The term “trauma” gets thrown around a lot these days. Casual conversations, social media, and internet therapists are ripe with talk about it. But what is trauma, and how does it change your brain? This blog will back up all the talk with science, offering a therapist’s expertise on the various types of trauma. It will explore how the brain’s ancient survival response system responds to trauma. You will learn how trauma affects cognitive and relational functioning, the window of tolerance, and how you can harness this knowledge to heal from traumatic experiences.
What is Trauma?
We all experience challenges and difficulties. These challenges become trauma when they are so distressing that our minds and bodies are unable to process them effectively. Trauma is not the hard thing that happened to us, it is what happens inside of us as the result.
When most people think of “trauma,” they often think of shocking and disturbing events like war, natural disaster, and violence. While these events are impactful and meet the definition of trauma, an accumulation of smaller, less shocking events can have equally profound effects. This is the difference between “big T” and “litte t” trauma. The DSM-5 defines trauma as “any situation where one’s life or bodily integrity is threatened.”
This definition leaves out “little t” traumas, which may look innocuous but, may leave us feeling helpless and emotionally unsafe. “Little t” traumas are often associated with childhood development and include neglect, bullying, criticism, emotional abuse, and unmet attachment needs. While “big T” traumas, when untreated, can lead to the development of PTSD, “little t” traumas, when untreated, can lead to the development of complex PTSD, a relatively new term used to describe the accumulated effects of chronic exposure to “little t” traumas.
The Automatic Nervous System
The nervous system’s main function is to ensure survival. As such, it has evolved throughout the history of humanity to be particularly sensitive to threats of danger. Think of how you quickly pull your hand back from a hot stove, or jump to the sidewalk when you hear a car coming down the street. Below our conscious awareness, our brains are constantly scanning for threats and involuntarily driving us to act in the interest of our safety. Without our choosing, our bodies catapult into a state of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn to protect us from the perceived danger.
In a brain that has experienced trauma, “big T” or “litte t,” this threat perception system is highly sensitive and always “on guard.” In this way, trauma literally changes the brain. Especially when the trauma is untreated, the brain will bias towards safety, perceiving threat even when it is not present. This affects cognitive functioning as an individual can feel hypervigilant and anxious or frequently “shut down” and “numbed out.”
"Flipping Your Lid"
Neuroscientist Dr. Dan Siegel coined the term “flipping your lid” to describe how the brain reacts to traumatic events. In his model, the three main areas of the brain associated with nervous system functioning (the brain stem, the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex) correspond to three parts of the hand. This model demonstrates what happens to the brain when we experience trauma.
Imagine a hand formed into a fist, with the thumb tucked just inside the hand. The wrist corresponds to the brainstem, which is responsible for basic survival like breathing and heart rate. The thumb, resting deep in the center, represents the amygdala, which, like a fire alarm, is responsible for sensing danger and alerting the body. The fingers, resting on the surface, represent the prefrontal cortex, responsible for logical reasoning, emotional management, and “making sense of things.”
When we experience danger – real or perceived – the amygdala sounds its alarm and the fight or flight response is activated. This puts pressure on the thumb, causing the fingers to extend and the hand to open. Dr. Siegel calls this “flipping your lid” because the brain’s ability to reason with logic goes out the window. The prefrontal cortex goes “offline” and the brainstem stays “online,” ensuring that all energy is directed towards basic survival. This is an adaptive function of the brain, however, it is a bit outdated. In modern times, humans no longer face daily threats to survival like they did in prehistoric eras. The brain has not caught up evolutionarily. This is why a stressful email can feel, in your body, as scary as a lion chasing you.
Importantly, if you have “flipped your lid,” cognitive functioning will decline. You will likely be unable to communicate effectively, practice empathy, or use logic or reason. This may mean that your work, relationships, or self-talk suffer. While we often blame ourselves for “losing control” in these situations, understanding how the brain involuntarily moves us into this state to serve our survival can empower us to drop the shame and take action to regulate ourselves.
The Window of Tolerance
The term “window of tolerance” refers to the range of experiences an individual can tolerate without “flipping their lid.” Generally, the more traumatic events a person has experienced, the narrower their window of tolerance will be. This is true of both “big T” and “little t” traumas. Here we see again how experiencing trauma changes the brain!
When you are in your window of tolerance, you can manage what is happening in your life with ease. You might receive harsh criticism from your boss, or get in a fight with your partner, but you are able to regulate yourself and stay relatively calm. When stress and trauma shrink your window of tolerance, however, it doesn’t take much to catapult you into a state of hyperarousal or hypoarousal. In these states, you have “flipped your lid,” and cognitive functioning goes offline. Depending on your own sensitivities and history, you may tend towards hyperarousal, meaning your body wants to activate energy to run away, fight, or appease. This often feels overwhelming and may look or feel like anxiety. If you tend towards hypoarousal, your body wants to shut down, freeze, or play dead. This often feels exhausting and may look or feel like depression or procrastination.
Landing in Safety
If you resonate with the experiences described in this blog, you may benefit from the guidance of a trauma-informed therapist. A trauma-informed therapist can help you get to know your own window of tolerance and heal from trauma, no matter its size or origin. Exploring your history, naming and defining the ways in which you have experienced trauma, and understanding your own emotions and reactions are all important first steps of healing.
You will also learn critical regulation skills like mindfulness and other somatic approaches that may not have been present in your early relationships. These skills will help you land more frequently in a state of “safety” and will improve your cognitive functioning. Most importantly, working with a trauma-informed therapist will offer you the experience of a secure relationship. This will prime your nervous system to seek other safe relationships, widening your window of tolerance and reducing your symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Are you ready to wire your brain towards safety and ease? Reach out to myTherapyNYC today to see how trauma has impacted you and begin your path to healing.
What have you learned about your own brain after reading about the neuroscience of trauma? Join our conversation in the comments below!
- The Wisdom of Trauma: How Hard Times Change Your Brain - July 25, 2024
1 comment
This was such a helpful article! Knowing the neuroscience behind trauma more deeply is so important 🙂 Will be sharing!