How Past Trauma Can Fuel Present-Day Anxiety and Depression

You feel anxious all the time—but you’re not sure why. You struggle with low energy, low mood, or emotional numbness, yet can’t pinpoint the cause. Maybe you tell yourself, “I have a good life. Why do I feel this way?”

If this sounds familiar, there’s a possibility your past is quietly affecting your present. Unprocessed trauma—especially from childhood—can live in the body and mind long after the event has passed. At Cherry Creek Therapy, we help individuals in Denver uncover how trauma may be fueling their anxiety and depression, and guide them toward healing.

Trauma Isn’t Always What You Think

When most people hear the word “trauma,” they think of major events: car accidents, abuse, natural disasters, or military combat. But trauma also includes what therapists call “little t” traumas—subtle but deeply impactful emotional wounds, such as:

• Growing up with emotionally unavailable parents

• Being chronically criticized or dismissed

• Experiencing emotional neglect or abandonment

• Feeling unsafe or invisible in your home or relationships

• Navigating divorce, betrayal, bullying, or grief as a child

These experiences may not have left physical scars, but they often leave emotional ones—particularly when you never had a safe space to process them.

How Trauma Shows Up Later in Life

Even if you’ve “moved on,” unresolved trauma can affect your adult life in ways you might not realize. Here’s how trauma commonly fuels anxiety, depression, and emotional struggles:

🧠 Anxiety

• You feel hypervigilant or always “on alert,” even when there’s no danger.

• Your mind races with worst-case scenarios.

• You struggle to relax or trust others.

• You avoid certain situations or relationships to avoid feeling exposed or rejected.

💭 Depression

• You feel emotionally flat, hopeless, or disconnected from life.

• You carry a deep sense of shame, worthlessness, or exhaustion.

• You find it hard to motivate yourself or feel joy—even when things are “fine.”

• You isolate from others but feel lonely at the same time.

❤️ Relational Patterns

• You over-give, people-please, or lose yourself in relationships.

• You fear abandonment and become anxious or clingy.

• You shut down emotionally to protect yourself from being hurt again.

• Conflict feels terrifying—or completely off-limits.

💬 Mind-Body Symptoms

• Chronic headaches, muscle tension, stomach issues (IBS), fatigue

• Sleep problems, nightmares, or insomnia

• Feeling like your body is always in a “stress state”

Why You May Not Recognize It as Trauma

It’s common for adults to dismiss their own emotional pain with phrases like:

• “It wasn’t that bad.”

• “Other people had it worse.”

• “I’ve moved on. That was years ago.”

But trauma isn’t about how “bad” an event was—it’s about how it affected your nervous system and sense of safety. And if you didn’t feel emotionally supported or able to process the experience at the time, it likely became embedded.

In fact, many high-functioning individuals with anxiety or depression are carrying invisible trauma—masked by busyness, perfectionism, or self-blame.

How Therapy Helps Heal Trauma-Driven Anxiety and Depression

At Cherry Creek Therapy, we offer trauma-informed individual counseling in Denver that gently uncovers and addresses the emotional roots of anxiety and depression. Therapy is not just about managing symptoms—it’s about healing what’s underneath them.

Here’s how therapy can help:

1. Creating Safety First

We begin by building a therapeutic relationship where you feel safe, supported, and respected. You set the pace. Nothing is forced. Your nervous system needs safety before it can begin healing.

2. Understanding Your Story

We explore your life experiences—not to dwell in the past, but to understand the emotional patterns and beliefs formed there. For example:

• “I’m not good enough.”

• “I can’t trust anyone.”

• “If I stop trying, I’ll fall apart.”

These beliefs often live under the surface and shape how you relate to yourself and others.

3. Healing with Internal Family Systems (IFS)

IFS is a powerful, compassionate therapy approach that helps you identify and work with “parts” of yourself—like the anxious part that worries constantly, or the critical part that keeps you striving. These parts developed for a reason, often to protect you after trauma. In therapy, you’ll learn to:

• Listen to them with compassion

• Understand what they need

• Unburden the pain they carry

This work helps restore balance, confidence, and inner peace.

4. Processing with EMDR (When Appropriate)

For some individuals, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be a helpful tool to reprocess trauma without having to talk through every detail. It allows the brain to rewire how it stores painful memories—so they no longer trigger overwhelming emotions or beliefs.

5. Rebuilding Self-Compassion and Resilience

Through trauma-informed therapy, you’ll learn how to care for yourself differently—how to:

• Feel emotions without being consumed by them

• Quiet the inner critic and practice self-kindness

• Create boundaries without guilt

• Reclaim a sense of empowerment in your life

You’re Not Broken—You’re Carrying a Story That Needs Healing

If you’re living with anxiety, depression, or a feeling of emotional “stuckness,” it doesn’t mean you’re broken—it means your body and mind are trying to protect you based on what they’ve been through.

Therapy helps you unlearn what’s no longer serving you and step into a more grounded, empowered way of being.