Shock trauma develops after a single overwhelming event that was too much for your nervous system to process all at once. Trauma is therefore not determined by the “severity” of what happened, but by the effect it has on your system. It may arise from events most people would experience as shocking — such as a car accident, a death, or witnessing violence — but it can also develop after boundary violations, a seemingly “minor” injury, or distressing news. Sometimes the symptoms fade on their own after a few weeks. At other times, the body needs a little help reorienting to the sense of self that was there before the event. In many cases, a small number of sessions is enough to support that process.
Body-oriented trauma therapy
Everyone goes through difficult experiences at times, and in most cases the nervous system naturally finds its way back to balance. Sometimes, however, a little more support is needed to feel like yourself again. Shock trauma results from a single overwhelming event, while complex trauma develops through prolonged stress. When complex trauma occurs in childhood, it can lead to developmental trauma, as is often seen in children of parents with psychological or addiction problems. Trauma does not lie in the severity of an event, but in the effect it has on your system. Whatever your nervous system has been through, you are welcome.
Help with a
Shock trauma
Help with a
Complex trauma
Complex trauma develops when the limits of what your nervous system can safely carry are crossed repeatedly over a longer period of time, gradually exhausting your resilience (for example through illness, a difficult relationship, prolonged caregiving, or a stressful home environment). It can also happen that, after a series of difficult experiences, you find that you are no longer able to return to how things were “before.” Complex trauma may also arise from experiences such as abuse, neglect, (sexual) violence, or war (PTSD is one well-known form). When such experiences take place during childhood, they can lead to developmental trauma — for example in people who grew up with a parent struggling with mental illness or addiction.
When stress is stuck in your body
When an experience is too overwhelming to be processed in the moment, the tension can remain in the body. That doesn’t mean you are consciously still thinking about what happened. Often life simply moves on. But the body may continue to respond as if the danger hasn’t fully passed. Your nervous system is still trying to restore a sense of safety.
This can show up in different ways: difficulty relaxing, being easily startled or overstimulated, strong emotional reactions to situations that seem small on the surface, a constant sense of being “on,” or, at times, shutting down and feeling empty.
That is why trauma therapy does not focus only on the story of what happened, but especially on how your body responded to it. By slowly rebuilding a sense of safety and regulation, the nervous system can begin to recognise that the danger is over.
Who came before you?
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