You might not have a motivation or discipline problem-it might be trauma

Have you ever felt like you can’t even accomplish the smallest of tasks?

If you struggle to get things done or stay focused, it’s easy to blame youreself having a lack of motivation, willpower or discipline.

But research shows trauma can be the real reason. Trauma changes how your brain works and can make it much harder to start or finish tasks, even when you really want to.

How trauma affects motivation

Trauma can change how the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex work. These areas are key for motivation, discipline, and getting things done.

The amygdala becomes overactive after trauma. It acts like an alarm system, making you feel on edge and focused on threats. When you’re hypervigilant, you can’t focus on daily tasks or long-term goals because your brain is stuck in survival mode [1].

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) helps with planning, decision-making, and self-control. This area is less active after trauma, so it’s harder to organize, make decisions, or control impulses, regulate and respond logically [2]. Logically, you know what you need to do but can’t get started or follow through.

The hippocampus helps with memory and learning. The hippocampus helps us know when a threat is over by placing memories in context. When it’s damaged by trauma, we can overreact emotionally because the brain stays stuck in survival mode [3]. Trauma can also affect short-term memory so it’s harder to remember what you need to do or learn new things.

Your Brain on Trauma

When these brain areas are affected by trauma, it’s not just about lacking motivation or discipline. The brain is working differently, making it much harder to focus, plan, and complete tasks-even if you want to.

This is why trauma survivors often struggle with daily routines and long-term goals, and this is why you feel so hopeless, stuck, and triggered AF

These changes can cause problems with memory, decision-making, and handling emotions, all of which are key for motivation and discipline.

Trauma can affect how you feel about yourself and the world. You may begin to start to internalize feelings of helplessness and shame, which become part of your identity [4]. If you believe you’re not worthy or that nothing you do will make a difference, it’s hard to feel motivated to even try when you don’t believe that your efforts will really pay off.

Avoidance after trauma

Avoidance after trauma is the brain’s way of protecting itself from more pain. When you’ve been through something traumatic, your brain becomes more sensitive to threat and less able to manage stress [5].

This leads to a strong urge to stay away from anything that reminds them of the trauma, whether it’s places, people, feelings, or even thoughts.

Your brain learns this pattern as a survival response, hoping to prevent more distress. While avoidance can offer short-term relief, it often keeps people stuck and makes it harder to heal in the long run. Research shows this is a natural reaction to trauma, not a sign of weakness or lack of willpower.

Why it’s not about willpower, motivation and discipline

Avoidance, hypervigilance, and negative thinking are common after trauma. You don’t have a willpower, motivation or discipline problem. These are signs of your brain trying to protect itself.

Research shows that trauma can lower self-efficacy and self-esteem [6], making it even harder to take action or believe in your ability to change things.

What research says about trauma and motivation

Studies have found that trauma, especially in childhood, is linked to lower motivation and more trouble with self-control and goal-setting. Trauma symptoms like hyperarousal (triggered AF) are directly connected to lower achievement motivation.

This means that what looks like a motivation problem is often a trauma response.

Hypnotherapy and OEI therapy for trauma can help significantly reduce symptoms of trauma and PTSD, including avoidance and intrusive thoughts [7].

Hypnotherapy helps bypass the conscious mind to address subconscious emotions, making it easier to change negative patterns created by trauma. Studies and meta-analyses report large, lasting improvements in PTSD symptoms for many people who use hypnotherapy as part of their healing process[8].

You can process and integrate trauma and put it into the past. When trauma is in the past, it stops taking space in your present moment and stops filling up your future. This is when hope is created for new possibilities for a whole new future.

Let’s connect.

in the meantime, be kind to yourself.