Your nervous system is focused on keeping you alive. Trauma responses developed originally because they helped minimize the amount of harm you experienced. Over time these responses often became automatic. Because your nervous system learned that these responses increased the likelihood you would survive traumatic events, it continues to react to triggers with these same responses. Even if the current response is triggered without real threat, the nervous system would prefer to err on the side of caution.
From the nervous system’s perspective, multiple false alarms are preferable to a single failure to respond protectively when needed. Of course, your perspective is likely quite different. False alarms and triggered responses at any time are disruptive for you and feel broken. The nervous system can update its responses, but generally it will take concerted effort on your part to make this happen.
This page is part of the Why Do Trauma Responses Show Up Even When You Know You’re Safe section of the CommuniDID site, which explains why the nervous system continues protective responses long after the original threat has passed.
Explore more:
- Questions about Why Trauma Responses Happen Even When You’re Safe
- Why Doesn’t My Body Believe that I’m Safe Now?
- Why Can’t I “Just Get Over” Past Trauma?
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