#132 Could Trauma Be Affecting Your Body? | When Tests Come Back Normal#132 Could Trauma Be Affecting Your Body? | When Tests Come Back Normal
The Trauma Recovery School
Bonita Ackerman du Preez talks about how trauma and chronic stress can shape the body’s systems and create persistent symptoms even when tests look normal. She explains research behind this and outlines her Trauma Recovery Method’s focus on helping the nervous system shift out of long-term survival mode.
5:08•31 Aug 2026
When Your Tests Are Normal But Your Body Isn’t: Trauma, Stress and Hidden Symptoms
Episode Overview
- Trauma does not stay in the mind; it can affect cortisol, immune function, gut health, hormones and gene expression.
- Symptoms like chronic fatigue, IBS, autoimmune flare-ups, fibromyalgia and migraines may reflect a nervous system stuck in stress, even when tests are normal.
- Medication can be useful for some, but it does not repair a dysregulated vagal system or release trauma-related bracing in the body.
- Research including the ACE study and polyvagal theory supports the link between trauma and long-term physical health issues.
- The release phase of the Trauma Recovery Method programme aims to give the body what it needs to build a new baseline and measurable architecture for recovery.
“Your body going through trauma is not broken, it's not failing, it's actually designed to do exactly what it's doing for you now.”
What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This episode shifts the focus to trauma, shining a light on what might really be going on when your medical tests keep coming back "normal" but your body still feels anything but. Bonita Ackerman du Preez speaks directly to trauma survivors who’ve been told their symptoms are “just anxiety”, “just age”, or “just your mind”.
She breaks down emerging research showing how trauma doesn’t stay neatly in your head; it shapes cortisol patterns, immune function, gut health, your microbiome, hormones, cardiovascular reactivity and even gene expression through epigenetics.
As she puts it, “your body going through trauma is not broken, it's not failing, it's actually designed to do exactly what it's doing for you now.” You’ll hear her talk about symptoms like chronic fatigue, IBS, autoimmune flare-ups, fibromyalgia, migraines and persistent aches where scans show nothing “wrong”, yet the nervous system is stuck in a long-term stress response.
Bonita references work such as the ACE study, polyvagal research and names including Bessel van der Kolk, Stephen Porges and Robert Sapolsky to show there’s a scientific backbone behind what many people feel every day. Medication gets a balanced mention too: antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs can help some people, and she acknowledges that clearly, but she stresses they don’t repair a dysregulated vagal system or release the bracing held in the body after trauma.
That’s where she introduces the release phase of her Trauma Recovery Method programme, aimed at giving the body “the pieces of the puzzle that it needs to start to recover” and creating a measurable baseline for change. If you’ve ever walked out of a doctor’s office with normal test results but a body that’s screaming, this episode might help you see those symptoms as your body telling the truth rather than failing you.
Could your nervous system be asking you for a different kind of help?
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