Is It Trauma or Just Stress?

Understanding the Difference Between Stress and Trauma

We often use “stress” and “trauma” interchangeably, but they’re not the same. Stress is a natural response to pressure or demand. It’s meant to be temporary. Trauma, on the other hand, happens when our nervous system becomes overwhelmed and doesn’t return to a regulated state.

What’s considered traumatic isn’t defined by the event itself—it’s defined by how your body experienced it. Two people can go through the same situation and come out with different internal imprints.

-Signs That It Might Be Trauma, Not Just Stress:

• - You feel stuck in cycles of anxiety or burnout

• - Your reactions feel bigger than the situation calls for

• - You avoid certain people, places, or experiences

• - You feel emotionally numb or shut down

• - You have trouble sleeping, focusing, or relaxing—even when “nothing is wrong”

If your nervous system hasn’t been able to fully process something, it stays on alert—or shuts down completely. You may look functional on the outside, but inside, your system is stuck.

Types of Trauma Often Overlooked:

Trauma isn’t always one big event. It can be:

• Developmental. Emotional neglect, inconsistent caregiving, unmet attachment needs

• Relational: -Repeated invalidation, betrayal, or toxic dynamics

• Cultural or Religious:-Experiences of exclusion, shame, or rigid control

• Medical or Birth-related- Early hospitalizations, painful procedures, fertility trauma

If your story doesn’t seem “traumatic enough” to name, but your symptoms persist, your body may still be holding unresolved survival energy.

How Brainspotting Helps When Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough.

Brainspotting is a somatic therapy that helps access and release trauma stored deep in the brain and body. Unlike talk therapy, it doesn’t rely on language or logic to reach the source.

Instead, it uses eye positions, mindfulness, and attunement to tap into the subcortical brain—the part that controls your fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses.

Brainspotting can:

-Help your body complete survival responses  that got interrupted during trauma

- Support nervous system regulation so you’re not always in “on” or “off” mode.

- Uncover and resolve stuck emotional patterns without needing to relive them( many client’s favorite part of the new therapy experience. .

-Create a felt sense of safety that talking alone can’t always reach.

Who Is This For?

If you’re a high achiever, perfectionist, or caregiver who feels exhausted, disconnected, or like “nothing works,” Brainspotting may be the missing piece.

You don’t have to have a PTSD diagnosis. If your body feels stuck or dysregulated despite your best efforts, that’s enough reason to seek help.

Let’s Work Together

I help clients across California heal from the hidden impact of trauma using Brainspotting—both online and in-person. You don’t have to stay in survival mode.

Reach out to schedule a consultation or learn more about Brainspotting intensives.