"Flares and trauma responses often look the same because fascia remembers, the nervous system protects, and the immune system overreacts to help defend itself, and the body is trying to keep you alive, not confused. So your job isn't to decode perfectly. Your job is to offer safety consistently, because when the body feels safe, the symptoms soften, and when the symptoms soften, the story changes, and when the story changes, the healing becomes possible." —Donna Piper

The body can shift from steady to overwhelmed without warning, leaving confusion about what just took over. Pain, fatigue, and emotional overwhelm can blur together until everything feels like danger at once. There is relief in knowing this reaction has a reason.

In this final episode of the trauma rewrites pain series, Donna draws from lived experience with chronic illness and trauma to unpack why flares and trauma responses often feel identical and how years of illness, stress, and not being believed shape the nervous system's reactions.

Press play for clarity without pressure and a grounded way to respond when symptoms and emotions collide, plus a gentle roadmap back to safety.

• The difference between a chronic illness flare and a trauma response

• Why flares and trauma responses often activate together

• How fascia, the nervous system, and the immune system overlap

• Research linking trauma, PTSD, and autoimmune conditions

• Why the body is pattern-matching, not malfunctioning

• A simple grounding practice to support the nervous system

• Reframing self-trust without self-surveillance

Connect with Donna:

Website: https://www.donnapiper.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnapiper

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lipedema_donna

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedonnapiper

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedonnapiper

Episode Highlights:

02:49 Flare vs Trauma Response

04:05 Flare Symptoms vs Trauma Response Symptoms

06:30 The Overlap Between Flare and Trauma Response

08:40 The Science: PTSD, Autoimmune Disease, and Chronic Inflammation

11:55 How Trauma Rewires the Autonomic Nervous System

14:00 Gentle Nervous System Grounding

Resources:

🤔Got a question for me? Every month, I do a listener coaching episode—and I'd love to hear from you!

Send your questions, stories, or flare-up confessions to [email protected], and you just might hear your answer on the show.

📚Research Mentioned

• ACEs & autoimmune disease risk (Dube et al., 2009)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19188532/

• Trauma, PTSD & lupus risk (Feldman et al., 2019)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30801860/

• PTSD & rheumatoid arthritis risk (Lee et al., 2016)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26273548/

• PTSD & autoimmune disease (VA study) (O'Donovan et al., 2015)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25031298/

X:

Your body isn't broken; it's pattern-matching to survive. This episode unpacks why flares and trauma responses feel identical and offers a simple roadmap back to calm without self-blame or pressure. Listen and breathe along.

#DearBodyImListeningPodcast #NervousSystemRegulation #ChronicIllnessSupport #TraumaAwareness #SomaticHealing #SelfCompassion

Quotes:

04:30 "Your flare can trigger your trauma response, and your trauma response can amplify your flare, and they share some of the same components. So a flare and a trauma response can co-activate each other, not because you're dramatic, disorganized, weak, or not healed enough, but because your nervous system has been trained by the illness, by trauma, by years of not being believed to over respond when something feels familiar." —Donna Piper

07:25 "Your body is trying to protect you loudly and perfectly and sometimes inconveniently." —Donna Piper

09:00 "After chronic stress or emotional wounds, your autonomic nervous system becomes biased towards protection. So this is not a judgment, this is just pattern recognition." —Donna Piper

10:25 "It's not your fault. You're not failing. It's nothing you can do. Your body is doing its best with the map it has." —Donna Piper

10:57 "You're not supposed to perfectly diagnose your internal state that is not self-trust, that is self-surveillance." —Donna Piper

13:22 "Flares and trauma responses often look the same because fascia remembers, the nervous system protects, and the immune system overreacts to help defend itself, and the body is trying to keep you alive, not confused. So your job isn't to decode perfectly. Your job is to offer safety consistently, because when the body feels safe, the symptoms soften, and when the symptoms soften, the story changes, and when the story changes, the healing becomes possible." —Donna Piper

Your Host:

Donna Piper is a Relationship Coach, Trauma Expert, and Akashic Records Healer dedicated to empowering successful single women to transform their love lives and attract fulfilling partnerships without sacrificing their professional ambitions.

With a holistic approach blending therapeutic coaching, trauma-informed techniques, and Akashic Records wisdom, she guides clients to release limiting beliefs, heal emotional blocks, and cultivate unshakable self-trust. Her work focuses on aligning mind, body, and spirit to create lasting change—helping clients refine communication, deepen self-worth, and build the foundation for healthy, loving relationships.

Donna's sessions are a safe haven for those ready to break cycles, embrace vulnerability, and design a love life that harmonizes with their thriving careers. For women committed to both personal and professional fulfillment, she offers tailored strategies to unlock their full potential and step into the relationship of their dreams.