Trauma is an intense emotional response to a stressful event that involves feelings of fear, helplessness, horror, or threat. It occurs when someone experiences something so shocking, frightening, or devastating that it overwhelms their ability to cope and leaves them feeling vulnerable and powerless. Trauma can also involve physical injury or loss of control over one's body. This type of experience often changes how people view themselves and others, leading to difficulties trusting oneself or others, expressing desires, or engaging in close relationships.
The brain has three pathways involved in processing sensory information: sensory input, cognitive evaluation, and emotional response. When traumatic events occur, they affect these pathways in ways that can alter how people process information about themselves and the world around them.
Some survivors may become hypervigilant, always scanning for potential threats and reacting quickly out of fear. Others may feel numb and dissociate from reality. These neurological changes make it difficult for survivors to form healthy attachments and intimacy with others.
Survivors may have trouble regulating their emotions and experiencing desire without re-triggering trauma symptoms. They may associate pleasure or intimacy with danger or fear, making it difficult to feel safe enough to be open and vulnerable with another person. This can lead to a cycle of self-blame, shame, and isolation as they try to protect themselves but end up pushing away those who care about them most.
There are strategies that survivors can use to rewire their neural pathways and heal from trauma.
Therapy can help survivors learn to regulate their thoughts and feelings by focusing on the present moment and using grounding techniques such as deep breathing or mindfulness meditation. Secondly, practicing self-care activities like exercise or hobbies can help boost the body's natural ability to produce serotonin and dopamine, which support positive mood states and reduce anxiety.
Working through trauma memories with a trusted therapist can help survivors integrate past experiences into their current life and build stronger relationships based on trust and mutual respect.
Survivors of trauma can overcome these challenges and experience desire and intimacy again, even if it takes time and patience. By prioritizing their own needs and seeking professional support when needed, they can create lasting connections that allow them to live fulfilling lives.
How does trauma rewire the neural pathways of trust, and how can survivors re-learn to experience desire without re-triggering fear or dissociation?
Traumatic experiences often lead individuals to develop a heightened sensitivity to perceived threats and a negative outlook on life. This conditioned response is known as "learned helplessness" (Seligman 1975). The brain's limbic system regulates emotions, memories, and learning processes; thus, trauma alters the way that these systems interact with each other.