Rewriting Your Story: How to Break Free From Past Trauma and Reclaim Your Narrative
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The past doesn’t define you, but it can certainly feel that way. As a growing body of psychological research reveals, overcoming trauma isn’t simply about intellectual understanding – it’s about rewriting the deeply ingrained narratives held within the body itself.
A specialist in trauma, Ana Galán, observes a common pattern in her practice: individuals trapped by internal stories that, despite conscious desires to move forward, continue to inflict pain. “We don’t repeat history because we want to, but because our nervous system continues to function as if the danger were still present,” she explains. But breaking free from these cycles isn’t a matter of willpower alone; it requires addressing the physiological responses that keep the past alive in the present.
Trauma’s Grip: A Narrative Pattern Rooted in the Body
From a psychological perspective, the stories we repeatedly tell ourselves – “I am not enough,” “everything goes wrong for me,” “something is wrong with me” – aren’t random thoughts. They are, in fact, mental translations of a body still operating in survival mode. Trauma, Galán details, doesn’t just leave emotional or cognitive scars; it fundamentally alters the functioning of the nervous system.
“When something overwhelmed us emotionally and we couldn’t process it, the body learned a way of being in the world to protect itself,” she says. This protective mechanism, however, can evolve into a self-limiting narrative. What began as an adaptation becomes, over time, a constraint. Even when an individual wants to change, if their nervous system doesn’t feel safe, any attempt at transformation is perceived as a threat. “The main obstacle to change is not cognitive, it is physical,” Galán emphasizes. Rationally understanding what happened isn’t enough; the body must also feel ready to release the past. Therefore, strategies like positive thinking or self-criticism often prove frustrating, as simply believing things are different doesn’t erase the body’s ingrained response. “Thinking that everything has already happened does not mean that when you pass by the place where everything happened, you get a chill.”
The Body Holds the Key: Shifting From Survival to Safety
Galán insists, “the body calms itself from the body, not from the mind.” This is a crucial distinction: if the physiological response isn’t addressed, the internal narrative can’t be sustainably transformed. Many individuals may intellectually grasp their situation, but their bodies remain stuck in a state of alert. It’s not about thinking better, but about feeling safe. Only with a regulated nervous system can new meanings be embraced without triggering panic or distrust.
Galán employs an integrative approach grounded in somatic practices. She utilizes tools to regulate the nervous system, cultivate body awareness, and techniques like Internal Family Systems (IFS). The goal isn’t merely to adopt different thoughts, but to allow the body to recognize it’s in a safe environment and embrace a new internal narrative.
The True Starting Point: Validating the Past, Reclaiming the Present
“The first step is usually not to understand more, but to feel safe to look,” Galán states. Overcoming trauma and redefining oneself outside the role of victim requires rewriting one’s story – not as a tale of defeat, but as an account of something that happened, caused pain, and is now over. The intention, she says, is to “hack your nervous system.” This process doesn’t begin with self-blame (“what’s wrong with me?”), but with compassionate inquiry (“what happened to me and how did it affect me?”). This, for Galán, is the true gateway to transformation. It’s not about reliving the pain, but about validating it and containing it safely.
Only when the body begins to feel secure can the mind cease its struggle and redefine its history. This is when many discover they weren’t broken, but simply adapting to circumstances. From that point, rewriting history becomes not only possible, but inevitable.
Recognizing the Need for a New Narrative
Often, we’re unaware of the subtle signs that our current story no longer serves us. Feelings of stagnation despite outward stability, the repetition of painful relationship patterns, chronic fatigue, hypervigilance, or operating on autopilot aren’t personal failings. They are alerts from an overwhelmed nervous system signaling a need for a new narrative.
Emotional Freedom: Embracing Protagonism and Compassion
Assuming the role of protagonist in our own story isn’t about self-blame; it’s about reclaiming the power of choice. Galán reminds us that in many traumatic experiences, there was no option but adaptation. “The role of victim is not an identity, it is a consequence.” True responsibility isn’t exercised through demands, but through compassion for what our bodies did to survive.
Rewriting a personal story may sound cliché, but in neurobiological and therapeutic terms, it’s a tangible reality. Changing perspective changes life, not through intellect alone, but through a deep sense of security and presence.
