PTSD and trauma involve persistent psychological and physiological responses to overwhelming experiences, affecting memory, emotional regulation, relationships, and physical health. Trauma-informed therapies, somatic pra
verified_userReviewed by Dr. Ava Gardner · Integrative Medicine Researcherschedule26 March 2026scienceResearch-supported
Quick answer
PTSD and trauma involve persistent psychological and physiological responses to overwhelming experiences, affecting memory, emotional regulation, relationships, and physical health. Trauma-informed therapies, somatic practices, EMDR, and mind-body approaches have strong evidence for supporting recovery.
Do any of these feel familiar?
radio_button_checkedIntrusive memories, flashbacks, or nightmares related to the traumatic event
radio_button_checkedHypervigilance — constantly scanning for danger even in safe environments
radio_button_checkedEmotional numbing, detachment, or feeling disconnected from life
radio_button_checkedAvoidance of reminders, places, or people associated with the trauma
radio_button_checkedStartling easily or being unable to relax
radio_button_checkedEmotional volatility — sudden anger, fear, or sadness
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Difficulty trusting others or feeling close to people
radio_button_checkedPhysical symptoms including tension, pain, or fatigue
radio_button_checkedShame, guilt, or self-blame
radio_button_checkedDifficulty experiencing positive emotions or joy
What is PTSD & Trauma?
PTSD occurs when traumatic experiences are not fully processed and integrated, leaving the nervous system in a state of chronic threat activation. Symptoms include intrusive memories, hypervigilance, emotional numbing, and avoidance. Recovery involves working with both the body and the mind to restore a felt sense of safety.
Contraindications
infoA contraindication is a condition or factor that makes a particular treatment or approach inadvisable due to potential harm.What is a contraindication? A condition or factor that makes a particular treatment or approach inadvisable due to potential harm.
Intense emotional processing without professional support
Isolation
Substance use as coping
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What does your experience feel like?
Selecting what feels closest will highlight the most relevant approaches for your situation.
Supportive approaches
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Integrative Approaches
Mapped to PTSD & Trauma and organised by intervention layer. Select a driver above to personalise this view.
Some approaches below support identity reconstruction, meaning-making, spiritual processing, and existential grounding rather than direct symptom treatment. Evidence levels are displayed on each card.
Stabilise
Immediate nervous system regulation and symptom calming.
Gyfts is educational and cannot diagnose or replace care from a qualified professional.
Overview
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PTSD and trauma is an umbrella presentation capturing both diagnostic PTSD and complex trauma (C-PTSD) presentations. Complex PTSD, often arising from prolonged or repeated trauma, includes PTSD features plus severe affect dysregulation, negative self-concept, and disturbances in relationships. Both require trauma-informed approaches that respect the body's role in trauma storage and processing.
Nervous systemEndocrine systemImmune systemDigestive system
Contributing Factors
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Single-incident trauma
Repeated or complex trauma
Childhood adversity
Lack of safety and support
Supporting Lifestyle Strategies
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check_circleSomatic movement
check_circleBreathwork
check_circleTrauma-informed yoga
check_circleGrounding
check_circleCo-regulation with safe others
Evidence Context
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scienceResearch & traditional use overview
Trauma-focused therapies are primary
Somatic and body-based approaches have growing evidence for complex trauma
Complementary approaches including yoga, EMDR-informed movement, and breathwork show supportive evidence
Evidence varies by person and approach. People explore these options for support; professional guidance may be appropriate.
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When to Seek Professional Help
Always seek qualified trauma-informed professional support. Urgent care is essential for suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or severe dissociation. Never attempt intensive trauma processing without professional support.
What is the difference between PTSD and complex PTSD?
PTSD typically develops following a discrete traumatic event — a single incident such as a road accident, assault, or natural disaster — and is characterised by intrusive re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, and negative cognitions/mood. Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) develops following prolonged, repeated trauma — particularly interpersonal trauma in childhood or captivity situations — and includes the core PTSD symptoms plus additional features: severe emotional dysregulation, persistent negative self-concept, and difficulties with relationships. C-PTSD is recognised in ICD-11 and requires treatment adapted for its additional complexity.
What evidence-based therapies are recommended for PTSD?
NICE (UK) guidelines recommend trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) as first-line treatments for PTSD. Both have strong evidence and should be delivered by trained practitioners. Medication (particularly SSRIs) may also be recommended. Holistic and somatic approaches are increasingly recognised as important adjuncts.
What is the difference between trauma and PTSD?
Trauma refers to the experience of an event or series of events that overwhelms the person's capacity to cope — a subjective experience of overwhelm, helplessness, or threat. PTSD is a specific clinical syndrome that may develop following trauma, characterised by intrusive symptoms, avoidance, negative mood and cognitions, and hyperarousal lasting more than one month and causing significant impairment. Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD — resilience, social support, prior history, and the nature of the trauma all influence whether PTSD develops.
What are the NICE-recommended treatments for PTSD?
Current NICE guidelines recommend trauma-focused psychological therapies as first-line treatment: Trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) have the strongest evidence and are recommended for adults and children. Both directly process traumatic memories to reduce their emotional charge. Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is recommended for complex trauma and refugee populations. Medication (sertraline or venlafaxine) is offered when trauma-focused therapy is not available or declined, or as adjunct treatment. Non-trauma-focused approaches (such as standard CBT or relaxation) are not recommended as primary treatment.
What is somatic therapy and why is it used for trauma?
Somatic therapies work with the body's physical responses to trauma — recognising that traumatic memories are stored not just cognitively but in the nervous system and body. Approaches like Somatic Experiencing, sensorimotor psychotherapy, and body-centred therapies help process trauma that talking therapies alone may not fully reach. They are particularly relevant for complex or developmental trauma.
What types of events cause trauma?
Trauma can result from any experience that overwhelms the nervous system's capacity to integrate it. Common traumatic events include childhood abuse or neglect, domestic violence, sexual assault, serious accidents, natural disasters, combat, sudden bereavement, and witnessing violence. "Small t" trauma — experiences that may not meet the formal criterion for a life-threatening event but nonetheless leave a lasting imprint, such as chronic humiliation, emotional neglect, or bullying — is increasingly recognised as clinically significant. The impact depends not on the event's apparent severity but on the individual's response.
How does trauma affect the body, not just the mind?
Bessel van der Kolk's foundational work established that trauma is stored in the body, not only in narrative memory. Traumatic experiences are encoded in subcortical brain regions (particularly the amygdala) and in the body's autonomic nervous system, producing characteristic physical patterns: chronic muscle tension (particularly in the neck, shoulders, and jaw), altered breathing patterns, digestive disruption, chronic pain, and altered stress hormone profiles. This is why somatic approaches — bodywork, movement, breathwork, and therapies that engage the body — are increasingly recognised as important alongside cognitive approaches.
Why does PTSD cause physical symptoms?
PTSD fundamentally dysregulates the autonomic nervous system — the system governing stress response, arousal, and visceral function. The nervous system of someone with PTSD is stuck in a chronic stress state: hyperarousal (sympathetic dominance), or in some presentations, shutdown (dorsal vagal). This produces real physical symptoms including chronic muscle tension, chronic pain, digestive dysfunction, cardiovascular changes, immune dysregulation, and disrupted sleep architecture. Somatic approaches that work directly with the nervous system — rather than only with memory and cognition — are essential for this physical dimension of PTSD.
Can yoga or breathwork help with PTSD?
Yes — trauma-sensitive yoga has good emerging evidence for PTSD, particularly for survivors of interpersonal trauma. It helps rebuild the relationship with the body and supports nervous system regulation. Breathwork can be powerful but should be approached cautiously with PTSD — intensive breathwork techniques can trigger traumatic responses in some individuals. Trauma-informed facilitation is essential.
What is EMDR and how does it work?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) was developed by Francine Shapiro and involves bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements following a therapist's finger, or taps/tones) while the person briefly focuses on a traumatic memory. The bilateral stimulation appears to mimic the physiological processing that occurs during REM sleep — enabling memories that have been stored in a fragmented, high-distress form to be reprocessed and integrated into narrative memory. EMDR does not require detailed verbal recounting of trauma and typically produces rapid results — making it particularly suitable for single-incident trauma.
What is the window of tolerance and why does it matter?
The window of tolerance describes the zone of nervous system arousal in which a person can function effectively and process experience without becoming overwhelmed (hyperarousal) or shutting down (hypoarousal). Trauma can narrow this window significantly. Trauma therapy — including somatic approaches — works to gradually widen it, building capacity to engage with difficult material without becoming dysregulated.
What should someone expect when starting trauma therapy?
Trauma therapy typically begins with stabilisation and safety — building the coping skills and therapeutic relationship needed before engaging with traumatic material. Processing traumatic memories without this foundation can be destabilising. Standard trauma therapy involves: establishing safety and developing distress tolerance skills; processing specific traumatic memories through evidence-based methods (EMDR, TF-CBT); and integration — making meaning of the trauma within the broader life narrative. Therapy does not erase memories but changes their emotional charge. Feeling worse before feeling better is common as avoided material is engaged.