Finding safety after years of survival
Dear reader,
You might not have called it trauma. You might have just said, “I had to grow up fast.” Or, “It wasn’t that bad.” But your body remembers, long after your mind has moved on.
What childhood trauma can look like (even decades later)
You may find yourself:
- Flinching at raised voices, even if no one’s angry.
- Feeling responsible for everyone’s emotions.
- Struggling to relax unless everything feels “handled.”
- Feeling numb during moments that should feel joyful.
- Tuning out of conversations that feel difficult or heavy.
- Missing pieces of your day and being unable to recall some events.
These aren’t character flaws. They’re adaptations, intelligent and protective strategies your younger self built to survive uncertainty, neglect, or loss.
Think of it like this, when bad things happened, your body taught it’s to put on it armor to prepare for battle. So now, any time a similar event or feeling happens, your body automatically begins putting on it armor. But over the years, this armor becomes heavy and you become exhausted carrying it around. Now that you’re older, you probably don’t need that armor anymore. It’s okay to set it down.
The nervous system’s love language is safety
When you grow up without consistent emotional safety, your body learns to stay on alert. Therapy helps retrain your nervous system to believe it’s okay now. You are allowed to rest, you’re allowed to set down your armor.
We don’t rush that process. We move slowly, honoring your pace. Healing trauma isn’t reliving pain; it’s learning that you can feel safe enough to stay present while it passes. – Through trauma therapy, we learn what our armor looks like. We learn how to set it down, and trust that we can pick it back up IF we need it. The difference is making a conscience decision to pick it up and put it on versus our body automatically putting it on.
What trauma-informed therapy looks like
- Gentle curiosity instead of judgment. We notice sensations, triggers, and emotions with compassion, not analysis.
- Body-based tools. Breathwork, grounding, and micro-movements to remind your body it’s safe to soften.
- Inner-child work. Meeting the younger parts that still hold fear, anger, or loneliness, and letting them know they’re not alone anymore.
- Boundaries and voice. Learning that you get to control and create the life around you now.
You don’t have to “get over it” to heal
Healing doesn’t mean forgetting your story. It means changing your relationship to it. You become the adult who can hold those younger parts with tenderness and truth. You get to be the person you needed when you were younger.
Because the body remembers, but it can also relearn safety, softness, and peace.
A few reminders for your healing journey
- You are not too late.
- Rest is brave.
- Feeling is progress.
- You are not what happened to you.
→ Learn more about Trauma & Inner-Child Healing
→ Or schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation to see if therapy with EOT feels like a safe fit.
