What if trauma doesn’t just live in your mind—but in your gut?

The Trauma in Your Gut: How Childhood Wounds Hijack the Microbiome—and Your Mind

I used to think trauma was just a story we tell ourselves.

Something that lived in our memories. In our minds.

But I was wrong. It lives deeper.

It lives in your digestion.

In the tension in your jaw.

In your bloating. Your fatigue. Your inability to sleep.

In your cravings, your panic, your numbness, your fog.

And the most invisible place it hides?

Your gut.

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This Is for You If…

• You’ve done the therapy, read the books, journaled until your pen dried—but still feel stuck.

• You grew up in a high-stress household. Maybe no one hit you, but you were always bracing.

• You’ve spent years trying to “fix” your energy, your weight, your brain—but nothing sticks.

• You know there’s something deeper going on. You just can’t name it.

You’re not broken. You’re dysregulated.

And no, it’s not “just in your head.”

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A Quiet Pattern in High-Functioning Trauma Survivors

I see it over and over—especially in women, especially in people who’ve had to hold themselves together for others.

They struggle with:

• Unexplained bloating or gut issues

• Constant fatigue, even after “self-care”

• Brain fog, disconnection, low motivation

• A strange sense of not being fully in their body

We call it burnout.

We call it “just stress.”

But what if it’s a body that never learned how to feel safe?

The Science We Don’t Hear Enough About

In 1998, the original ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study showed something we still haven’t absorbed fully:

The more stress, chaos, or emotional neglect you experience as a child…

The higher your risk for depression, autoimmune disorders, obesity, gut dysfunction, and addiction.

Later studies revealed how trauma physically reshapes the gut microbiome.

It changes the diversity of your gut flora.

Weakens your gut barrier.

Disrupts your vagus nerve communication.

And rewires your stress response to stay ON—even when you’re safe.

That’s why no diet, no journal, no gym routine seems to stick.

Because it’s not about willpower. It’s about wiring.

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A Story I Carry with Me

When I first entered medical school, I wanted to save lives.

But what no one taught me was how many people were already dying—just slowly.

Not from disease. From disconnection.

I still remember a patient with no major medical history. He was 32.

His mother brought him in—barefoot, crying—for CPR.

He didn’t make it.

No known illness. Just a life of four hours of sleep, fast food, no rest, constant overwork.

His body had been inflamed for years,

And screaming.

But no one had been listening.

Since then, I’ve been asking:

What if medicine isn’t enough, unless we address the soil in which disease grows?

Not just biology. Not just behavior. But safety. Connection. Belonging. Regulation.

Healing Must Happen in the Body, Not Just the Mind. And the first step is seeing ourselves as a whole.

Talk therapy is powerful—but not always enough.

We need somatic work. Gut work. Community care. Nervous system retraining.

What I’m currently exploring:

• Psychobiotics (microbes that influence mental health)

• Trauma-informed nutrition

• Vagus nerve stimulation (breathwork, humming, cold exposure)

• Gentle routines that don’t feel like punishment

This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present.

Creating tiny pockets of safety—so your body can exhale.

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The Vision I’m Building (And Inviting You Into)

I don’t have all the answers yet.

But I’m building something I wish existed when I was overwhelmed, disconnected, and quietly inflamed:

A bridge between modern science and ancient healing.

Between self-knowledge and real life systems.

Between surviving and actually feeling alive.

If that resonates with you—stay close.

Every week, I’ll be sharing stories, systems, and experiments.

Not just to help you feel better…

But to help you build a life that doesn’t burn you out.

Because you deserve to heal.

Not just cope.

Not just understand.

But actually heal—from the gut, out.

With clarity, compassion, and commitment to truth,

Haniyeh