Trauma-Informed Responses to PTSD: What to Do in the Moment

When a PTSD response hits, it can feel like the ground falls out from beneath you.

You might know, rationally, that you are safe but your body doesn’t believe it. You may be flooded with fear, panic, or dissociation. You may feel trapped in a past moment that your nervous system hasn’t realised is over.

These moments can feel overwhelming, but they are survivable - and with the right tools, they can become opportunities for repair rather than retraumatisation.

Whether you're experiencing the episode yourself or holding space for someone else, here’s a trauma-informed, somatic approach to navigating a PTSD event with safety, softness, and skill.

✦ What’s Happening in the Nervous System?

A PTSD episode is a nervous system override after a traumatic event. The body is flooded with stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenaline), the amygdala hijacks the brain’s alarm system, and the prefrontal cortex (the rational part) often goes offline.

You’re not broken. You’re not overreacting. You’re having a real, embodied response to something that once overwhelmed your system.

And that means the first step isn’t to think your way out - but to bring your body back into the present.

☾ IF IT’S YOU: Grounding Yourself Through a PTSD Episode

Here are somatic tools you can use in the moment to anchor yourself:

1. Orient to Your Surroundings

Look around the room. Name 5 things you see.Notice shapes, colors, light, or objects.This helps your brain re-register that you’re here now, not there then.

You can softly say to yourself:

“I’m in my room. It’s 2025. That’s my lamp. There’s the window. I’m safe now.”

This is called orienting—it tells your nervous system, “The threat is not in this room.”

2. Use the Body as a Bridge

Get physical. Try:

• Pressing your feet into the ground

• Placing a hand on your heart and another on your belly

• Wrapping yourself in a blanket or weighted object

• Splashing cold water on your face or holding an ice cube

These give your brain sensory feedback that can interrupt the trauma loop. The body becomes a kind of anchor line.

3. Breathe Into Contact, Not Control

Instead of trying to “calm down,” try connecting with your breath.

• Inhale through the nose (count 4)

• Exhale slowly through pursed lips (count 6 or more)

• Let the exhale be longer than the inhale (this stimulates the vagus nerve—the body’s natural calming pathway)

You don’t have to force stillness. Even shaky, shallow breaths count.

4. Give Yourself Permission

Sometimes we freeze or dissociate because we’re afraid of the feelings themselves. Tell yourself:

“It’s okay to feel scared. This is a flashback. It won’t last forever. I can let it move through me.”

Your job isn’t to fix the feeling - it’s to be with it, lovingly.

☾ IF IT’S SOMEONE ELSE: Supporting Someone in a PTSD Episode

If you’re witnessing someone experiencing a flashback, panic, or freeze response, your regulated presence can be their medicine.

1. Stay Calm, Stay Slow

Don’t panic or try to rush them out of it. Speak softly. Move slowly. Don’t touch them unless they’ve consented to it.

Say things like:

• “You’re safe now.”

• “I’m here with you.”

• “You don’t have to go through this alone.”

• “Can you feel your feet on the ground?”

You’re not trying to “snap them out of it” - you’re co-regulating with them, helping their nervous system feel less alone.

2. Guide With Gentle Grounding

Offer simple, present-time prompts:

• “Can you name 3 things you see right now?”

• “Can you feel your breath?”

• “Can you hold this object? It’s solid, it’s here.”

Avoid questions that require deep thinking. Stick with sensory, simple, and now.

3. Respect Autonomy

If they need space, give it - without disappearing. You might say:

“I’ll step back a bit, but I’m still here if you need me.”

Ask permission before offering touch, eye contact, or deeper engagement.

4. Regulate Yourself First

If you feel yourself getting anxious or overwhelmed, breathe into your own body. Your calmness is not performative - it’s a real resource they can attune to.

✦ Aftercare: What Comes Next Matters Too

After a PTSD episode, you might feel shame, exhaustion, or confusion. Here’s what helps:

• Drink water

• Eat something grounding (warm, soft foods are great)

• Take a shower or move your body gently

• Journal, draw, or speak about the experience if/when you feel ready

• Remind yourself: “That was a trauma response, not a failure.”

  
  

This is a tender time. Treat yourself (or the person you supported) like you would a child who just had a nightmare - with softness, safety, and zero judgment.

⊹ A Gentle Word for the Spirit

Trauma responses aren’t signs of weakness - they are signs of how deeply your system once needed to protect you. There’s nothing wrong with you. These moments don’t define your healing - they are part of it.

Every time you respond with presence instead of panic, you are rewriting the story your body has carried.

That’s sacred work. And you are doing it.