What if healing from PTSD isn’t about forcing yourself to relive the past, but is more about creating safety within yourself again, so you can gradually learn to be with your feelings and emotions?
This is the first video in my approximately 10-part series on understanding PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and exploring ways to begin moving through the unresolved emotional experiences that can continue affecting our lives.
PTSD can show up in many different ways, and the experiences that contribute to it can be very different from one person to another.
How Overwhelming Experiences Can Lead to PTSD
I’ve worked with people who have been in the military and experienced things that were absolutely brutal, things that were beyond what most people could reasonably be expected to handle emotionally at the time.
These people were taught to push their emotions down, not think about what happened, and simply carry on with life.
But what happens to all those feelings and emotions that were too overwhelming to process?
Our subconscious mind can develop coping mechanisms to help protect us from what we weren’t able to deal with at the time. We may become disconnected from certain feelings and emotions because experiencing them was simply too much.
And although this can help us survive an overwhelming experience, those unresolved feelings and the coping patterns associated with them may continue affecting our lives many years later.
But here’s something important to consider. If our subconscious mind protected us by disconnecting us from feelings and emotions that were simply too overwhelming to experience at the time, what happened to those feelings? If we weren’t able to experience the felt sense of those emotions and allow ourselves to process them, then how could they have been fully resolved?
Perhaps those unresolved emotional experiences remain with us on some level, continuing to influence our subconscious coping patterns, our perceptions, and how we react to life today. In this way, the feelings we couldn’t process in the past may continue showing up in the present, offering us opportunities to gradually recognize, experience, and work through them in a safe and compassionate way.
We might experience anxiety, panic attacks, fears, phobias, or nightmares. We may find ourselves reacting strongly to certain situations without really understanding why.
Trauma Can Begin Early in Life – PTSD can also be connected to experiences from childhood.
Someone may have experienced abuse or other frightening events at a very young age that were simply too overwhelming to understand or process.
Years later, as an adult, they may experience fears, anxiety, or emotional reactions that seem to come out of nowhere.
They might not even understand where those feelings are coming from.
The same can happen following a serious accident or another traumatic experience.
At the time, the subconscious mind may have done a very good job of protecting us. It helped us cope with something we simply weren’t able to process.
But because the experience was so emotionally overwhelming, the subconscious mind may continue responding to situations that seem similar to the original experience, even when our present circumstances are very different.
Think about it this way. If a subconscious coping mechanism was created to protect us from something so painful or overwhelming that we couldn’t handle it at the time, it may have helped us survive by disconnecting us from those feelings. But if the emotions associated with that experience were never fully processed, the subconscious may continue trying to protect us from anything that even remotely resembles what happened.
In doing so, it may have developed protective filters through which we perceive and interpret life, creating fears, anxiety, worry, avoidance, or a lack of confidence in putting ourselves out there. The challenge is that these very filters, which are supposed to help us recognize whether something is safe or unsafe, may now be influenced by unresolved trauma.
As a result, we may no longer be seeing the present moment clearly. Instead, we’re seeing it through the fears and protective patterns of the past. Situations that are actually safe may feel threatening, and our emotional reactions can become much stronger than the present circumstances warrant.
In this way, the subconscious mind may continue protecting us from dangers that are no longer there, while unintentionally limiting our ability to feel safe, confident, and fully present in our lives today.
Understanding Subconscious Coping Mechanisms
Our subconscious mind is continually trying to protect us.
When something happens that is too painful or overwhelming to handle, protective coping mechanisms may develop to help us avoid experiencing those feelings again.
These patterns can become deeply established.
Years later, we may find ourselves avoiding certain situations, experiencing powerful emotional reactions, or feeling unsafe without understanding why.
We might think we’ve already moved beyond what happened, yet we continue experiencing anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares, or other reactions that don’t seem to make sense.
One way of understanding this is that our present experiences may be activating emotional responses associated with unresolved experiences from the past.
Our subconscious protective patterns can influence how we perceive and respond to what’s happening in our lives today.
And this is an important part of what we’ll be exploring throughout this PTSD series.
Why Rebuilding Inner Safety with PTSD Is So Important
When we’re working with unresolved trauma, I believe one of the most important things is learning to reconnect with ourselves and our body sensations.
If our original coping mechanism involved disconnecting from overwhelming feelings, then part of healing may involve gradually learning to be with those feelings again.
But we don’t want to rush this process.
If we try to reconnect too quickly with emotions or sensations that are overwhelming, we may end up triggering more distress rather than creating a sense of safety.
That’s why it’s important to begin by creating safety in our environment and gradually developing a greater sense of safety within ourselves.
As we begin to feel safer, we can practise becoming a little more present, a little more connected with our body, and a little more comfortable experiencing our feelings.
This is something we can approach gently, bit by bit, without forcing ourselves to experience more than we’re ready to handle.
For some people, particularly those experiencing significant trauma symptoms or dissociation, this process is best supported by a qualified trauma-informed professional.
How the Past TRAUMA Can Show Up in the Present Moment
One of the things I want to emphasize throughout this series is that we don’t necessarily have to go back and relive every traumatic experience to begin healing.
The influence of the past can continue showing up in the present moment.
When something triggers anxiety, fear, panic, or another powerful emotional reaction, there may be unresolved feelings from earlier experiences influencing how we’re responding to what’s happening now.
In a sense, aspects of the past can become mixed with our experience of the present.
And this is where developing mindfulness and self-awareness can become helpful.
As we learn to recognize our reactions and create enough inner safety, we may gradually become more able to experience and understand the feelings that arise.
Rather than automatically disconnecting from those feelings, we can begin developing a different relationship with them.
With patience, compassion, and appropriate support, this can become part of a gradual process of emotional healing.
Connecting With the Younger Parts of Ourselves
Sometimes we may also need to do deeper subconscious work and connect with younger parts of ourselves that developed protective patterns during difficult experiences.
For example, a coping mechanism may have developed 10, 20, 30, or even 50 years ago.
Although we’ve grown and our lives have changed, that protective pattern may still respond as though we’re facing the same circumstances.
In my therapeutic approach, I often work with these younger parts of ourselves to help develop a greater sense of safety and understanding.
We may now have abilities, resources, and choices that weren’t available to us when those original experiences occurred.
But we can’t simply expect deeply established coping mechanisms to switch off because we consciously understand that things are different today.
These protective responses developed for important reasons.
Part of the healing process involves gradually creating enough safety and trust that those old protective patterns no longer need to influence our lives in quite the same way.
And this is something we’ll explore further as the series progresses.
Exploring the Full PTSD Video Series
This article introduces the first video in my PTSD series, where we’ll explore how overwhelming experiences can affect our subconscious coping patterns, emotions, and everyday reactions.
Throughout the series, we’ll look more closely at different aspects of PTSD, why these patterns develop, and how gentle mindfulness practices may help us gradually rebuild inner safety and reconnect with ourselves.
My intention is to offer a simple, understandable perspective, along with practical approaches you can begin exploring in daily life, at a pace that feels appropriate for you.
Explore the complete PTSD video series here:
FREE Self-Help Mindfulness Series — Reconnecting With Your Body, Building Inner Safety, and Creating a Foundation for PTSD Healing
One of the foundations of my approach to healing is learning to become more present and developing a compassionate relationship with ourselves.
My FREE Self-Help Mindfulness Series introduces practical awareness exercises that can help you begin developing these skills in everyday life.
For someone experiencing PTSD-related challenges, these practices may help you:
•Become more aware of emotional reactions and subconscious coping patterns.
•Recognize when past experiences may be influencing your reactions in the present.
•Develop a more compassionate and accepting relationship with yourself.
•Practise gently reconnecting with the present moment.
•Gradually build greater awareness of your feelings and body sensations when it feels safe to do so.
It’s important to approach mindfulness gently when working with trauma. If focusing on internal sensations feels overwhelming, you can return your attention to your surroundings or seek professional guidance.
Explore the FREE Self-Help Mindfulness Series:
Would You Like Support With PTSD?
If you’re experiencing anxiety, emotional triggers, fears, or other challenges connected to past traumatic experiences, I offer a free 1-hour video consultation. We can talk about what you’re experiencing, how it’s affecting your life, explore possible underlying patterns, discuss your goals for healing, and look at my therapeutic approach to see whether working together feels like the right fit for you.
https://calendly.com/arnepedersen/free-consultation
Counselling Hypnotherapy
Through my work at Hypnotherapy Victoria, I offer a mindfulness-based counselling hypnotherapy approach that focuses on developing self-awareness, understanding subconscious coping patterns, and gradually creating greater emotional safety and connection within ourselves.
The intention is not to force difficult emotions or traumatic memories to the surface, but to work compassionately and at a pace that respects your individual needs.
You can learn more about my approaches here:
Counselling Victoria
Hypnotherapy Victoria
Moving Forward With Greater Understanding and Inner Safety – Healing from PTSD can be a gradual process.
The protective coping mechanisms we’ve developed may have helped us through experiences that were simply too much to handle at the time.
Rather than fighting those patterns or judging ourselves for having them, we can begin learning to understand why they developed.
As we create greater safety within ourselves and gradually reconnect with our feelings, we may begin developing new ways of responding to life.
Throughout this series, we’ll explore simple mindfulness practices and a compassionate approach to understanding and working with these patterns.
And if you feel you need additional support, I’ll also discuss ways to take the next steps toward healing.
I look forward to sharing the next video with you.
Arne Pedersen
Registered and Certified Counselling Hypnotherapist
Hypnotherapy Victoria
