How Trauma Distorts Thinking: Identifying and Addressing Cognitive Distortions Post-Trauma

Dr. Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist, delves into four primary ways traumatic experiences can distort an individual's thinking, leading to what are known as cognitive distortions. While these are particularly prevalent in those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), they can affect anyone who has experienced trauma. The distortions discussed include an inability to feel close to others, a pervasive sense of unsafety, self-blame and mistrust, and feelings of powerlessness. The core argument is that past traumatic emotions are often overlaid onto present situations, resulting in disproportionate reactions and maladaptive coping mechanisms.

The episode highlights crucial distinctions, such as how different traumatic origins (e.g., controlling figures vs. anticipated rejection) can lead to similar behaviors like emotional distancing. It emphasizes the illogical nature of cognitive distortions, where individuals may blame themselves for circumstances beyond their control, especially in person-to-person trauma compared to accidents. A key nuance is the need for a combined approach: addressing both the distorted mindset and the resulting avoidance behaviors, rather than just one in isolation.

Dr. Marks provides practical, actionable strategies for each distortion. For difficulty with intimacy, she recommends journaling with a specific template to identify patterns and differentiate past from present. To combat feelings of unsafety, grounding exercises, such as the color awareness technique, are suggested to anchor individuals in the present moment. Self-blame and mistrust can be addressed through similar journaling practices. For feelings of powerlessness, the advice is to identify and gain control over small, manageable aspects of life, coupled with therapeutic techniques like graded exposure or systematic desensitization to overcome avoidance.

Broader implications include the empowerment that comes from recognizing these distortions, which is the first step toward healing and regaining personal agency. The podcast underscores the value of professional therapy for deeper issues and offers self-help resources, including journaling worksheets and Dr. Marks's forthcoming book, "Why Am I So Anxious?" This understanding helps individuals shift their perspective from being trapped by past experiences to actively shaping healthier responses in the present, fostering resilience and emotional well-being.

Traumatic experiences can also affect how you perceive things and cause you to have what we call cognitive distortions.

You tend to overlay the same emotions from the past experience onto the present and react to it as if it's the same experience, but it's not.

Breaking out of this pattern takes time, but change starts with recognizing the connection between your past losses and how you're reacting to new situations in the present.

We're assuming here that your reaction was out of proportion to the trigger. It doesn't fit the situation. So whatever the person said or did, isn't to blame for how you feel.

Grounding exercises are a great way to get out of future thinking and bring you back to the present moment where you are currently safe.

We process intentional person to person harm differently than unintentional accidents even if the physical outcome is the same.

Fear followed by avoidance of things related to the fear makes the fear grow bigger and sometimes morph into other fears.

If you gain control over something, even if it's small, you weaken the distortion about being powerless over everything.

This is called graded exposure or systematic desensitization.

Desensitization helps you get past the restrictive behavior that's holding you back, but you'll still need to work on your mindset around feeling powerless.