The silence of trauma: The body remembers, even when the soul falls silent.
Trauma is not just an unpleasant memory. It is an experience that can shape the way we think, feel, and relate to ourselves and others. It doesn’t only affect those who have lived through war or natural disasters. It can arise from loss, betrayal, neglect, or a relationship that left us emotionally exposed.
Trauma is preverbal — it is recorded in the body before it can be put into words. It imprints itself on the nervous system, hormonal responses, bodily sensations, and automatic reactions. As Van der Kolk (2022) describes, when someone re-experiences trauma, the emotional brain — primarily the right amygdala, the center of fear and survival — is activated, while the logical brain, namely the left hemisphere and especially Broca’s area (responsible for organizing experience into language and time), is suppressed.
At the same time, Broadman area 19 in the visual cortex (in the right hemisphere) is activated, where raw visual images are stored. The result? The emotional brain reacts as if the traumatic event is happening right now, while the logical brain cannot intervene to place the experience in the past.
Thus, the person doesn’t just remember the trauma — they relive it. And because the two hemispheres (the logical and the emotional brains) are not cooperating, the memory is experienced as present. This is why trauma doesn’t simply “fade with time.” It requires processing, recognition, and safety in order to be transformed from a raw experience into a narrative that can be spoken and integrated.
Understanding trauma is the first step toward healing. And to understand it, we must distinguish between its forms: simple and complex trauma.
What Is Psychological Trauma?
Psychological trauma is the body’s response to an event or series of events that overwhelm our capacity to process them. It is not the event itself that wounds us, but how we experience it.
🧩 Simple and Complex Trauma: What’s the Difference?
Simple Trauma
Simple trauma arises from single, intense, and unpredictable events. The response is usually immediate and localized.
Example:
Nikos, 42, is involved in a serious car accident. Although he survives without major injuries, he begins to experience panic attacks while driving, avoids roads that remind him of the crash, and has nightmares. His experience is traumatic, but centered on one event. With appropriate therapy, he is able to process the trauma and recover.
Complex Trauma
Complex trauma stems from chronic, repeated traumatic experiences, often within relational contexts. It deeply affects identity, self-worth, and the capacity for connection.
Example:
Anna, 35, grew up in a home where her parents were emotionally distant and critical. There was no physical abuse, but the constant sense of not being enough, the lack of care, and the absence of emotional safety led her to internalize shame and struggle in relationships. As an adult, she finds it hard to trust, feels she must “earn” love, and often disconnects emotionally when intimacy arises.
Why Is It Important to Recognize It?
Recognizing trauma is the first and most essential step toward healing. When a traumatic experience remains invisible — whether because we minimize it, or because we were never given the opportunity to describe it, to make sense of it, and to allow our body to learn that the danger belongs to the past — it continues to operate beneath the surface, shaping how we perceive ourselves, others, and the world.
🔹 Trauma that is not recognized, repeats itself
Trauma doesn’t disappear because we ignore it. On the contrary, it finds ways to express itself — through the body, relationships, dreams, and silences. When we are unaware of our trauma, we often reenact it through patterns that keep us stuck in cycles of pain.
🔹 Recognition brings meaning
Our reactions — hypervigilance, disconnection, difficulty trusting — are logical and protective responses to traumatic experiences. They are not flaws; they are survival strategies. Recognition offers context, understanding, and — most importantly — self-compassion.
🔹 Recognition opens the path to healing
We cannot heal what we have not named. The therapeutic process begins with validation of the experience: “What you went through was real. And it had an impact.” Only then can healing begin. Distinguishing between simple and complex trauma helps us understand what each person needs in order to feel safe and begin to heal.
🔹 Recognition is an act of care and dignity
By recognizing trauma, we give ourselves permission to feel, to remember, and to heal. It’s like saying: “What happened to me mattered. And I deserve to care for myself.” Recognition is not weakness — it is courage. It marks the beginning of a new relationship with ourselves, one rooted not in fear, but in truth.
A Message to the Reader
If you recognize parts of yourself in this text, remember: You are not alone. Trauma can be healed — and understanding is the first step.
Evangelos Kandounakis
Psychologist - psychotherapist
References
Bessel Van der Kolk, B. A. (2022). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Kleidarithmos. (Original work published 2014)
