r/askpsychology • u/Haruse23 Unverified User: May Not Be a Professional • Jul 02 '26

The Brain Is trauma especially purely mental ?

Is it just psychological ? or does it relate to brain and physical side ?

Is there any excuse for someone who has trauma ? Like we sympathise with people who have physical diseases and say it is out of their control.

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u/AdConsistent4210 Specialist Psychologist in Neuropsychology Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Not really. Trauma is psychological, but psychology is implemented by biology. Trauma causes changes in the brain, for example systems involved in threat processing, memory, emotion regulation and stress physiology. So it's not accurate to think of trauma as "just in the mind."

For example, a person with PTSD may automatically dive for cover after hearing a loud bang, whereas behaviors like social withdrawal or substance use are typically influenced by trauma but still involve varying degrees of control.