What is the Difference Between a Traumatic Experience and a Trauma Response?
The word “trauma” often gets used casually, which can lead to confusion about what it truly means. In mental health, trauma refers to any experience that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope and return to a place of safety, leaving a lasting emotional impact. This could be something clearly life-threatening, like a car accident, or something more chronic and relational, like emotional neglect or disruptions in attachment during childhood.
But it’s important to note: not every distressing event results in trauma for everyone.
This is where the difference between a traumatic experience and a trauma response comes in. A traumatic experience is the event itself—something potentially disturbing or threatening. A trauma response, however, is how a person’s body and mind react to that event, especially when the reaction lingers beyond the moment.
I often explain it to clients like this: imagine two people in the same car during an accident. Both survive with no major physical injuries. In the days following, one person finds they can’t get back into a car without panic. Their body tenses, their heart races when the brakes are tapped, and they avoid driving altogether. This is a trauma response. The other person, however, returns to driving without much emotional disruption. They experienced the same event, but it didn’t result in a trauma response.
Trauma isn’t defined by the event alone—it’s defined by the imprint it leaves on the nervous system. Understanding this difference helps validate why some people may struggle after an event while others don’t, and it opens the door to healing without shame or comparison.
Reflections from my EMDR Training
EMDR is evidence-based and scientifically supported. There’s strong research backing its effectiveness in treating PTSD and complex trauma.
Understanding the neuroscience behind trauma—especially how memories are stored—can help remove the guilt and shame often associated with PTSD and CPTSD symptoms.
Trauma is stored in maladaptive memory networks. When we experience trauma, the brain can’t process it the way it does non-threatening experiences. These memories get “stuck,” often triggering intense emotional and physical responses.
During trauma, we lose access to the thinking part of our brain. The amygdala takes over, activating our fight/flight/freeze response. This is why it’s so hard to “reason” through trauma—it’s stored in the emotional brain, not the logical one.
EMDR doesn’t rely heavily on verbal processing. You don’t have to retell every detail of your trauma. The process allows your brain to do the healing work in a more intuitive, less cognitively demanding way.
Your brain knows what to do. When given the right conditions, your brain has the innate ability to reprocess traumatic memories and move toward healing.
Religious Trauma and Art Therapy
It all begins with an idea.
What is religious trauma? An emotional, physical, or psychological response to a religious practice, belief, or structure that overwhelms the body’s ability to cope and return to a place of safety.
As with other trauma responses, it is contained within the body and activates the nervous system. Religious messages, events, relationships, and stories may contribute to the body reacting accordingly in defense. In this context, the body becomes overwhelmed by facing a real or perceived threat. For example, aversive control or power from a person, system, or organization over another individual that inhibits their ability to make decisions for themselves can create an unsafe environment. When autonomy, power, and control are removed from an individual, it is possible that their ability to make choices and their access to resources is also limited.
The feeling of powerlessness or suppression—whether through authoritarian leadership, rigid doctrine, or oppressive structures—can significantly affect an individual’s well-being. When control is taken away from someone, their ability to make choices, access resources, and pursue personal growth may be severely restricted, leading to a profound sense of helplessness or disconnection. This not only impacts the person’s spiritual identity but can affect their physical and emotional health as well, creating a long-term struggle to regain a sense of safety, agency, and well-being.
Processing Religious Trauma Through Creative Expression
It all begins with an idea.
How can art therapy help with trauma processing?
Art therapy has to work around neurological barriers by accessing blocked emotions and nonverbal memories through embodied processing. Expression through imagery and symbols in art therapy allows for reconstruction of experiences and provides avenues to recontextualize events in order to move forward. Symbols and imagery add depth and hold more power when we are able to visually see what is important to us.
Using photography as a tool for creative expression, I was able to reflect on messages that I was taught growing up in a nondenominational Christian household.
In this series, I chose to focus on the celebration of my body while reflecting on shame, resiliency, and empowerment related to religious trauma.
Using Photography as A Therapeutic Tool
It all begins with an idea.
Art therapy idea: exploring religious trauma while focusing on your spiritual wounds. Reflect on your journey of healing through photography, poetry, clay work, or by writing a short story. Create something that holds meaning while considering it a form of deconstruction.
Photography is a medium of creative expression that can be used to create a trauma narrative while promoting agency and autonomy. This form of creative expression has the power to help us to begin processing what has happened to us in a different way than verbal processing can. While it can connect us to past experiences/memories that were disturbing, this embodied process can help us to connect with those experiences somatically. Trauma is stored in our bodies. It can show up as sensations, tension, and physiological patterns. Research shows that those who have experienced trauma often disconnect from feelings in their body. This is a known survival response or stress response.
You may be familiar with “fight”, “flight”, “freeze” and “fawn”. This is exactly what happens when we face stress inducing situations. Our nervous system becomes dysregulated, and we can live in that heightened space for a long time, causing a disconnect from our body and mind. Although you may now be in a safe place, your body still holds tension and may react as if danger is present.
Disconnection can show up in different ways, such as struggling to identify emotions, experiencing a sensation of “floating” above your body, or lacking awareness of hunger cues. It can also manifest as chronic pain, tension, or numbness. Through embodied processing, you can being to rebuild the mind body connection and integrate experiences, emotions, and sensations. This process can help to regulate your nervous system, and release stored trauma in a safe and controlled way. It is important to process these experiences and memories with a trained professional that can help support you in an environment that is safe for healing.
Suggested themes to explore: shame, self compassion, empowerment, autonomy, loss, disconnection, acceptance, authenticity
Affirmation Collage Cards: Reframing Negative/Unhelpful Beliefs
It all begins with an idea.
Can you think of some limiting thoughts that you have been taught to believe about yourself? What religious or cultural messages have impacted the way that you view yourself, the world, and those around you? When we begin to explore these messages, we are able to decide whether they are still serving us. Maybe they did at one time, maybe they protected us. Maybe we have never felt that they were true but had to go along with ideals to remain safe within our religious communities. This exercise allows us to tune into our values with authenticity, while remaining strength based and empowering.
While reflecting on those religious teachings/messages, think about what no longer serves you. What would you like to believe about yourself? What do you already believe about yourself that you would like to strengthen or see more of?
When creating affirmation statement cards, think about “I am” statements. You can make a list before making your cards, or you can write your statements directly on them.
Gather your supplies, and let’s get started!
Supplies:
Durable watercolor paper/mixed media paper/cardboard
creative option: playing cards
Pen, pencil, markers
Magazines
Watercolor pallate
Glue/Mod Podge
Scissors
Process:
Cut your paper into desired size, I chose 5 x 4 inches
Sift through your magazines and chose images and phrases that stand out
Cut with scissors or tear
Write your affirmation on your card using desired writing materials (this step can be done before or after pasting collage materials on your card
Create a collage on your card with desired materials
Add details with watercolor and any other supples/materials that speak to you
Once finished, display your cards in a place where they can be seen daily and honored. Practice saying these statements out loud (or in your head if that feels more comfortable). When we tell ourself these statements, it helps us to instill and strengthen the beliefs and shift previous ideas.
