The Power of Perception: Redirecting Your Mind After Complex Trauma

The hyperactive fight-or-flight system linked to complex trauma amplifies the human negativity bias, causing people to focus disproportionately on potential threats. This heightened focus can make it difficult to see the bigger picture, as the amygdala becomes fixated on the negative aspects of a situation. This reaction is the mind’s way of protecting you, keeping you alert to danger. However, there are significant consequences to living in constant survival mode. When the body is continuously on high alert, it doesn’t have the chance to engage in curiosity, learning, or fully appreciating what each moment has to offer. In this way, complex trauma can rob you of the present, diminishing your capacity to enjoy even the happiness available to you right now.

For those who’ve experienced complex trauma, it often requires intentional effort to retrain the mind to notice positive aspects as well. This conscious shift allows for a fuller understanding of experiences and opens the door to appreciating the good things in life.

Many people who have endured complex trauma are incredibly resilient, achieving milestones that their past may not have predicted. If you’ve made it this far, still pushing forward, you deserve to recognize and enjoy the meaning of each moment and to appreciate every accomplishment, big or small, that only you made possible.

A helpful practice is to take a moment before starting a task or planning your day to intentionally note what you’re grateful for in the experience. Remind yourself to savor these moments—you deserve that. You deserve to enjoy life and recognize the blessings around you, however big or small.

So much of life is about perception, and complex trauma can skew that perception toward negativity. One way to regain control is by prioritizing what matters and actively focusing on gratitude each day. This one change, though it requires a great deal of effort, could be a foundational step toward shaping the direction you want to take your life in.