Healing from Childhood Trauma: A Simplified Guide
Childhood trauma can have a lasting impact and shape the way we relate to ourselves, others, and the world around us. It can leave imprints in the body and nervous system, influencing how safe we feel, how we process emotions, and how we respond to everyday stress. But healing is absolutely possible—and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
In this simplified guide, we’ll explore how to heal from childhood trauma, what the healing process can look like, and practical ways to begin, even if you’re not in therapy.
How Do You Heal from Childhood Trauma?
Healing begins with recognizing that the past may still be living in your body, emotions, and daily patterns—even if it happened years ago.
It isn’t about forgetting what happened—it’s about gently turning towards it in a safe and doable way by working with what is present. Sometimes it is helpful to look at the past and oftentimes it isn’t necessary because the past is playing out in the present time.
You heal by becoming aware of the patterns rooted in your early experiences and learning to regulate your nervous system, feel your emotions safely, meet unmet needs, repair boundary ruptures and build inner resources that restore a sense of safety and empowerment.
For example, I worked with a client who often felt disconnected, spacey, and emotionally and physically numb—what we would recognize as a chronic freeze state. She struggled to be present, felt stunted in her ability to communicate, her mind was constantly racing - which she experienced as anxiety which is sympathetic activation. She had difficulty making decisions, and often felt like life was happening around her, rather than through her.
As we explored her history, it became clear that her nervous system had adapted this way for a reason. She grew up with a passive, emotionally unavailable mother and a father who was verbally abusive and unpredictable, and at school, she was bullied by peers. She adapted by bracing, shutting down and disconnecting from herself. Her body learned that staying quiet, still, and invisible was the safest strategy—so she lived in a state of internal shutdown for years, not being able to access her emotions
In our work together, we didn’t dive straight into the memories. Instead, we started with gentle somatic practices to help her notice sensations, melt the freeze state, repair the ruptured boundaries, orient to safety, and slowly come back into connection with her body. Over time, she began to recognize when she was anxious and moving into freeze and developed tools to support regulation. She also started to feel emotions she hadn’t accessed in years—grief, anger, and even joy. As she strengthened her capacity to stay present, her relationships deepened, she found the courage to build new friendships and she began making more aligned choices in her life.
Stages of Healing from Childhood Trauma
Healing happens in themes and layers and within this are stages. Below I have listed some common stages of healing from childhood trauma while also providing examples of how this looked with the above client example:
Awareness – Recognizing that your current challenges may be connected to unresolved childhood experiences.
We gently explored her present-day symptoms—dissociation, difficulty staying present, and a lack of emotional aliveness. She quickly began to connect these patterns to her upbringing: a passive, emotionally absent mother; a verbally abusive father; and bullying by peers during her school years.
Understanding – Exploring how those early experiences shaped your nervous system, relationships, and self-beliefs.
As we made these connections, she began to see that her nervous system wasn’t “broken”—it had adapted to keep her safe. Her freeze response wasn’t a flaw; it was a brilliant survival strategy that helped her endure overwhelming situations with no safe adult to turn to. After this her internal narrative changed and her self-talk improved.
Regulation – Learning somatic tools to help your body feel safe again and process stored survival stress.
Instead of diving into painful memories, we focused first on melting the freeze state and tending to the anxiety while building somatic safety. This included slow, body-based practices like orienting, breathwork, and tracking subtle sensations. As her capacity grew, she began to feel more grounded, present and resourced in herself and her body.
Reconnection – Reclaiming parts of your identity that were lost or fragmented due to trauma.
As her nervous system settled, deeper emotions began to emerge—grief for what she didn’t receive as a child, anger that had never been safe to feel, and even moments of joy. She began reconnecting with her voice, her preferences, and her sense of aliveness returned.
Integration – Creating a new narrative rooted in self-compassion, clarity, and choice.
Over time, she started showing up differently in her life—speaking up in relationships, setting boundaries, and taking up space. She even began to create new friendships as her ability to connect and communicate with others became more easeful. She no longer viewed herself as broken but as someone who had survived, adapted, and now had the tools to truly heal.
These stages are not linear. You may revisit them at different points in your healing journey, as you work through different themes.
Somatic healing can be a powerful path toward that transformation. If you’re curious to understand how it works, you can learn more about somatic experiencing here.
How to Heal from Childhood Trauma Without Therapy
While therapy can be deeply supportive, it’s not the only path. If you’re wondering how to heal from childhood trauma without therapy, here are a few places to start:
Somatic practices like breathwork, gentle movement, or grounding exercises can help your body process stored trauma and feel safer in the present.
Journaling can create space to explore your emotions and inner world.
Education around trauma and the nervous system can give context to your experiences and reduce shame or confusion.
Creative expression like art, dance, or voice work can open healing pathways beyond words.
Community and safe connection can help rewire old attachment wounds.
Mindfulness and self-compassion practices build inner safety and reduce self-criticism.
Remember: You’re not broken. Your body and nervous system did what they needed to do to survive. Healing is about honoring that and slowly learning a new way to relate to yourself.
How Long Does It Take to Heal from Childhood Trauma?
One of the most common questions is, how long does it take to heal from childhood trauma? The truth is, there’s no set timeline. There is a ripening for healing and the current circumstances and conditions in your life can be supportive to the process or hinder it.
Some shifts happen quickly, while others unfold slowly over time. What matters most is consistency, support (even if it’s self-guided), and a sense of safety. Instead of focusing on how long it will take, try focusing on what helps you feel a little more regulated, more resourced, or more at peace today. Those small steps compound over time and will lead you in the direction you are desiring.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to heal from childhood trauma is a brave and powerful journey. Whether you’re doing it with a therapist, a supportive community, or on your own, know that healing is possible. It’s not about erasing your past—it’s about creating new choices, new patterns, and a new relationship with yourself.
If this guide resonated with you, know that you don’t have to do this work alone. I offer somatic-based support to help you reconnect with your body, process trauma gently, and feel more at home within yourself.
Click here to explore working together or join my email list for more trauma-informed resources, reflections, and tools for healing.
Brianna Anderson, SEP
I’m here to help you heal so you can begin to live the life of your dreams
My private practice specializes in helping people who have endured trauma, resolve the symptoms out of their body, mind & spirit so they can feel comfortable in their skin, find inner peace and live the desires of their heart.
I am based out of South Orange County, Ca and offer online therapy sessions. Whether you are just starting your healing journey or ready to try something new, I am here to help.
is trauma holding you back?
Perhaps you experienced a specific event that left you feeling different, disconnected, or stuck. Or maybe you carry a sense of unease in your body, struggling with anxiety or a feeling that something isn’t quite right.
As a somatic experiencing practitioner I specialize in helping people process and release stored trauma through gentle yet effective methods.
Download my FREE guide “Get Unstuck! The Truth About Body Trauma and How to Break Free’ and learn how to create the future you deserve.