Five years ago, the world stopped.
March 2020 brought a global experience of fear, disbelief, grief, and isolation. It was a collective trauma that changed us in ways we are still uncovering. While time has moved forward, our bodies remember. Even when our minds try to forget, our nervous systems retain the echoes of that time.
This is the reality of trauma anniversaries.
Our brains may not always consciously connect the dots, but our bodies do. As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk explains in The Body Keeps the Score, traumatic experiences are stored not just in our minds but in our bodies. They alter our stress response systems, making us more sensitive to similar stressors in the future. So, when external circumstances bring back those familiar feelings of uncertainty and chaos, our bodies react as if it is happening again. And now it is all happening again, and our bodies are experiencing fear.
How Trauma is Stored in the Body
Dr. Bruce Perry’s research in What Happened to You? highlights how trauma is not just an event that happened in the past—it is an experience that shapes how we respond to stress in the present. When faced with overwhelming stress, the lower parts of our brain—the ones responsible for survival—take over. The rational, thinking brain goes offline, and our bodies prepare to fight, flee, freeze, or fawn.
This is why trauma responses don’t always make logical sense to us.
Instead of processing trauma as a story with a beginning, middle, and end, our nervous systems store it as a feeling. A sound, a smell, a certain type of news headline, or even the time of year can bring it rushing back. This is why trauma anniversaries often come with unexpected waves of fatigue, irritability, anxiety, or even physical illness. Especially when the present is so similar to the first trauma experience. While we may not die from an unknown disease, the politics, system confusion, and uncertainty of what is coming next- is all the same.
March is a Trauma Anniversary
Now, March arrives once more, and while the threats are different, the emotions are eerily familiar.
Disbelief. How is this happening again?
Confusion. What is real? What is exaggeration?
Fear. What does this mean for my future, my children’s future?
Helplessness. What can I even do to make a difference?
Hopelessness. Why am I even here?
Our brains ask, how?, while our bodies whisper, again?—triggering trauma responses, sending us spiraling into exhaustion, worry, and numbness.
This is not just happening to you. It’s happening to all of us. The weight of then and now presses against us. But if we can recognize what’s happening—if we can name it—we can navigate it. We can write our story, stay curious, and connect to those we care for the most.
How Do We Move Through This?
Both van der Kolk and Perry emphasize that healing from trauma is not about forgetting but about reprocessing and reconnecting.
Trauma isolates us, but healing happens in relationships.
Here are some key ways to support ourselves during this season:
Stay Curious
Instead of judging yourself for feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or unmotivated, get curious.
Ask yourself: What does my body need right now? Have I eaten? Have I moved my body today?
Prioritize Daily Rhythms
Trauma disrupts our sense of safety and predictability.
Establishing simple, daily habits—consistent sleep, movement, nourishing food, and time outside—gives our nervous system a sense of stability.
Perry’s work highlights that regulation happens through rhythm. This is why activities like walking, drumming, dancing, and deep breathing are so powerful.
Use the Body to Calm the Brain
Van der Kolk reminds us that trauma is stored in the body, so healing must involve the body. Healing takes action.
Somatic practices like walking, yoga, stretching, tapping, and mindful breathing can help shift us out of survival mode.
Stay Connected
Trauma makes us withdraw. Connection is the antidote.
Call a friend, sit with your child and play, engage in your community.
Perry emphasizes that healing is relational. We were hurt in disconnection, and we heal in connection.
Moving Forward, Together
Yes, we will feel this. Yes, we will be changed—again. But different does not mean broken. It means being wiser, more aware, and better able to listen to messages from our bodies and minds. If we can do that—if we can honor what our bodies are telling us—we will move forward.
Not untouched, but together. Being curious and connected.
Reach out to get support from a licensed mental health professional and, for your child, a registered play therapist.