How Breathing Can Support Trauma Recovery
When you've experienced trauma, your nervous system can stay stuck in survival mode — hyperalert , shut down , or swinging between both.
Breath is one of the most accessible tools we have to gently interrupt this pattern and signal safety back to the body.
Why breathing helps:
It connects body + brain in real time
It activates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest + digest)
It builds capacity for calm without forcing it
It offers a moment of choice — which trauma often steals
Start small:
Try 4-count in, 4-count out breathing
Let your exhale be longer than your inhale
Place a hand on your chest or belly and feel the rhythm
You don’t have to breathe “perfectly.”
Just pause. notice. exhale. That’s enough.
Your breath can become a safe place to return to — slowly, gently, again and again.
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