Why Our Brains Get Stuck in Trauma

Introduction: The Puzzle of Stuck Memories

One of the most frustrating experiences for trauma survivors is the sense that the past will not stay in the past. A smell, a sound, or a passing comment can trigger overwhelming fear or grief, as if the trauma were happening all over again. This is not “just in your head” in the dismissive sense; it is literally happening in your brain. Neuroscience explains why trauma memories are different from ordinary memories, and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) offers a pathway to correct how these memories are stored and retrieved.

From a biblical perspective, this experience helps us appreciate why Scripture speaks so often about remembering rightly. Trauma memories can dominate and distort, but God calls us to a kind of remembrance that leads to renewal. As Paul wrote: “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14, MEV).

The Neuroscience of Traumatic Memory

To understand why trauma keeps us stuck, we need to look at three key brain regions:

1. Amygdala (the alarm system): This almond-shaped cluster of neurons detects threats and triggers fight-or-flight responses. In trauma, the amygdala becomes hyperactive, sending danger signals even when no threat is present.

2. Prefrontal Cortex (the reasoning center): This region is responsible for logic, planning, and decision-making. Under chronic stress or trauma, activity in the prefrontal cortex decreases, making it harder to override the amygdala’s false alarms.

3. Hippocampus (the memory organizer): Normally, the hippocampus helps contextualize memories, marking them as belonging to the past. In trauma, the hippocampus can shrink or malfunction, preventing memories from being properly “filed.” As a result, trauma feels present rather than past.

Research shows that these imbalances cause trauma survivors to re-experience memories in fragmented, sensory-heavy ways (images, smells, bodily sensations), without the normal narrative structure that allows us to say, “That happened, and I survived.”

Why Trauma Memories Get Stuck

Ordinary memories are processed, stored, and integrated into our life story. Traumatic memories, however, often remain “raw”—unprocessed, fragmented, and intrusive. Instead of being filed away, they loop endlessly, keeping survivors hypervigilant and emotionally overwhelmed.

CPT addresses this by helping clients revisit the trauma memory in a structured way, analyze the meaning they have attached to it, and reprocess it with a new perspective. Over time, this strengthens the prefrontal cortex, calms the amygdala, and allows the hippocampus to correctly mark the memory as past.

Biblical Echoes: Joseph and His Brothers

The story of Joseph in Genesis provides a striking parallel. After years of betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment, Joseph’s trauma resurfaced when he faced his brothers. Genesis 42:9 notes: “Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them.” His past felt alive in the present. His emotional reaction—accusing, testing, and weeping—illustrates the human struggle of re-experiencing pain.

Yet Joseph eventually reframed his trauma, declaring: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 50:20, MEV). This reframing did not deny the evil or erase the suffering, but it situated the memory in a new context. Similarly, CPT teaches clients to reframe trauma—not to minimize it, but to interpret it in a way that restores agency and hope.

CPT’s Method: From Stuck to Processed

CPT involves four key steps that directly address how the brain stores trauma:

1. Identifying stuck points: Survivors list recurring, distressing thoughts related to the trauma.

2. Challenging distortions: Using structured worksheets, they test whether these beliefs are accurate and helpful.

3. Processing the trauma memory: By writing and revising trauma accounts, survivors engage the prefrontal cortex, turning a fragmented experience into a coherent narrative.

4. Reframing beliefs: Survivors develop more balanced perspectives, which reduces emotional reactivity and integrates the trauma into their life story.

This process is not merely psychological. It mirrors the biblical invitation to reflect, confess, and renew. Paul describes it as taking “every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5, MEV) and allowing God’s Spirit to transform the mind (Romans 12:2).

A Modern Example

Consider a survivor of a car accident who now panics every time they approach an intersection. Their amygdala floods them with fear, their prefrontal cortex struggles to override the reaction, and their hippocampus misfires, leaving the body convinced the accident is happening again. CPT would help them write about the accident, identify beliefs like “I will never be safe driving again,” and challenge them with evidence: “I have driven safely hundreds of times since.” Over time, the brain rewires to respond more calmly.

Theological Integration: Remembering with Hope

The Bible does not call us to erase memory but to reframe it. The Israelites were commanded to remember their slavery in Egypt—but always in the context of God’s deliverance (Deuteronomy 5:15). Likewise, trauma survivors can learn to remember their suffering without being defined by it. This is what Joseph modeled, and what Paul expressed when pressing forward toward the prize in Christ.

Practical Steps: Helping the Brain Heal

1. Journal the trauma story – Begin writing, even in fragments. The act of storytelling engages the prefrontal cortex.

2. List stuck points – Write down repeating thoughts about the trauma.

3. Test with evidence – Ask: Is this thought always true? What evidence contradicts it?

4. Add Scripture reframes – Replace lies with truths: e.g., “I am ruined forever” → “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16, MEV).

5. Practice grounding techniques – Use breathing, prayer, and sensory grounding to remind your brain that the trauma is not happening now.

   
   

Reflection Questions

1. When do your trauma memories feel most “present”?

2. Which of your thoughts about the trauma might be stuck points rather than truth?

3. How could rewriting your trauma story help your brain file it as past?

4. What Scriptures help you reframe painful memories with hope?

   
   

Closing Thought

Trauma lingers not because survivors are weak, but because the brain struggles to properly store the memory. CPT provides a roadmap for reprocessing trauma so it can be remembered without being relived. Scripture reinforces this process by teaching us to reframe suffering in light of God’s truth and purpose. When psychology and faith work together, the past no longer dominates the present, and hope for renewal becomes real.