The after-effects of life-changing events

...through a nervous system lens

Life-changing experiences that happen to us, are all experiences that can overwhelm the nervous system and leave lasting imprints.

Trauma isn’t defined by the event itself, but by what happens inside us when something exceeds our capacity to cope.

For some people, trauma shows up in ways that are recognisable and named: post-traumatic stress responses. Flashbacks. Disturbing dreams. A sense of reliving what happened. A body that feels permanently on high alert. Difficulty sleeping or concentrating. Avoidance of reminders. Emotional numbness, irritability, anger, or disconnection.

For others, it’s quieter and harder to name, a constant background tension, a feeling of being “on edge,” or a sense that life never quite feels safe or settled.

However it appears, trauma doesn’t only live in the mind. It shapes the body.

Breath patterns change. Muscles hold. The nervous system learns to anticipate danger, even when none is present. This is why insight alone often isn’t enough, and why healing can feel frustratingly incomplete even after years of trying to “think your way through it.”

There is growing recognition, supported by a substantial body of research, that trauma recovery involves both mind and body. Practices such as breathwork, gentle movement, and meditation have been shown to support nervous system regulation and reduce trauma symptoms over time. They don’t erase what happened. They close the loop and help the body learn that the danger has passed.

Healing, in this sense, isn’t about fixing yourself or racing towards an ideal version of life. It’s about restoring safety, agency, and choice. About slowly loosening the grip of survival responses that once protected you, but no longer serve you.

Trauma responses are not personal failures. They are intelligent adaptations to overwhelming experiences. And with care, patience, and the right kinds of support, those adaptations can soften.

Healing shouldn’t be dramatic.

It can be quiet - with breath, with presence, with the body being listened to at last.

Slow, gentle integration that changes you from the inside you.

Rebecca xo