Why does the past feel like it’s happening right now? (Flashbacks)

This happens because the brain’s memory-filing system, the hippocampus, can become impaired during a traumatic event. A normal memory gets time-stamped and filed away as “past.” But a traumatic memory can be stored as raw, unprocessed sensory fragments—sights, sounds, smells, physical sensations. When a trigger in the present moment matches one of those fragments, the brain retrieves the entire sensory memory as if it were happening now, because it was never correctly filed away with the tag: “This is over.”

What is hypervigilance? Why am I always on high alert?

Hypervigilance is the result of an amygdala—the brain’s threat detector—that has become sensitized and is now stuck in the “on” position. After a serious threat, the amygdala recalibrates your entire system to a higher level of alertness to prevent it from being surprised again. It constantly scans your environment for danger, leading to an exaggerated startle response, difficulty relaxing, and a pervasive feeling that something bad is about to happen. Your brain is trying to protect you, but it’s doing so at an immense cost to your nervous system.

Why do I feel emotionally numb or disconnected from my body?

This is a profound survival response called dissociation, often linked to the “freeze” state of the nervous system. When fight or flight are not possible or would make things worse, the brain can initiate a shutdown. It releases endogenous opioids that numb physical and emotional pain, creating a sense of detachment from your body and the world. It’s the brain’s last-ditch effort to help you endure an inescapable threat. In PTSD, this shutdown state can become a default, leading to feelings of emptiness, numbness, and disconnection.

• Fight/Flight: The sympathetic nervous system’s high-energy state of arousal.
• Rest/Digest: The parasympathetic nervous system’s state of safety and connection.
• Freeze/Shutdown: The dorsal vagal nerve’s primitive, low-energy state of dissociation.

Why do I get triggered by seemingly random things?

Because traumatic memories are stored as sensory fragments rather than a logical story, any one of those fragments can act as a trigger. The smell of gasoline, the specific slant of afternoon light, a certain tone of voice—if any of these were present during the original event, encountering them again can be enough for your amygdala to sound the alarm and pull the entire unprocessed memory into the present moment. The trigger may seem random to your conscious mind, but to your survival brain, the connection is direct and immediate.

What is the core problem with viewing trauma responses as an “overreaction”?

The core problem is that trauma responses are not conscious overreactions; they are involuntary, biological survival mechanisms. When you are triggered, the primitive, non-verbal parts of your brain take control. Your prefrontal cortex—your logical, thinking brain—goes partially or fully offline. You are not “choosing” to have a flashback or a panic attack. Your body is executing a deeply ingrained survival program that it believes is necessary to keep you alive. Judging it as an overreaction adds a layer of shame to a process that is outside of your conscious control.

Why does it feel impossible to “talk myself out of it”?

This phenomenon is called cortical inhibition. During a triggered state, the intense activity in the amygdala and limbic system effectively hijacks the brain’s resources, dampening or shutting down the prefrontal cortex. Logic, reason, and language—the primary tools of the PFC—become inaccessible. You can’t use a part of your brain that is temporarily offline. This is why “bottom-up” approaches that focus on the body and nervous system are so critical for healing trauma.

What is the fundamental principle of healing from trauma?

The single most important principle of healing is establishing safety in the present moment. All effective trauma therapies are built on this foundation. The brain cannot and will not process traumatic memories until the nervous system feels safe enough to do so. The work involves creating new experiences of safety, connection, and regulation that can compete with and eventually override the old pathways of fear and survival.

• Healing requires feeling safe in your body and environment right now.
• The goal is to complete the survival responses that got stuck during the event.
• This allows the brain to finally file the memory away as a past event that is over.

Why are “bottom-up” therapies so essential for trauma?

Because trauma lives in the non-verbal, sensory parts of the brain and body, healing must begin there. “Bottom-up” therapies (like Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and EMDR) focus on bodily sensations, movements, and releasing trapped survival energy. They bypass the offline thinking brain and work directly with the nervous system to help it regulate itself and discharge the immense energy of the fight/flight/freeze response. This calms the amygdala and allows the hippocampus and PFC to come back online.

What are titration and pendulation, and why are they crucial?

These are two key principles for working with trauma safely. **Titration** means touching upon the traumatic material in very small, manageable doses—a “drop” at a time—to avoid overwhelming the nervous system. **Pendulation** is the practice of gently guiding your attention back and forth between that small “drop” of distress and a feeling of resource, strength, or safety in your body in the present moment. This process slowly builds the nervous system’s capacity and resilience, allowing it to process the trauma without being re-traumatized.

How does therapy help the brain create a coherent narrative?

Once the nervous system is more regulated through bottom-up work, the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex can begin their job. “Top-down” therapies can then help you weave the unprocessed sensory fragments of the trauma into a coherent story with a beginning, a middle, and—most importantly—an end. Creating this narrative doesn’t erase the memory, but it changes it from a terrifying flashback into a story about something difficult that happened in the past, but is now over. This is the act of memory integration.

Can safe relationships and community support brain healing?

They are absolutely essential. Trauma is a wound of disconnection. Safe, attuned relationships are the antidote. The experience of being seen, heard, and validated by another person triggers the release of oxytocin and activates the brain’s “social engagement system,” which is a powerful regulator of the nervous system. Co-regulation—the experience of calming your nervous system in the presence of another calm nervous system—is a profound biological signal of safety that directly counteracts the isolation of trauma.

How long does it take to heal from trauma?

There is no set timeline for healing, and the process is not linear. It is a journey of gradually expanding your capacity to feel safe and present in your own body. The goal is not to forget what happened, but for the memory to lose its power over your daily life. It’s about moving from a life organized around the trauma to a life where the trauma is an integrated part of your story, but no longer the defining chapter. With the right support and understanding, the brain’s inherent capacity for plasticity makes profound healing possible.