When people hear the word trauma, they often think of major, life-threatening events — accidents, abuse, or extreme loss.

But trauma isn’t always about what happened; it’s about how your mind and body responded to an experience that felt overwhelming.

Trauma can occur in many forms. It might come from a single event or from repeated experiences over time. It can include feeling unsupported, being bullied, or being humiliated by parents, teachers, or peers.

Sometimes, it’s not the situation itself but the sense of being powerless, alone, or unsafe that leaves the deepest mark.

The Body Keeps the Score

When something feels too much for us to handle, our body moves into survival mode. The nervous system releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to prepare us to fight, flee, or freeze.

If the body doesn’t get the signal that the danger has passed, it can stay on alert long after the event is over.

That’s why people often notice ongoing symptoms such as:

  • Anxiety or tension

  • Poor sleep or irritability

  • Feeling “on edge”

  • An exaggerated startle reflex

  • Emotional numbness or disconnection

These are not signs of weakness — they’re protective responses your body uses in an effort to keep you safe.

The Mind’s Protective Patterns

The mind develops ways to protect you from feeling the original pain again.

These can show up as:

  • Self-doubt

  • Perfectionism

  • People-pleasing

  • Difficulty trusting others

Over time, these protective habits can begin to limit your life. You might avoid opportunities, struggle to relax, or find it hard to connect deeply with others — even when you long to.

It’s important to know that these responses are natural — designed by your mind and body to keep you safe in moments when you felt overwhelmed.

With the right support, they can gently be reset and replaced with new, more empowering ways of thinking, feeling, and responding.

Healing Through Connection and Awareness

This is where approaches like Cognitive Hypnotherapy can be deeply effective.

Cognitive Hypnotherapy combines modern psychological understanding with gentle hypnotic techniques to help you access the unconscious patterns created during times of stress or fear.

Using somatic interventions — methods that help you reconnect with your body’s sensations — you can release the stored tension that words alone can’t reach.

By working with both the mind and body, cognitive hypnotherapy helps calm the nervous system and support the development of healthier patterns of thought, feelings, and behaviour.

You begin to experience a deeper sense of calm, confidence, and self-trust.

Moving Forward

Trauma may have shaped how you’ve responded to the world, but it doesn’t have to define you.

With awareness, compassion, and the right tools, you can teach your body that it’s safe to relax and your mind that it’s safe to trust again.

Healing is about reclaiming your sense of safety, confidence, and control — so you can move forward with calm and clarity.

If you recognise yourself in any of this and feel ready to begin your own healing journey, my private hypnotherapy sessions offer a safe, supportive space to help you release old patterns, calm your body, and create lasting change.

Together, we can help you move beyond survival and towards living with greater peace, ease, and emotional freedom.

Laurie Harvey

Cognitive Hypnotherapist, HPD, DipCHyp, MNLP, MNCH