If you’ve ever had a reaction you immediately regretted — snapping, shutting down, getting defensive, people-pleasing, withdrawing — and thought, “Why am I like this?”… this episode will change how you see yourself.

Today we’re unpacking the truth that your first reaction is not your character — it’s your trauma. Your initial response is driven by the part of your brain that learned to protect you long before you had language, logic, or self-awareness.

We explore how trauma literally rewires the brain, especially the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex — and how this impacts your thinking, emotional regulation, and sense of safety. When the fear centers fire, your reasoning centers go quiet. And that’s not a moral failure — it’s biology.

This episode is both educational and deeply compassionate. We talk about why it takes time to rewire your reactions, why curiosity matters more than shame, and how your second reaction — the one that comes after the pause — is the real reflection of who you are becoming.

And of course, we share concrete steps you can practice to move from reaction to response with more ease, self-awareness, and self-kindness.

💬 In this episode:

• Why your initial reaction is trauma-based, not character-based
• How trauma rewires the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex
• Why your logical brain goes quiet during emotional activation
• How to separate your survival reactions from your true self
• What it looks like to respond instead of react
• Tools to create space between your first reaction and your second

✨ You’ll walk away with:

• A deeper understanding of why you react the way you do
• Compassion for your trauma responses — instead of shame
• A new framework for identifying who you truly are
• Practical steps to rewire your reactions over time
• The reminder that your first reaction is your past — but your second reaction is your power