Trauma

If you're here, you are tired of letting emotions win. You're ready to look at life differently. You need a change. Maybe it feels like your mind is crumbling around you and you need to build it up into a steely, strong fortress.

What we go through in our lives shapes us. Your trauma is not your fault. But you can hold yourself accountable for your healing.

Sometimes we have trauma from abusive relationships, death of loved ones, authoritarian religious communities and homes, or loss of health and physical ability.

Trauma comes in many forms. It's been around for a long time.

What we experience affects us, and healing our minds that have been hurt and traumatized has been a human agenda for centuries.

Trauma physically alters the brain. It heightens the amygdala (fear center), weakens the prefrontal cortex (reasoning center), and reduces the function of the hippocampus (memory and context). This makes emotional regulation and intentional perspective harder.

Trauma often shows up as a combination of emotional dysregulation, threat-based thinking, avoidance or control behaviors and reduced quality of life. It manifests like anxiety and depression that we don’t know how to handle because these regulatory pathways in our brains are disrupted. 

When past experiences continue to shape present-day beliefs, reactions, and behaviors, even when the original threat is gone, that's trauma. The Stoics teach us to disregard the threats that are not true for us, and to face those that are.


If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” MARCUS AURELIUS 

Do you have trauma?

This checklist is designed to help you reflect on whether trauma may be influencing your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and nervous system responses. It is not a diagnostic tool.
 

  • I have experienced events that still feel emotionally intense when I think about them.


  • Memories from my past intrude into my thoughts unexpectedly.


  • I avoid certain people, places, topics, or emotions because they remind me of the past.


  • Thinking about specific experiences causes strong emotional or physical reactions.


  • I feel constantly on edge, alert, or braced for something to go wrong.


  • I have difficulty relaxing, even when I am safe.


  • My emotions feel either overwhelming or completely shut down.


  • Small stressors trigger reactions that feel bigger than the situation calls for.


  • I frequently blame myself for things that happened to me.


  • I believe something is fundamentally wrong with me.


  • I assume danger, rejection, or punishment is likely, even without evidence.


  • I doubt my own perceptions, memories, or feelings.


  • I avoid conflict, confrontation, or emotional closeness to feel safe.


  • I people-please or over-function to prevent negative outcomes.


  • When stressed, I shut down, withdraw, or go numb.


  • I feel a strong need to stay in control at all times.


  • My past experiences interfere with my relationships.


  • Sleep problems (difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or resting) affect my functioning.


  • I struggle with focus, memory, or motivation.


  • I have difficulty feeling joy, peace, or genuine connection.

TRAUMA CHECKLIST 

Activity: My Trauma

Write about your trauma. Write about feelings and stay away from specific events. As you write, notice emotions, bodily sensations, beliefs, or recurring themes that arise. You do not need to explain or justify anything—this space is for honest reflection.

Did the checklist give you any insight into your trauma? What patterns, reactions, or needs became clearer to you?

 

MY TRAUMA 
Writing about our trauma might stir it up a little bit. Please try this exercise after. When we have or relive trauma we tend to "dissociate" or feel disconnected from our body, observing ourselves from outside. To feel connected again, and to feel connected to this present moment, try this exercise, breaking the cycle of intrusive thought. 

Five Senses Grounding Exercise

When your mind feels overwhelmed, anxious, or stuck in painful thoughts, pause and gently reconnect with the present moment through your senses.

5 Things You Can See

Look around slowly.
Name five things you can see right now.
Notice colors, shapes, textures, light, or movement

4 Things You Can Feel

Notice what your body is touching.
Focus on textures, temperature, pressure, or movement.

3 Things You Can Hear

Listen carefully.
Notice sounds near and far without judging them.

2 Things You Can Smell

Take a slow breath.
Notice any scents around you, even faint ones.

1 Thing You Can Taste

Notice the taste in your mouth or take a sip or bite of something.

Reflection

How do you feel after grounding yourself in the present moment?
Trauma is not a personal weakness. Your responses reflect how a human nervous system adapts to threat.

But nervous systems can be rewired. You can teach yourself to make the threat disappear. By consciously focusing your mind, dedicating your time, and shaping your perspective, healing from trauma is possible.

Psychotherapists know the science works, and so did ancient Stoics.

Stoicism isn't about being in denial of your trauma’s power; It's about taking it away. 

Stoicism and CBT both seek to rebuild the busted pathways in our minds and connect us with the version of ourselves we were before the loss, the injury, the abuse.

The Stoics remind us that the interpretation of trauma is where our suffering can be softened.

This is not about invalidating your trauma or feelings. It’s about taking your power back. Trauma robs us. It lies to us about how we have to feel. It lies to us about how others perceive us and what the future holds for us.


Fortunately, we can train the brain to reframe negative thought patterns, identifying with the survivor rather than the victim of trauma or tragedy. 

Challenge builds resilience, affords one the opportunity to develop effective coping skills, motivates the forging of stronger relationships, and cultivates a sense of genuine purpose, and capacity for deep gratitude. 

At Iron Minds we know trauma, acute and long-term, subjectively and objectively. And like Stoics and psychotherapists alike, we know the brain is a malleable organ. 

Just like a body can be built strong as steel with dedication applied, we can build an Iron Mind.

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Services
If you are already taking the STOIC STEPS TOGETHER course, please submit your TRAUMA QUIZ and JOURNAL ENTRY via email to ironmindsmentoring@gmail.com. You can also complete them in the workbook that was mailed to you and attach photos of responses in your email. Check your email for responses within the next week.


If you are in the STOIC STEPS SOLO course, download the documents and complete for yourself, or complete them in the document you downloaded or the workbook you received. Move on to the first Stoic step: ACCEPTANCE.