Why Treating Symptoms Isn’t Enough to Heal Trauma

Early in my practice, I met clients glued to treating depression only with medication. Their mood would lift briefly but soon dip again. It reminded me of treating a rash without asking what caused it. One woman named Maria came in after months of meds and still could barely leave her house. We began mapping her panic to weekend errands, then to memories of running errands with a father who never returned. For the first time, she saw the pattern was more than bad days—it was a recurring wound.

As she traced each spike of anxiety back to that first ache of abandonment, tears welled up and relief followed. Naming the root gave her a target for therapy’s focus. She didn’t just cover symptoms, she addressed the core grief. Over the next weeks, she reclaimed errands slowly—first driving to the park, then to the grocery store. The amygdala’s hijack alarm still buzzed occasionally, but she now had a map and a plan.

Trauma science tells us that we can’t just erase symptoms. Memories and neural pathways must be rewired through purposeful processing. By treating the cause—like Maria did—clients move from temporary relief to lasting recovery. It’s not magic, it’s how our brains heal.

Next time you feel stuck in anxiety, anger or despair, pause and chart the moment you first noticed it. Ask ‘Why now?’ and jot down every event or thought that led there—even a throwaway comment or small memory. Keep tracing back until you reach the earliest wound or stressor. Then pick one focused action—like sharing that insight with a friend or writing it down—to address the root. That shift from chasing symptoms to healing causes is where true change begins.