Trauma at a Glance

Trauma often takes root in moments when we feel completely powerless or overwhelmed with fear.

Trauma can happen during events like a tornado, a flood, or any crisis that suddenly strips away our sense of safety. In those moments, the brain begins wiring the experience into our nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system, our God‑designed fight‑or‑flight response, activates to protect us. This “protection” mode releases cortisol, which increases blood sugar for energy; it increases heart rate and blood pressure and regulates metabolism, etc.

Sometimes, though, the body stays in that survival mode long after the danger has passed. This prolonged cortisol can cause problems within the body, such as diabetes, heart problems, weight gain, anxiety, and mood instability.

We may not even realize it, because the brain often tucks away overwhelming experiences so we can keep functioning. But later, something as simple as another storm can trigger that old wiring, and the brain reacts as if the original danger is happening again, even when we’re safe.

This is why we may feel anxious, overreact, shut down, or slip into depression. These responses aren’t signs of weakness; they’re signs of a nervous system that learned to survive something it never should have faced.

According to Tim Murphy, Ph.D., author of The Christ Cure, there are two categories of trauma: Trauma A and Trauma B.

Type A trauma: is the absence of good things we need, like love, food, shelter, etc

Type B trauma: is when bad things happen to us, like abuse, being in a disaster, etc.

These traumas can lead to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) or CPTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; exposure to prolonged traumatic events). Symptoms of trauma may include flashbacks, inability to sleep, nightmares, problems in relationships, anger, guilt, shame, to name a few. Trauma doesn’t disappear with time. In fact, the longer it goes unprocessed, the more deeply it can settle into the nervous system.

But the good news is that healing is still possible at any stage. God is waiting for us and in the places where fear once lived, with time, support, and truth, the brain can learn to be rewired and feel safe again. Hope is real, and restoration is within reach.  

Bobbie Huskey

Christian Counselor, Restoration Point Christian Counseling

Associate in Theology, RN