involved in reasoning, memory integration, and emotional regulation may go offline temporarily. This is why trauma can lead to:
Hypervigilance or constant anxiety
Emotional numbness or dissociation
Intrusive memories or flashbacks
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
Strong emotional reactions that feel out of proportion
These reactions are not signs of weakness. They are signs that your system learned how to survive.
Survival Responses Are Adaptive, Even When They Linger
Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses develop to protect you in moments of threat. When danger is ongoing or unresolved, these responses can remain activated long after the threat has passed.
What once kept you safe may now feel disruptive, but it doesn’t mean it was wrong. It means your nervous system hasn’t yet received the signal that it’s safe to stand down.
Healing involves helping the body relearn safety, not forcing yourself to “get over it.”
Why Trauma Feels So Confusing
Trauma often lives in the body more than in words. This is why you may intellectually understand that you’re safe, while your body reacts as if you’re not. Memory, sensation, and emotion can become fragmented, making your reactions feel unpredictable or disconnected from the present moment.
This disconnect can lead to shame or self-blame, but understanding the science behind trauma can replace judgment with compassion.
The Brain Is Changeable
One of the most hopeful truths about trauma is that the brain is capable of change throughout life. With the right support, your nervous system can learn new patterns of regulation, connection, and safety.
Trauma-informed therapy works not by erasing what happened, but by helping your body and mind integrate the experience in a way that no longer controls your present. Over time, reactions soften, emotional range returns, and a sense of choice and stability grows.
Healing Is Not About “Fixing” Yourself
You don’t need to be fixed, because you were never broken. Your reactions make sense in the context of what you lived through.
Healing is about understanding your nervous system, building safety from the inside out, and gently reclaiming parts of yourself that went into survival mode.
If you’re struggling after trauma, support can make a meaningful difference. Therapy offers a space where your experiences are understood, your reactions are normalized, and your healing unfolds at a pace that honors your resilience.
You are not broken. You are responding exactly as a human being would, and healing is possible.