Let’s talk a bit about why these are such common symptoms for those who have experienced a traumatic event or a history of chronic trauma. What the research has been showing is that trauma causes damage in 3 main parts of the brain: Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Cingulate Cortex and the Amygdala. WOW, lots of long complicated words so let’s break it down so it’s easier to try and understand. The prefrontal cortex is important as it is responsible for organizing thoughts and information, helps manage empathy, and assists in the awareness of self and others. The Anterior Cingulate Cortex helps regulate our emotions. Finally, the Amygdala takes in our sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches and determines if this is a threat and how immediate is this threat.

There are many people who have heard the phrase “fight, flight or freeze” as a response to danger. In a way trauma causes damage to these regions of the brain and the “fight, flight or freeze” response stays on and doesn’t turn off. The traumatized brain is essentially always prepared for danger and is always reacting to what it interprets as immediate danger, therefore EVERYTHING is what we call a trigger for our brain to react and act. When our brains cannot tell the difference between real and imagined danger, and therefore cannot regulate the proper/functional emotional response, then this causes distorted automatic thought patterns. Over time, this creates a distorted view of self, others and the social environment.