When something overwhelming happens, the brain registers it as a threat to survival. The nervous system responds immediately — flooding the body with stress hormones, sharpening the senses, preparing to fight, flee, or freeze. This is not a malfunction. This is the body doing exactly what it was designed to do.
For most people, that response quiets down once the danger passes. For people with PTSD, it does not fully quiet. The nervous system continues to operate as though the original threat may return at any moment. The body stays on alert. The mind keeps watch. Sleep becomes difficult. Ordinary things can trip a response the mind did not consciously authorize.
This is not the person failing to move on. This is the body doing the only thing it knows to do — keep the person safe.
