How Trauma Affects The Brain and Memories
As trauma therapists, we are often asked questions like, how does affect the brain?
Many people who have experienced trauma struggle with fragmented memories, intense emotions, and physical sensations they can't explain. Understanding the sciencey, neurobiology of trauma, can provide insights into these experiences and start to clear a path for healing.
The Brain's Response to Trauma
When a person experiences a traumatic event, their brain undergoes significant changes to ensure survival. The brain is structured in layers, with the most basic survival instincts at the bottom and higher-level thinking at the top.
During trauma, the lower, more primitive areas of the brain take control.
The survival brain, also known as the reptilian brain, initiates automatic responses like increased heart rate, muscle tension, and rapid breathing. This allows for quick reactions without conscious thought.
The emotional brain, or limbic system, processes emotions and memories. Within this system, the amygdala acts as the brain's alarm system, while the hippocampus typically helps store and contextualize long-term memories (the functions of these areas of the brain are important for understanding trauma responses).
However, during trauma, the thinking brain - specifically the prefrontal cortex - often becomes much less active. This part of the brain, responsible for rational thinking and emotional regulation, may shut down, leaving the survival and emotional brains in charge.
Trauma and Memory
Trauma can profoundly impact how memories are formed and recalled. Understanding this can help explain why trauma survivors often struggle with fragmented or intense memories.
There are two main types of memories affected by trauma:
Body Memories, or implicit memories, are stored in the survival brain. These are the sensations and emotions your body holds onto, even if you can't articulate them in words.
You might experience sudden anxiety, nausea, or a feeling of being frozen without understanding why. These memories can be triggered automatically by sensory cues related to the traumatic event.
Story Memories, or explicit memories, form the narrative of what happened.
These include factual details like time, place, and sequence of events. Trauma can disrupt the formation of these memories, leading to gaps or inconsistencies in recall. This is partly due to the impaired functioning of the hippocampus during traumatic events.
During trauma, the brain's priority is survival, not creating a coherent narrative.
As a result, the amygdala might store vivid sensory details - a particular smell, sound, or bodily sensation - while the hippocampus struggles to place these details in context. This is why certain triggers can evoke intense feelings or bodily reactions, even if the full cognitive memory of the event is unclear.
The Limitations of Cognitive Trauma Treatment Approaches
Understanding how trauma affects the brain explains why purely cognitive or "talk therapy" approaches may fall short in treating trauma.
When traumatic memories are stored and manifest as bodily sensations, trying to "think your way out" of trauma responses often proves ineffective.
Why?
To summarize the sciencey visual above, traumatic memories are often stored in non-verbal, sensory-based forms in regions of the brain
The amygdala plays a key role in encoding emotional aspects of traumatic experiences.
The hippocampus, responsible for contextualizing memories, may be impaired during trauma, leading to fragmented or implicit memories.
Purely cognitive approaches primarily engage the areas of the brain that are responsible for logic, language, and analytical thinking .
Trauma is stored in areas of that brain, which are in charge of body-based sensations, intuition, nonverbal communication, empathy, forming healthy attachments, creativity and emotional memory
Because cognitive approaches (language, logic etc) engage other areas of the brain, trauma often remains untouched by cognitive strategies alone.
The disconnect between cognitive understanding and emotional/bodily experiences of trauma explains why trauma survivors might "know" they're safe but still feel threatened.
Trauma can also impact the brain areas responsible for language and self-expression.
This is why many trauma survivors might find it challenging to articulate their experiences or feelings, both immediately after the event and later in life. It's important to recognize that this difficulty is a normal response to trauma, not a personal failure.
Healing from Trauma
The good news is that healing from trauma is possible, even if you can't remember everything that happened.
The brain's neuroplasticity - its ability to form new neural connections - allows for recovery and growth. Effective trauma treatment often involves approaches that address both the mind and body, such as EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) or Somatic Experiencing.
These therapies can help process traumatic memories and sensations stored in the body, even when they can't be fully verbalized. They work to integrate fragmented memories and reduce the intensity of trauma responses over time.
It's crucial to work with a therapist who understands trauma and can provide a safe, supportive environment for healing.
Remember, your brain's reaction to trauma was designed to protect you.
As you move along your healing journey, our hope is that you can be patient and compassionate with yourself. Healing is possible, no matter how long ago the trauma occurred.
Understanding the neurobiology of trauma can be empowering.
It provides a framework for understanding your experiences and reactions, which can reduce self-blame and shame. Remember, your responses are normal reactions to emotionally overwhelming circumstances.
With time, support, and appropriate interventions, you can reclaim a sense of safety, wholeness, and peace.
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