What Is Trauma?

How it impacts the brain, body, and identity.

Understanding Trauma:

Trauma is not just what happened to you. It is also what happened inside of you on a neurological level as a result.

Trauma is the emotional, psychological, and physiological response to an experience that overwhelms your ability to cope. It's what occurs when the mind, body, and spirit are pushed beyond their capacity for safety, control, and integration. Trauma can result from a single overwhelming event, chronic ongoing stress, or a lifetime of compounded harm.

Types of Trauma

Trauma can be broadly categorized into three forms:

1. Acute Trauma: A single incident that causes intense distress (an assault, accident, or natural disaster, etc.).

2. Chronic Trauma: Repeated or prolonged exposure to harm (ongoing abuse, systemic oppression, or neglect, etc.).

3. Complex Trauma: Exposure to multiple, layered, or developmental traumas. Often starting in childhood or involving interpersonal harm.

What Trauma Does to the Brain and Body

When trauma occurs, the brain shifts from processing to survival. It engages the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses. These are normal, instinctive reactions to threat. But if the trauma isn’t safely processed or resolved, these responses can become stuck in the body.

Common trauma effects include:

• Hypervigilance, anxiety, and fear

• Emotional numbing or dissociation

• Sleep disturbances and nightmares

• Shame, guilt, or self-blame

• Intrusive memories or flashbacks

• Difficulty trusting or forming relationships

• Somatic symptoms (headaches, chronic pain, digestive issues)

Trauma doesn’t just “live in your head," it imprints itself in the nervous system, body, and sense of identity. It can shape how you see yourself, others, and the world.

Trauma from Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is one of the most profoundly violating and destabilizing forms of trauma a person can endure. It is not just a physical act. It is an assault on a person’s boundaries, body autonomy, trust, and sense of self.

What Makes Sexual Assault Trauma Unique?

1. Interpersonal Violation

Because sexual assault is committed by another person, often someone known to the survivor, it deeply wounds the ability to trust, connect, or feel safe in relationships.

2. Betrayal and Boundary Erosion

Survivors often experience boundary collapse, both physically and emotionally. This can result in long-term struggles with saying no, setting boundaries, or feeling like their body belongs to them.

3. Shame and Silence

Society often blames survivors, directly or subtly, especially women, queer individuals, and BIPOC communities. This can cause survivors to internalize guilt and self-blame, reinforcing isolation and silence.

4. Body-Based Trauma

• The body may feel foreign, disconnected, or unsafe. Survivors may experience:

• Avoidance of touch or intimacy

• Hyper-awareness of bodily sensations

• Physical flashbacks or pain without clear medical cause

• Disordered eating, self-harm, or dissociation from the body

5. Loss of Control

Sexual violence strips away agency. Healing often requires reclaiming a sense of choice, voice, and control, especially in spaces where power was once taken away.

Trauma Reactions Specific to Sexual Assault

Emotional:

• Rage, grief, shame, numbness

• Mood swings, panic attacks, or sudden crying spells

• Difficulty feeling joy, safety, or trust

Cognitive:

• Intrusive thoughts (“I should’ve stopped it”)

• Distorted self-image (“I’m ruined” / “I deserved this”)

• Trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, or disorientation

Behavioral:

• Withdrawal from others

• Avoiding triggers (places, people, smells, etc.)

• Overcompensating (perfectionism, people-pleasing, etc.)

• Self-harm or substance use as coping mechanisms

Physiological:

• Sleep issues and nightmares

• Sexual dysfunction or fear of intimacy

• Digestive problems, headaches, autoimmune flares

• Chronic fatigue or adrenal burnout

Healing Is Not Linear

Every survivor’s trauma is different. Some may feel numb for years before the trauma “comes up.” Others may immediately experience intense symptoms. There is no “right” way to respond. Your brain and body did what they needed to survive and it will do what it needs to heal.

Healing is not about forgetting or “getting over it.” It’s about integration and giving the mind, body, and spirit a safe path to reconnect, release, and rebuild.

Survivor-Led Healing Matters

Trauma from sexual assault requires care that centers survivors, respects autonomy, and moves at the survivor’s pace. That’s why at Valkyrie Initiative, every service offered from counseling to spiritual healing to education is grounded in:

• Trauma-informed care

• Survivor leadership and peer support

• Consent, safety, and dignity

• Options, not prescriptions

• The belief that you are not broken — you are healing