Healing Trauma: Why Pills Aren’t Enough & What Actually Works
When people think of healing trauma, the first thing they reach for is medication. Prozac. Zoloft. Whatever the doctor prescribes. And sure, it can take the edge off. But here’s the truth nobody likes to hear:
Pills don’t heal trauma.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk — one of the leading voices in trauma research — ran studies on these drugs. The outcome? At best, tiny improvements. They numbed some symptoms, but they never touched the core of the pain.
Because trauma doesn’t just live in your head. It lives in your body. In your nervous system. In how your heart races when nothing’s wrong. In how you flinch at a look. In how you can’t relax, even when you’re safe.
And you can’t medicate your way back into safety.
The Real Work: Making Your Body Feel Safe
Trauma rewires your survival brain. It makes your body treat the present like it’s still the past. That’s why you can know you’re safe but still feel like you’re under attack.
You can’t argue with your nervous system. You can’t think your way out of it. Healing is not an intellectual exercise. It’s about retraining your body to feel safe again.
That’s the battlefield. That’s where the real work begins.
6 Paths That Actually Work
Here are six approaches that don’t just cover up trauma — they help you work through it:
1. EMDR
You revisit traumatic memories while following side-to-side eye movements. Sounds strange, but it shifts how your brain processes those memories. Suddenly the past starts to feel like the past — not like it’s still happening.
2. Yoga
Not the Instagram version. Real yoga — learning to breathe, notice your body, and sit with yourself again. Trauma disconnects you from your own skin. Yoga reconnects you. In studies, it even outperformed every drug tested for PTSD.
3. Theatre & Movement
When you’re locked into an identity — victim, tough guy, lost cause — stepping into a role changes everything. Acting, role-play, movement… it lets you feel strength, vulnerability, and freedom you’ve never allowed yourself.
4. Neurofeedback
Basically, training your brain to calm down. Electrodes track your brainwaves while feedback teaches you how to regulate them. Over time, you rebuild focus, calm, and emotional balance.
5. MDMA Therapy
In clinical settings, MDMA lets people revisit trauma without drowning in fear or shame. It opens compassion for yourself and makes space to finally face what you’ve been running from. It’s not for everyone, but when it works, it’s powerful.
6. Self-Compassion + Therapy
The foundation of it all. You don’t “fix” yourself like you’re broken machinery. You learn to care for the wounds you carry. Real therapy is about being witnessed, validated, and held without judgment.
Two Things to Remember
Healing is an experiment.
There’s no formula, no “this works for everyone.” It’s trial and error. You try different approaches until something clicks for your body and nervous system.
The body keeps the score.
Trauma isn’t just in your memories. It’s in your breath, your heart rate, your posture, your sleep. That’s why healing has to involve the body — not just your thoughts.
Final Word
Trauma healing isn’t about erasing the past. It’s about reclaiming yourself. It’s about teaching your body that it’s safe again. It’s about finding compassion for the parts of you that had to survive the only way they knew how.
It won’t happen overnight. But it will happen if you keep showing up for yourself.
Healing is an experiment. Be patient. Be compassionate. Keep going.
Credit: This blog is based on insights from Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s interview, “6 ways to heal trauma without medication | Bessel van der Kolk | Big Think.”
