How to Know if Trauma Is Affecting Your Business Success

You’re smart. You’re ambitious. You have the drive and vision to do big things. To be honest, you’ve already done big things, but somehow success still feels so hard. 

Maybe you’re second-guessing yourself or procrastinating on what matters most. You freeze when it’s time to show up or make big decisions for yourself or your business. You might compare yourself to others, feel guilty charging what you’re worth, or avoid conflict — even when it’s costing you in either time, money or both. 

You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. 

But you might be carrying unhealed trauma that’s quietly shaping the way you show up.

Let’s talk about it.

What Counts as Trauma (Even If You Don’t Think You Have “Trauma”)

I get it. You hear “trauma” and automatically think of other people — those who have experienced the big, obvious things we usually associate with trauma: abuse, loss, violence, disaster. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen women in my office hesitate to identify their experiences as trauma, often out of deference to those they believe “have it worse.” I saw this especially after COVID, and again when devastating fires destroyed entire neighborhoods here in Los Angeles. The constant comparison is often rooted in the minimization of one’s experience.

But trauma also includes the things that didn’t happen: not being truly seen, heard, or supported. Growing up in an environment of emotional neglect where you had to stay small, perform perfectly, or keep the peace can leave deep imprints. These ripple from childhood into our adult lives, leading to chronic stress and the heavy burden of carrying unseen emotional and mental loads.

For high-functioning women, especially those who’ve learned to succeed by powering through, trauma often flies under the radar. You might be great at holding it all together, maybe even taking pride in your ability to do so, but underneath, your nervous system may be stuck in patterns of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.

Subtle Signs Trauma Might Be Impacting Your Business

Here are some common ways unhealed trauma can show up in entrepreneurship and leadership — especially for women:

• You freeze or procrastinate before taking big action (raising your rates, marketing, launching your business or a new product, public speaking)
  
• You overwork or overdeliver to avoid disappointing others
  
• You avoid visibility because it feels unsafe or too vulnerable
  
• You undercharge or feel guilt around receiving money
  
• You avoid setting boundaries or saying no — even when it costs you
  
• You collapse after success (burnout, imposter syndrome, self-sabotage)
  
• You’re always in your head, disconnected from your body, your feelings and intuition
  
• You fear being “too much” or not enough — sometimes at the same time
  

These aren’t personality flaws. They’re protective adaptations — your nervous system doing its best to keep you safe based on past experiences.

Why Mindset Work Alone Doesn’t Always Work

You might have tried life coaching, self help podcasts and books, assertive affirmations, or productivity hacks — only to find yourself looping in the same patterns. That’s not because you’re doing it wrong. It’s because mindset work can’t always reach what lives in the body.

Trauma isn’t just stored in thoughts. It lives in your nervous system, in your stress response, in the parts of you that had to shut down or shape-shift to survive. To create real, lasting change — the kind where your business starts to feel like you — healing has to happen at the root.

What Healing Can Look Like

Working through trauma doesn’t mean rehashing everything that happened. It means gently and safely connecting to the parts of you that are still holding on, and helping them release, integrate, and come back into the present.

Through trauma-informed therapy — including modalities like Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), somatic work, and attachment healing — we help your system learn that it’s safe to rest, to listen to your needs, to be visible, to set boundaries, to charge your worth, to receive, to thrive.

Healing doesn’t just make you a better business owner. It helps you feel more calm, connected, and confident — in business and in life.

What’s One Step You Can Take Today?

Here’s a simple way to check in with your body when you feel stuck or anxious:

Grounding Practice (2 minutes):
Place both feet flat on the floor. Notice the surface under your feet. Gently press down with your whole foot, including your toes.

Bring your attention to your breath — not to change it, just to feel it.

Look around the room and name 3 things you see, 2 things you hear, and 1 thing you can feel on your skin.

This is one way to signal to your nervous system: I am here now. I am safe. I can ground myself.

Ready to Go Deeper?

If this post resonates, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to figure it out by yourself.

I help high-achieving women and entrepreneurs work through unresolved trauma so they can lead with confidence, create healthy boundaries, and feel more calm and connected — in business and beyond.

I offer supportive, holistic trauma therapy in Santa Monica and online therapy for residents in CA & WA. What if things could be different? So different that by this time next week, you could feel more grounded, more empowered, and more like yourself?

✨ Learn more about how we can work together here.