The Conscious vs Subconscious Mind in Trauma Healing
Why Healing Can Feel So Hard
Many people begin their healing journey with sheer determination: reading self-help books, practising positive affirmations, and promising themselves that this time things will be different. Yet, when stress hits or old wounds are touched, they find themselves reacting in ways that feel out of their control — snapping at loved ones, spiralling into self-doubt, or withdrawing altogether.
The philosopher Epictetus once said, “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.” But what if that “view” is shaped by something deeper than our conscious mind — something that operates beneath the surface, quietly directing our lives?
This is where the fascinating interplay between the conscious and subconscious mind comes into focus, especially in the realm of trauma healing.
The Conscious Mind: The Part We Think Is in Charge
Our conscious mind is the part we identify with most easily. It’s the voice narrating our day, making decisions, planning meals, and worrying about tomorrow’s to-do list. It’s like the captain of a ship — steering, directing, and seemingly deciding where to go.
But here’s the truth: the captain isn’t the one powering the ship. The engine room — vast, humming, and largely hidden from view — is the subconscious. Without it, the ship goes nowhere.
In daily life, the conscious mind handles logic, reasoning, and willpower. It’s what allows someone to think, “I’ll stay calm in this meeting,” or “I’ll go to bed earlier tonight.” But as many of us have experienced, simply deciding isn’t always enough.
The Subconscious Mind: The Hidden Powerhouse
The subconscious mind is like the vast underwater portion of the iceberg — immense, powerful, and largely unseen. It runs the body’s automatic functions — your heartbeat, your digestion, your breathing . It also stores your memories, emotions, and core beliefs .
Think of it as your internal “operating system.” Just as your phone runs countless background processes without you noticing, your subconscious is always running programmes — many of which were installed in childhood. Some are helpful, like tying your shoelaces without thinking. Others, shaped by trauma or stress, can cause you to react in ways that don’t serve you.
Trauma and the Subconscious: When Old Programs Run the Show
In the first seven years of life, our brains spend much of their time in a delta and theta brainwave state — the same states linked with deep relaxation and hypnosis . During this “imprinting phase,” we absorb our environment like sponges. We take in not only what is said to us, but also what is left unsaid: the family dynamics, emotional undercurrents, and survival strategies.
The Jesuits famously said: “Give me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man.” Modern neuroscience supports this observation — early experiences create neural pathways and belief systems that shape how we see ourselves and the world for decades to come .
When trauma or emotional neglect happens in childhood, the subconscious often encodes protective patterns. For example:
A child who grows up in a volatile household may learn to stay quiet and invisible to feel safe. As an adult, she might shut down emotionally in the face of conflict, even if she consciously wants to speak her truth.
A boy who was only praised when achieving perfect results may grow into a man who pushes himself to exhaustion at work, driven by the subconscious belief that love must be earned.
Someone who experienced abandonment early in life may find themselves clinging to relationships that don’t serve them, even while consciously knowing they deserve better.
These aren’t flaws — they are survival adaptations . The subconscious stores them to protect us. But as adults, they often keep us locked into cycles of anxiety, self-sabotage, or difficult relationships.
Conscious vs Subconscious: Who’s Really in Control?
Most of us like to think we’re steering the ship of our lives. We think our conscious mind is running our lives… but what’s running the conscious mind? That’s unconscious programming.
In other words, the conscious mind is only as free as the subconscious allows. Until we bring awareness to the patterns running in the background, we may mistake them for fate or personality. As Carl Jung wisely said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
Consider these everyday scenarios:
You vow to save money, but every payday you find yourself shopping online as if possessed.
You tell yourself you’ll finally speak up in meetings, but when your manager looks your way, your throat closes.
You promise not to date the same “type” again, but find yourself drawn to similar dynamics that leave you drained.
These aren’t failures of willpower; they’re the echoes of subconscious imprints — outdated scripts still playing, even when they no longer serve us.
The Power of Awareness and Neuroplasticity
Here’s the hopeful part: subconscious patterns are not permanent. Neuroscience shows us that the brain is constantly changing — a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity . Learning a new skill, like playing the guitar, literally rewires your brain over time .
The same principle applies to trauma healing. When we bring subconscious patterns into conscious awareness, we create space to choose differently. Instead of unconsciously replaying old fears, we can begin to rewire our responses.
It’s not about erasing the past — it’s about updating the “software” so the subconscious supports who we are now, not who we had to be to survive.
Moving Beyond Survival: From Coping to Healing
Living with unresolved trauma can keep us in hyper-arousal (anxious, irritable, constantly on edge) or hypo-arousal (numb, disconnected, shut down) . These states might have helped us survive difficult circumstances, but they can make it hard to feel safe, connected, and free in the present.
True healing goes beyond “coping strategies.” It’s about restoring a sense of safety in the body, healing old wounds, and creating space for new ways of being.
Imagine this: instead of bracing yourself every time your phone pings, expecting bad news, you can read a message without a surge of dread. Or instead of feeling paralysed by fear before speaking up at work, you can take a steady breath and calmly express yourself. These shifts may sound small, but they change the texture of everyday life.
How Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing Support Trauma Recovery
Healing the subconscious requires more than just logic or willpower — it calls for approaches that reach beyond the conscious mind and into the deeper layers where trauma lives.
Family Constellations
This therapeutic process explores how family patterns, inherited trauma, and hidden loyalties shape our subconscious programming. By bringing these hidden dynamics into the light, people often experience profound relief, healing, and a renewed sense of belonging.Rapid Core Healing
This method integrates hypnotherapy, NLP, Gestalt Therapy, cognitive behavioural techniques, and systemic work . It allows direct access to the subconscious, helping to gently release old survival patterns and reprocess trauma safely. Clients often describe it as a way to shift deep-seated emotional blocks quickly and effectively.
Together, these approaches work on both levels:
Conscious awareness — helping people see patterns and choices clearly.
Subconscious healing — releasing emotional imprints and rewriting the “programs” that drive behaviour.
Healing the Unseen Layers
Healing trauma isn’t about fixing what’s broken — it’s about remembering that nothing in you is broken. Much of what you’ve carried was simply learned in moments when your nervous system was doing its best to keep you safe.
When you begin to see these patterns not as flaws, but as old survival strategies, you open the door to change. With the support of modalities like Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing, it becomes possible to bring unconscious patterns into awareness, release what no longer serves, and create a new foundation for emotional wellbeing and authentic connection.
As Rumi said, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Healing the subconscious is the work of transforming wounds into wisdom — a journey that can restore balance, peace, and freedom in your life.
About Camilla Brinkworth
Camilla Brinkworth is a naturopath, clinical nutritionist, and trauma-informed practitioner specialising in PMDD, women’s health, and plant-based nutrition. She combines evidence-based dietary strategies with herbal medicine and emotional healing to help women achieve hormonal balance and lasting relief from PMDD.
Learn more about Camilla’s PMDD Transformation Programme and personalised consultations at www.camillaclare.com and www.PMDDnaturopath.com