What Does a Traumatic Experience Do To Your Body and Brain?
Dr. Sheri Jacobson
March 8, 2023
By: Lachlan Hardy
by Andrea M. Darcy
Going through a traumatic experience is difficult enough.
But the aftermath can be even more confusing. Moods can swing wildly, you can feel anxious and socially withdraw, and you might not be able to cope with day-to-day life. Physical symptoms include fatigue, muscle tension and feeling flu-like.
What is going on in your body and brain to cause all this? And when should you be worried?
What is the science of psychological shock?
Difficult and overwhelming experiences cause the older brain, often called the ‘lizard brain’ or ‘reptilian brain’, to take over. We experience what is called ‘flight, fight, or freeze mode‘, or, more scientifically, an ‘acute stress response’.
Fighting, fleeing, or freezing (so a predator passed us over) surely served us well when we were cave people faced with wild animals. And an acute stress response gives us the energy required to make fast decisions in the face of life-threatening things such as natural disaster, crime, and physical attacks.
Of course many modern traumatic experiences don’t threaten our lives. But events like seeing someone else hurt, losing a loved one, being betrayed, or being the victim of fraud still see your body go into the same primal response. This can mean your response seems out of proportion to the event, leaving others (and even yourself) confused.
The acute stress response is short-term, but it can have longer term affects as the body and mind recover from it. These symptoms are part of what is referred to as ’emotional shock’.
[Read more in our piece ‘7 Signs You are Experiencing Emotional Shock‘.]
What does a traumatic experience do to your body?
The fight, flight or freeze response is actually physiological and biochemical. Meaning a lot goes on for our bodies and it’s far from ‘in your head’.
By: Mark Turnauckas
In order to help us react fast in the face of perceived danger, the brain triggers changes in the nervous and adrenal systems.
One of the biggest changes is a rush of adrenaline that give you an energy boost. It does this by pushing up your heart rate to pump blood out faster, raising your blood pressure, and causing faster breathing, meaning more oxygen gets to your cells. It also sends a signal to the liver to free up glucose.
The adrenal glands also release cortisol under stress. Cortisol maintains the fluid balance in your body, and lowers responses in the body that aren’t as necessary so your body has more energy to escape danger. These include things like your immunity and digestion.
As you can imagine, while these responses are useful, they do stress out the body for some time afterwards. You will feel tired, and your muscles might feel tense as you were clenching them during the adrenaline rush.
And the chemicals that your body released to help and protect you can backfire. If your cortisol levels don’t lower for several days, for example, your lowered immune system can mean you can develop a cold or flu.
What does a traumatic experience do to your brain?
A traumatic experience sees your neurons fire more rapidly through certain parts of your brain. This is meant to help you act in a clearer and faster fashion, giving you that sense of ‘hyper-vigilance’ or super alertness.
So why, then, do we often make strange decisions when difficult things happen? The release of adrenaline you experience lowers logic to allow faster spontaneous and intuitive behaviours to take over.
Also, the area of the brain heavily affected by trauma is the amygdala. A small, almond-sized piece of your brain, the amygdala might be the ‘alarm centre’ of your brain, but it’s also the emotional centre. So it interprets with feelings over logic.
This all helps explain what happens when we are in emotional shock following a traumatic experience. If your amygdala is left in overdrive for a few weeks, you will tend to react emotionally to small things. And if you are still feeling the aftereffects of adrenaline, you can feel like you have ‘brain fog’.
If these symptoms don’t clear up, it might be that your recent traumatic experience has been layered on top of old and unresolved trauma. It’s been found through research that repeat trauma can affect the brain long-term. Read more in our article on “The Affects of Childhood Trauma on the Brain“.
So I might be more susceptible to trauma then other people?
Yes, you might be.
This is why it is not useful to compare your experience after a traumatic episode to those you were with at the time of the event. Just because they are not having any signs of psychological shock does not mean you should write off what you are going through as ‘in your head’ or ‘not important’.
What is ‘normal’ when it comes to emotional shock?
It’s normal after a traumatic experience to feel very NOT normal! That said, some people seem just fine for several days, having what’s called a ‘delayed shock reaction’. So if everyone is upset and crying and you feel numb or nothing at all, that does not mean you are not experiencing shock.
For a comprehensive look at physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms of shock, see our connected piece, “7 Signs You Are Suffering Emotional Shock“.
Can I have just physical, or just mental symptoms?
Yes, this is possible. Shock is a personal thing. Some people might just feel physically unwell and tired for several weeks after a difficult experience.
When should I seek help?
The body and the mind need time to process what is both a physiologically and psychologically challenging reaction. So it’s normal and even necessary to feel odd and all over the place for several weeks after a traumatic experience.
Most people find that within a month they are back to the way they were before the difficult event.
It’s good to reach out to loved ones during this healing period, or share with others who experienced the event.
Also practice good self-care, including rest, a good diet, and avoiding unnecessary stress as you recover.
If you find that your symptoms do not clear up, or you feel worse instead of better, then do talk to your GP or a counsellor or therapist who is experienced in trauma. It is possible that your trauma has progressed into post traumatic shock syndrome or acute stress disorder.
Harley Therapy puts you in touch with registered therapists and counsellors experienced with trauma, stress, and PTSD. Now in three London locations, or you can work with an online counsellor from wherever you are.
Andrea M. Darcy is a mental health and wellbeing expert, who has done some training in person-centred counselling and coaching. She often writes about trauma, relationships, and ADHD, and advises people on how to plan their therapy journey. Find her on Instagram @am_darcy
When I was younger I had a traumatic experience after that I got social anxiety and panic attacks the attacks went away and the anxiety got better but it kept coming back I forgot about the trauma for a while and got on with life earlier this year it came back and I isolated myself from my friends my anxiety came back worse than ever I’ve got panic attacks as well again and I’m worried that it was caused by a recent trauma that’s what triggered it to come back however I can’t think of any traumas I may have had or maybe it’s because I haven’t dealt with it properly.
Hi Elisa, yes, what happens when we have had a major trauma is that a tiny trigger can set it all off again at any time. So the anxiety and fear might go away for some time, then suddenly it’s all back. This is why it’s highly recommended you seek professional help if you had a big trauma. Nowadays there is a tool called EMDR which reprograms the mind to handle trauma differently, see if you can find a therapist who uses it as a good start. After that you might want to try CBT therapy which has been proven to work for trauma and anxiety. We wish you courage!
I was assaulted at work and was very upset.afterwards I felt stupid that I didn’t see it coming.after quite a few days I’m not feeling myself very quiet.not thinking clearly.i think I’m listening to conversation then having to asked what has just been said,I’m also not sleeping well waking up from sleep for no reason that I know of,having periods if crying.whats wrong with me.mybhead feels numb .
You sound like you are experiencing emotional shock, which would more than make sense given the circumstances. http://bit.ly/emotionalshock . We do hope that you have reported the experience and that your workplace is providing counselling and support? Feeling stupid and like it is all your fault is not helpful. Nobody can ‘see it coming’. But you can reach out and find the support you need and we hope you do. It’s a hard thing to go through and support really helps.
Hi,
I recently experienced a home invasion. I was home alone in the morning with my dog. My mom had just left for work and I heard a strange noise but I let it go i thought it was just a house noise but then I continued to hear it so I got up to see and someone was coming in the window. I immediately called 911 and was screaming and shouting. But I no longer feel safe here. I constantly think every sound is someone outside. How do I cope w this?
Hi Gabby, it sounds like you are going through emotional shock which is actually a normal response to such a traumatic experience. Emotional shock causes anxiety, edginess, panic, etc. It can take about 2 months to pass, during which it’s important to practise good self care. Spend time with loved ones, exercise, rest often, etcetera – you will feel fragile so treat yourself carefully. Assuming you have installed practical things like window locks and an alarm system, and the anxiety is not based on actually living in an unsafe apartment, if you still feel entirely edgy and anxious after two months (or after moving to a safer apartment), then we would suggest seeing a counsellor as the experience might have triggered PTSD or anxiety disorder.
My stress is minimal compared to many ,this has been most helpful. I am 81 yrs my husband in his 90th, I he is very healthy, but allowed me to do most of the practical things. I began to have woosey episodes, feeling very strange,I already had a docs appointment,but called paramedics, saw doc, nothing much wrong, had 24hr EGG monitor,handed back after 24hrs, immediately went to dentist, large molar pulled, arrived home ,doc phoned to go immediately to hospital, not a good experience,no good or drink for hours, no paracetamol for pain from pulled tooth, no salt mouth wash to prevent infection no sleep etc. On a high while there for 2days, still on a high, came home next few days changed, exhausted,pulse and BP all OVER the place.I can’t stand noise, and communication, just want to be left alone. Now I know this ok ,thanks to you.
Mavis it sounds very traumatic and even more so as it sounds you had nobody to turn to to feel supported by as unfortunately you are the ‘strong’ one perhaps. We think you might be in a state of shock. The good news is it does wear off. Read our article on shock here http://bit.ly/emotionalshock. Give yourself some time and self care to feel better. Take time alone, do things that are soothing for you personally, whatever that is. Best, HT.
My coworker lied and my boss yelled at me for 30 minutes with false accusations. I was in shock. The next day, I went to speak to my boss to say that ” I would like an opportunity to respond to those false accusations,” and she played dumb and said she didn’t remember saying that. I was more confused but trusted my boss. She even apologized. Then after the first quarter she fired me and claimed it was due to eliminating my position which is completely untrue due to the fact that I am the top producer and liasion between all of their clients. I’m so mad at myself for not pushing harder so I could protect myself and make sure I was treated fairly. I believe she tricked me into being quiet cuz what else could it be. I keep replaying it over in my head and keep asking myself, if I did something differently could I have prevented this?? I am very traumatized and feel like its all my fault. I am a very social person but for the last 8 months I have not talked to anybody. I feel like I don’t trust anyone and I am devastated. I wasnt given the fair chance to respond and in hindsight i can see this but at the time I was too scared and confused to know what was going on. The coworker that did tgis triangulated me and I also have anger and rage. My whole friend group was work and now I have no friends. What do u think of this whole situation and what my boss did? I dont trust anybody.
Hi Sophie, it’s good that you are able to understand you are in a state of rage. If this has gone on for 8 months or more it’s a vey good idea to seek therapy as that is a long time to be frozen in anger. Our guess is that this is not just about this situation but is a much, much bigger story stretching back to childhood, with experiences where you didn’t have any control and then felt must somehow be your fault. Rage is like a snowball, created from experiences we have as children and young adults, and then growing a new layer with all of our adult experiences. Then one day a difficult thing happens and it becomes the focus of all our rage and we lose ourselves to our rage, and tell the story again and again of what happened, becoming frozen in victimhood. The fact that you also feel guilt and low self-esteem and trust issues over it furthers our belief that this is a much bigger story, we’d also imagine there are some relating issues at play that make life difficult. And the fact that you made your job your whole life over having a balanced life is another red flag. All these issues can be helped and changed with therapy, but it’s a commitment you must make and won’t be instant but take time. But if you have the courage to take that first step of seeking help we think you’ll find it well worth it. Sometimes the worst things turn out to be the best things as they push us to finally seek support and change long standing patterns that keep us stuck in a constant cycle of conflict and misery. On a practical note, do talk to an employment lawyer. Best, HT.
Hi, Harley Therapy, some people have severely deficient autobiographical memory, a condition about which very little is known. Only a few people with SDAM have been studied and there is only a tiny handful of papers in the literature. Let us say that someone with SDAM goes through an experience that might reasonably traumatise a neurotypical person. Would you expect that their inability to recall episodes in their lives would shield the person with SDAM from the trauma? To be a little more specific, in the case of someone who suffered abuse in boarding school, would you expect that SDAM would prevent them from developing the syndrome of characteristics that is typical of boarding school survivors? Or would you, on the contrary, expect that because the person cannot recall their past, their trauma cannot be approached by any psychiatric therapy?
Hi there Martin. The brain is still a very mysterious thing, and each person is unique in the way their brain decides will be processed as trauma or not. We are not brain experts, that would be neuroscience not psychology, so nothing we say below is law or useable evidence it’s an informed opinion. Then again even neuroscientists are still like astronauts trying to fully understand space in all its intricacies. What we can say is that it’s not advisable to compare your trauma to that of others. It’s best to consider, and in a very honest fashion, do I have symptoms? Am I unhappy, do I find relating difficult, am I anxious? If so, then seek support. We would say, though, that we aren’t sure where you get the idea that abuse survivors remember. We’d say most have very little to no memory, or can go years or decades before having a sort of memory. The brain is designed to protect us in many ways. We find that if someone has an abusive past they for the most part they will have symptoms (see our pieces on abuse for more). The brain can hide things, but the trauma still processes, in often very physical ways even, anxiety, sleeplessness, jumpiness, etc. If there are zero symptoms, if someone is very happy, easily relates to others, has great self esteem, easily loves and is loved, we’d say it’s unlikely there was trauma or that they are extremely lucky with a very unique makeup. As for a person who can’t recall their past being beyond help, absolutely the opposite, again MOST abuse survivors have very little memories, or only remember more in therapy and most will never know ‘exactly what happened’, all they do know is that they are unhappy with symptoms. We always advise that obsessing on what did or did not happen is addictive and normal but best managed, as unless we have a time machine one day most of us will never know. Focus on getting help with the symptoms. The rage, the depression, anxiety, relating issues. That is what we DO have control over. Best, HT.
Is it possible to experience one time auditory and hallucinatory phenomena at the instant of catastrophically shocking emotional trauma?
Something so shocking was revealed to me, that the realization of it caused a simultaneous flash of light and something similar to a snap right behind my eyes. I perceived a snap/flash right behind my eyes, which then caused such dizziness I had to hold onto the counter, followed and finishing with a quite strong wave of nausea. I’m not prone to imaginary thoughts; this was quite vivid a sensation/memory. I do not even remember the rest of the night. Within 6mos I was unable to function with clinical depression.
Have you ever heard anything of the sort? Was it just my imagination? Why am I still broken 28 yrs later, with this still vivid memory of the instant my world shattered?
I appreciate your time, expertise and advice with this. Thank you.