The 20 Ways Trauma Shapes Your Emotional Landscape | NowShift August 11, 2025

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Something shifts when you realize your recurring emotional struggles aren’t personal failures — they’re survival strategies your nervous system learned long ago.

In Episode 2 of our 7-part Trauma Symptoms Mini Series, Dr. Abhimanyou Raathore, founder of the Antifragilient Operating System, guides you through twenty distinct emotional symptoms of trauma. From chronic anxiety, self-criticism, and emotional numbness to anger, withdrawal, and difficulty sustaining relationships — each one tells the story of how your mind and body adapted to protect you.

These patterns aren’t problems to “fix.” They are intelligent responses shaped by past wounds — your parts finding ways to keep you safe. Through compassionate explanation and real-world examples, Dr. Raathore helps you see these emotions with curiosity rather than judgment, laying the groundwork for a healthier, more integrated relationship with yourself.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music and subscribe so you don’t miss Episode 3, where we explore the behavioral symptoms of trauma — the actions and coping strategies that often grow from these emotional states.

A podcast by Dr. Abhimanyou Raathore
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Today is August 11th 2025.
My name is Dr Abhimanyu Rathoreand I'm the founder of the
Anti-Fragilient Operating System.
Today's Anti-FragilientTransmission for the Day
continues our trauma series.

(00:21):
So I welcome you back to ourtrauma series and each of these
episodes we look at a differentway.
Trauma can show up and today weare focusing on emotional
symptoms.
You know the feelings and innerstates that can quietly shape
our daily lives and you know,often without us realizing,

(00:46):
where they came from.
Now, emotional symptoms insimple terms, what are they?
You know, when someone carriestrauma, it just doesn't live in
the memory.
It shows up in how we feel,think and connect with the world

(01:06):
every day.
So let's understand some of theways that it can appear
emotionally.
First and foremost, it canappear as anger or aggression.
You know snapping at people,lashing out, feeling a constant
undercurrent of rage, sometimeswithout even knowing why.

(01:29):
You don't even know why you'reso upset all the time, but you
are.
Another way it can show up isanxiety or panic attacks.
You know there's a constantsense that something bad is
about to happen.
Or sudden waves of intense fearthat take over your body.
Third could be inability torelax.

(01:49):
Even in safe situations, yourmind and body stay on high alert
, like you can't switch off.
Fourth could be chronicloneliness or isolation.
You know feeling cut off fromothers, even if you are
surrounded by people.
Fifth could be constantself-criticism.

(02:12):
You know that inner voice thatnever lets up, always pointing
out what you should have donebetter.
Yeah, yeah, you're getting adrift of something similar to
manager parts.
The sixth way the emotionalsymptoms can show up is

(02:33):
depression.
You know that, that heavy,persistent sadness or emptiness
that makes it so hard to enjoylife, so hard for you to let
your hair down.
Seventh could be overwhelmingemotions.
You know feelings that hit youso hard and fast that they seem
to take control, like grief,fear or anger flooding in.

(02:54):
Eighth could be fears orphobias.
You know intense fear ofcertain places, people or
situations, even if there's noimmediate danger.
Ninth could be mood shifts orirritability.
You know your emotional stateswinging from calm to upset in

(03:14):
minutes, sometimes over smalltriggers.
Tenth could be hopelessnessfeeling like nothing will get
better, no matter what you do.
Feeling like nothing will getbetter no matter what you do.
Eleventh could be night terrorsor nightmares, disturbing
dreams that jolt you awake,leaving you shaken or exhausted.
Twelfth could be numbness ordetachment.

(03:37):
You know that feeling of beingemotionally frozen, disconnected
from yourself or from lifearound you.
Thirteenth could be feelingoverwhelmed, where life actually
feels too much.
Too many demands, too muchpressure, even with small tasks.
Fourteenth could be painfulindecision, struggling to make

(04:12):
choices because every optionfeels wrong or risky.
16 could be unresolved grief.
You know carrying a deepsadness or a past loss that
never got a chance to fully healno-transcript.
17th could be difficultyfeeling close to others.

(04:33):
You know wanting to connect butfinding it hard to trust or
open up.
18th could be difficulty makingor keeping friends.
You know relationships feellike hard work in such cases or
they just fizzle out quickly.
19th could be difficulty sayingno, saying yes to things you

(04:57):
don't want or can't handle, justto avoid conflict or rejection.
And, last but not the least, inthe emotional symptoms, frequent
conflict with others, repeatedarguments or misunderstandings
that leave you feeling drainedor misunderstood, or
misunderstandings that leave youfeeling drained or
misunderstood.
So you know if you felt a sparkof recognition here, remember

(05:21):
these emotional patterns aren'tproof of weakness, they're signs
of survival.
This is how your parts tookshape.
So be kind to yourself as younotice them, Be kind to these
parts as you notice them, and inour next episode we'll explore
behavioral symptoms of trauma.

(05:41):
You know the actions and copingstrategies that often follow
these emotions.
Do let me know how you'reliking these sessions, these
episodes on trauma, to help youreally understand yourself
better and personalize thisunderstanding, this learning to

(06:06):
have a greater connect withyourself as self and with your
parts, so that you can be athome with them peacefully and
beautifully.
Thank you so much for listeningin.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.