Stuck on repeat

According to WHO, nearly 70% of people worldwide will go through at least one potentially traumatic event in their lifetime.

- Namrata Jain

For many, the impact doesn't just fade - it lingers. That 'lingering' is what I call the Trauma Loop: old patterns, sensations and reactions that keep replaying, often below the surface, until we learn how to interrupt them.A trauma loop happens when our nervous system keeps reacting to the past as if it's happening now. Everyday triggers - a smell, a tone of voice, a look - can pull us back into feelings of fear, shame, rage or numbness. The brain and body treat the past as present and we end up on autopilot. Reactivity, avoidance, self-blame or emotional shutdown become default settings.

The signs

· Sudden waves of emotion that don't match what's happening now - like overwhelm after a small comment or panic in a safe place.

· Avoiding people, places or feelings because they 'set you off.'

· Repeating relationship patterns (anger, withdrawal, people-pleasing) that leave you exhausted.

· Your body speaks: chronic tension, gut aches, jittery energy or blankness.

· Mentally replaying the story, trying to 'get it right' - or erasing it and feeling disconnected.