The Inner Landscape of Trauma
“Trauma is not what happens to you; it is what happens inside of you as a result of what happens to you” – Gabor Maté
Gabor Maté’s incisive quote challenges us to look beyond external events and attend to the internal repercussions that define the traumatic experience. At its core, this insight reframes trauma as a dynamic interplay between external stressors and the body‐mind’s patterned responses, rather than a simple catalog of distressing events.
When a person endures violence, loss, or profound neglect, the initial impact occurs in the external world. Yet it is the cascade of neurobiological and psychological processes triggered within the individual that gives rise to trauma’s enduring legacy. The autonomic nervous system, designed for rapid mobilization in the face of threat, may become dysregulated when overwhelm by external stressors. Elevated cortisol and adrenaline levels, meant to be transient, persist in the bloodstream; neural pathways reinforce patterns of hypervigilance or emotional numbing. Consequently, the implicit memory encodes sensory fragments without coherent narrative context. In this way, Maté reminds us that trauma resides not in the event itself but in the body‐mind’s lasting imprint of dysregulation.
Critically, these internalized patterns exert profound influence on cognition, behavior, and relationships. Survivors may experience intrusive recollections, difficulty modulating emotions, or somatic symptoms, such as aches, gastrointestinal distress, tension, that defy straightforward medical explanation. Interpersonal trust can erode as hyperarousal undermines one’s capacity to feel safe in connection. Conversely, emotional flattening or dissociation may feel like the only viable strategy to endure overwhelming affect. Each of these adaptations makes sense in context — they are survival strategies rooted in the body‐mind’s attempt to shield itself, but they also perpetuate a state of internal dis-ease long after the external danger has passed.
Understanding trauma as an internal phenomenon has profound implications for treatment. Approaches such as somatic therapies, mindfulness‐based interventions, and psychodynamic work seek to restore regulation by fostering awareness of bodily sensations and emotional signals. By guiding survivors to inhabit their internal landscapes with curiosity rather than fear, clinicians facilitate the reintegration of fragmented experiences into a coherent self‐narrative. In parallel, relational safety, as embodied in a trusting therapeutic alliance or peer support, provides a corrective relational experience that counteracts isolation and shame.
Ultimately, Maté’s formulation underscores that healing trauma requires attending to the invisible alchemy that unfolds within us. By acknowledging that trauma is not merely an external wound but an internal reorganization of self, we shift the locus of care toward restoring balance in the nervous system, reclaiming agency over one’s emotional world, and reintegrating the body‐mind in its entirety. In doing so, the possibility of not just surviving but thriving beyond adversity, that is Post-Traumatic Growth, becomes real.
Temitayo Olawunmi
Temitayo Olawunmi is a clinical psychologist in service to Arogi Trauma Care Foundation. She is solution-focused and result-driven. She has a strong passion for delivering exceptional customer service and ensuring clients satisfaction at every touchpoint.
