The Impact of Trauma on the Nervous System and How to Cope

The nervous system is designed to protect us. It continuously scans for potential threats and automatically prepares the body to respond, often before we are consciously aware of it.

Traumatic experiences can significantly disrupt the normal function of the nervous system, leading to symptoms like hypervigilance, anxiety, and flashbacks.

Recovery involves understanding the nervous system's response to trauma, developing self-regulation skills, and most importantly processing traumatic experiences with appropriate support.

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Understanding the Nervous System

The autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary bodily functions like heart rate, breathing, and digestion. It is divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which have opposing effects on bodily functions.

The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for mobilizing the body for action (the fight, flight, freeze, fawn response) while the parasympathetic nervous system supports rest, recovery, and conservation of energy (rest and digest response)

Trauma can change how quickly and intensely the nervous system responds to perceived danger.

• Trauma and Sympathetic Nervous System:

  Trauma can trigger a chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system, leading to a persistent state of stress and arousal. This can manifest as heightened anxiety, difficulty relaxing, and physical symptoms like increased heart rate and blood pressure. 

• Trauma and Parasympathetic Nervous System:

  In response to trauma, the parasympathetic nervous system, which normally helps regulate stress and promote relaxation, may become dysregulated or suppressed. This can lead to difficulty returning to a calm state, digestive issues, and other physical symptoms. 

The imbalance and dysregulation of the ANS caused by trauma can have significant consequences on overall health, including increased risk of cardiovascular problems, digestive disorders, and weakened immune function. 

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How Trauma Shows up in the Nervous System

1. Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn Responses:

When faced with a threat, the nervous system automatically activates survival responses designed to increase the chances of staying safe.

Fight: Confronting or defending against a threat.

Flight: Escaping or moving away from a threat.

Freeze: Becoming still or shutting down when fighting or escaping is not possible.

Fawn: Attempting to reduce danger by appeasing, accommodating, or prioritizing others.

These responses are automatic and can be lifesaving during dangerous situations. After trauma, they may become activated more easily or continue long after the original threat has passed, contributing to symptoms such as hypervigilance, anxiety, emotional shutdown, or people-pleasing.

2. Chronic Dysregulation:

Trauma can cause the nervous system to become dysregulated, meaning it has difficulty moving flexibly between states of activation and rest. Instead, it may become stuck in patterns of hyperarousal or shutdown, making it harder to regulate emotions, think clearly, or return to a state of calm and safety.

3. Emotional and Cognitive Changes:

Trauma can affect attention, concentration, memory, decision-making, and emotional regulation. Many people find themselves becoming easily overwhelmed, forgetting information, struggling to focus, or reacting more strongly to everyday stressors as the nervous system prioritizes detecting potential threats over higher-level thinking.

4. Long-Term Health Issues:

Trauma can also impact other areas of the body, potentially affecting the digestive system, immune system, and sleep patterns leading to increased stress, inflammation, illness and higher risk of poor outcomes. (Learn more about ACES here) 

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Active Recovery

Supporting your nervous system involves two equally important processes: symptom management and learning skills that help regulate the nervous system in the present, and processing and integration of traumatic experiences so they dont continue to trigger the same survival responses.

While self-regulation techniques can help reduce distress and improve day-to-day functioning, trauma-informed therapies can support deeper healing by addressing the underlying impact of trauma.

1. Self-Regulation Techniques Practices like mindfulness, deep breathing, and spending time in nature can support stabilization after trauma and also help activate the parasympathetic nervous system and promote relaxation.

Coping skills that can help:

Tending to Physical Needs: Meeting your body's basic needs can help support nervous system regulation. This may be as simple as noticing when you're thirsty, hungry, tired, need to use the bathroom, move your body, or allow yourself to cry rather than pushing those needs aside.

Coregulation: Sharing between two people (usually a caregiver and child, but it can apply to any relationship) to work together to help each other regulate their emotions and behaviours.

Grounding: Orienting to your environment, body scans, gentle movements of the eyes or neck, restorative yoga, and light stretching can help you reconnect with your body and bring attention back to the present moment.

Deep Breathing: Deep, slow breathing exercises can help calm the nervous system and promote a sense of safety and relaxation. Some examples include Box Breathing, Diaphragmatic Breathing, Alternate Nostril Breathing and Extended Exhales.

Mindfulness and Meditation: Practicing mindfulness and meditation can help individuals become more aware of their body sensations and thoughts, allowing them to better manage their emotional and physical responses to trauma. 

Physical Activity: Engaging in more vigorous physical activity, particularly exercise that involves both arms and legs, can help release built-up tension and support the completion of the body's natural stress response (especially for fight and flight). Sensory Regulation: Using calming sensory input to help your nervous system feel safer, such as wrapping up in a blanket, holding a warm drink, listening to calming music, reducing bright lights or loud noise, or spending time in nature. Predictable Routines: Creating simple routines around meals, sleep, movement, or daily activities can provide your nervous system with a greater sense of stability and predictability.

Self-Compassion: Self-criticism and shame can reinforce feelings of threat and keep the nervous system activated. Recognizing your trauma responses as adaptive attempts to stay safe can help foster greater understanding and compassion toward yourself. Spending Time in Nature: Even brief periods outdoors, such as walking in a park or sitting quietly in nature, may promote a greater sense of calm and wellbeing.

2. Trauma-informed therapies Therapies such as trauma-informed talk therapy, DBR, EMDR and somatic experiencing, also support nervous system regulation but their main aim is to resolve the traumatic experiences that continue to drive those responses.

Processing and integrating these experiences in therapy reduces the need for the nervous system to remain in a chronic state of protection.

Therapies that can help :

Deep Brain Reorienting: DBR works with the structures of the brain involved in storing, processing and consolidating traumatic memory and deep attachment wounds. Namely, the brain stem and mid-brain regions.

Trauma-Informed Talk Therapy: Working with a therapist who is trauma-informed can provide a safe and supportive space for individuals to explore their experiences and develop coping mechanisms. 

Somatic Experiencing: This approach focuses on releasing tension stored in the body through gentle movements and body awareness exercises

Expressive Arts Therapy/ Art Therapy: Using creative mediums like drawing, painting, colouring, and sculpture can support processing and integration of traumatic events while also building self-regulation and co-regulation skills.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): This therapy helps process traumatic memories by using eye movements and other stimuli to desensitize and reprocess those memories, says Counselling in Alberta. 

Support Groups: Connecting with others who have experienced a similar loss or trauma can provide a sense of community and shared experience, helping individuals feel less alone and more supported

If trauma continues to affect your daily life, working with a trauma-informed therapist can help you understand how your nervous system has adapted and identify evidence-based approaches that support recovery.

Please reach out for support here.

References:

Beutler, S., Mertens, Y. L., Ladner, L., Schellong, J., Croy, I., & Daniels, J. K. (2022). Trauma-related dissociation and the autonomic nervous system: a systematic literature review of psychophysiological correlates of dissociative experiencing in PTSD patients. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 13(2).

Harvard Health. (2024, April 3). Understanding the stress response. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. (2019). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Prevention and Treatment Guidelines. Siciliano, R. E., Anderson, A. S., & Compas, B. E. (2022). Autonomic nervous system correlates of posttraumatic stress symptoms in youth: Meta-analysis and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 92, 102125.