HILDHOOD TRAUMA DYSREGULATES YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM: The primary job of your nervous system is simple to keep you safe and ensure your survival.
But if you grew up with chaos, fear, or neglect or trauma your nervous system learned something very different. That is is not safe.
Childhood trauma physically changes your brain. And our body stays on guard, and wires our brain for survival rather than safety and connection. Our fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses are heightened our nervous system gets dysregulated. YES, trauma dysregulated your nervous system… and, YES, healing is possible after years of trauma…
Neuroscience shows us that the brain is “plastic”, meaning it can rewire itself when given new experiences of safety, connection, and regulation.
- the emotional, physical + relational signs your nervous system is dysregulated from childhood…
The primary job of your nervous system is simple to keep you safe and ensure our survival at all times from the moment we were born, our nervous system has been scanning our environment for signals of safety or danger, even when we don’t notice, to decide: Am I safe, or am I in danger? As children, our brain and body learn what safety feels like from our parents and the people who raise us.
When we grow up in a home where there was consistency, love, and safety, your body learned what safety really is.,
how to calm down after stress,how to feel emotions and not suppress,how to trust others, andhow to rest in ease.But if you grew up with chaos, fear, or neglect or trauma your nervous system learned something very different.Instead of calm, it learned vigilance.Instead of safety, it learned protection.Instead of trust, it learned self-defense.Instead of being seen, it learned to hide.
Instead of calming down, our body stays guard, and wires our brain for survival rather than safety and connection.
Our fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses are heightened and unhealthy.Over time, this becomes our ‘normal.’ Even as adults, when life is safer, the body still reacts like danger is near.And, many people with childhood trauma chronically feel “unsafe for no reason” or are “never able to relax.”
Childhood trauma physically changes your brain.Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline keep flooding the system, and the nervous system stays on high alert, even when there is no real threat.
And we begin to live in a body that is always waiting for the next bad thing to happen.
This is what we call a dysregulated nervous system.
Emotional Impacts
The nervous system carries the emotional imprints of childhood.When safety was missing, emotions can feel too big or too distant, leaving you unsure how to handle them.You feel anxious, on edge, or like you’re waiting for something bad to happen.Small situations trigger big emotional reactions that feel hard to control.You sometimes shut down or go numb because feeling emotions feels too overwhelming.Mood swings feel unpredictable and hard to manage.You carry a deep feeling of shame, guilt, or fear.
Physical Impacts
Trauma doesn’t just live in the mind, it lives in the body. A dysregulated nervous system often shows up as chronic tension, pain, or exhaustion.
Your body feels tense most of the time, tight jaw, shoulders, or chest.
You struggle with sleep, either can’t fall asleep, wake often, or don’t feel rested.You experience chronic pain, headaches, or digestive issues without clear medical cause.Your heart races or breathing becomes shallow when stressed. You feel exhausted or drained, even when you haven’t done much.
The nervous system shows up most clearly in relationships. When it’s dysregulated, love and connection can feel unsafe or confusing.
Trusting others is hard, you may expect abandonment, rejection or betrayal. You repeat unhealthy relationship patterns, even when you want something different. You cling tightly to people for safety, or withdraw completely to protect yourself.
Setting boundaries feels scary, selfish, or impossible.
Feeling truly safe, seen, or loved in relationships doesn’t come easily. YES, trauma dysregulated your nervous system… BUT Healing is possible, even if trauma has shaped you for years.
The nervous system is powerful, it is designed to adapt and protect, but it’s also capable of rewiring and learning and feeling safety again. Even if your childhood trained your body to live in survival mode, your system can build new neural pathways of safety and regulation, of peace and calm. and, YES, healing is possible after years of trauma…Neuroscience shows us that the brain is “plastic”, meaning it can rewire itself when given new experiences of safety, connection, and regulation.
Just like a muscle, it can strengthen new patterns when given repetition and safety. Overtime, gentle somatic practices, nervous system work, grounding, movement, and co-regulation with safe people, gradually shift your body out of hypervigilance and dysregulation.
The same system that held your trauma holds your healing. That’s the power within you.
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