Their autonomic nervous systems are already de-regulated
Across the arc of a human life, most Americans will encounter something that breaks the ordinary rhythm of safety — an event so overwhelming it leaves a mark on the body, the mind, and the way one moves through the world. Trauma, long treated as the exception, is in fact the common thread: studies suggest between 61 and 70 percent of Americans carry at least one such wound. A local counselor in Altoona and a regional newspaper are now turning toward this quiet epidemic, asking not just what trauma is, but what it does to us — and whether healing is possible.
- Between 61 and 70 percent of Americans have experienced at least one traumatic event, making trauma not a rare affliction but a near-universal feature of human life in this country.
- Left unaddressed, trauma dysregulates the nervous system — keeping the body locked in a state of alarm that spills into rage, hyperreactivity, numbness, and broken relationships.
- The consequences compound over time: depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse all trace significant roots back to unprocessed traumatic experience.
- A licensed counselor in Altoona is among those working to name and treat this dysregulation, recognizing that reactivity toward others is often the nervous system speaking a language of old danger.
- The Altoona Mirror is launching a five-part May series to map the full terrain — from trauma's many forms and its effects on the brain, to why people respond differently and what paths toward recovery actually exist.
Mental illness rarely has a single cause — genetics, biology, environment, and personality all play their part. But one thread runs quietly through the lives of most Americans: trauma. Not a single event, but a category of experience so overwhelming it reshapes how a person functions — psychologically, physically, and in their relationships with others.
Trauma can arrive in many forms: accidents, violence, abuse, neglect, loss, or the slow grind of years spent in unsafe conditions. In the immediate aftermath, the response is often raw — shock, fear, confusion. But the marks can last far longer. Flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, emotional numbness, unexplained physical pain — these are the body and mind still trying to process what happened.
The scale is difficult to absorb. Federal health data suggests 61 percent of men and 51 percent of women report at least one traumatic event in their lifetime; other estimates place the figure at 70 percent of all Americans. Trauma is not the exception. It is the majority experience.
Alison Seltzer, a licensed professional counselor and director of InnerPeaceCounseling in Altoona who specializes in trauma treatment, describes how the autonomic nervous system becomes stuck in a state of alarm — surfacing as sudden rage, outsized reactions to small provocations, or a body that simply cannot settle. When trauma takes root without resolution, it can grow into depression, anxiety, PTSD, or substance abuse.
The Altoona Mirror is dedicating May — National Mental Health Awareness Month — to a five-part series on trauma's reach. This opening piece lays the foundation; the weeks ahead will examine trauma's many types, its effects on the brain, why individuals respond so differently, and what treatments and paths toward resilience actually look like. The conversation is only beginning.
Mental illness rarely arrives from a single source. Genetics matter. Biology matters. The shape of your personality, the neighborhood you grew up in, the people around you—all of it feeds into whether and how you struggle. But there is one thread that runs through the lives of most Americans, often unspoken: the experience of trauma.
Trauma is not a single thing. It is an emotional and physical response to an event so overwhelming that it leaves marks. The Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center defines it as a distressing experience that can reshape how a person functions and feels, rippling through their psychology, their body, their relationships, their sense of meaning. A car accident. A house fire. Violence. Abuse—physical, sexual, emotional. Neglect. Watching someone else suffer. The sudden death of someone you love. Years of being bullied. Living through a pandemic. Any of these can lodge itself in a person and stay there.
When trauma first hits, the response is often immediate and raw: shock, fear, anger, sadness, an inability to think clearly. But the aftermath can last much longer. People report flashbacks that feel like the event is happening again. Nightmares that wake them at three in the morning. Trouble trusting or connecting with other people. Some people become hypervigilant, their bodies constantly braced for danger. Others go numb, as if someone has turned down the volume on their own life. Sleep becomes difficult. Appetite changes. Energy drains. Pain appears in the body with no clear source.
The scale of this is staggering. According to the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 61 percent of men and 51 percent of women report experiencing at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. The National Council of Mental Wellbeing puts the number even higher—70 percent of all Americans. This is not a rare thing. This is the majority.
When trauma takes root, it can grow into depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance abuse. Each person processes it differently. There is no single path. But the consequences are real and measurable. Alison Seltzer, a licensed professional counselor and director of InnerPeaceCounseling in Altoona who specializes in trauma treatment, describes how the nervous system itself becomes dysregulated—stuck in a state of alarm. This can show up as sudden rage in traffic, as hyperreactivity to small provocations, as a body that cannot settle. "Trauma is extremely widespread as a result of lifetime experiences," Seltzer said. "People who have experienced trauma have a lot of reactivity toward others because their autonomic nervous systems are already de-regulated."
The Altoona Mirror is devoting May—National Mental Health Awareness Month—to a five-part series examining trauma and its grip on mental health. This first article sets the stage. The following weeks will explore the different types of trauma, how it reshapes the brain, why different people are affected in different ways, what treatments actually work, and how people recover and build resilience. The conversation is just beginning.
Notable Quotes
Trauma is extremely widespread as a result of lifetime experiences. People who have experienced trauma have a lot of reactivity toward others because their autonomic nervous systems are already de-regulated.— Alison Seltzer, Licensed Professional Counselor and director of InnerPeaceCounseling in Altoona
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does trauma seem to affect so many people? Is it that traumatic events are more common than we think, or that we're just more aware of them now?
Both, probably. But the statistics suggest it's genuinely widespread—seven out of ten Americans. That's not awareness. That's the actual shape of human experience. Most people have been through something that broke them, at least temporarily.
When you say trauma dysregulates the nervous system, what does that actually mean in daily life? How does someone experience that?
Imagine your body's alarm system gets stuck in the on position. A car backfires and you flinch violently. Someone cuts you off in traffic and you feel rage that seems too big for the moment. Or the opposite—you feel nothing at all, like you're watching your own life from behind glass. Your body is still reacting to an old threat.
So it's not just psychological. It's physical.
Completely physical. Sleep won't come. Your stomach hurts. Your muscles ache. You can't explain why. The mind and body aren't separate in trauma—they're the same system, broken in the same way.
If 70 percent of Americans have experienced trauma, doesn't that mean it's almost normal?
It means it's nearly universal. But normal and healthy aren't the same thing. The fact that most people carry this doesn't make it less serious. It makes it more urgent to understand and treat.
What comes next in this series? What should people be watching for?
They're going to dig into the different types of trauma, how it actually changes the brain, and then—most importantly—how people heal from it. The real story isn't just the damage. It's the recovery.