Post-traumatic stress is not stored only in memory. It is stored in chemistry, circuitry and prediction. Trauma reshapes how the nervous system detects threat, how long stress hormones remain active, how adrenaline is processed, and how easily the body can return to safety. These patterns are strongly influenced by nervous system genetics, particularly genes involved in cortisol feedback, adrenaline receptor sensitivity, neurotransmitter clearance and fear circuitry. Mindscaping works at this same level - not by overriding the system, but by helping it relearn safety through both biology and meaning.

At the centre of PTSD biology is the amygdala, the brain’s rapid threat-detection system. The amygdala does not think in words; it thinks in sensation, pattern and prediction. When trauma occurs, especially if it is overwhelming or repeated, the amygdala becomes sensitised. Neutral cues - tone of voice, facial expression, silence, time gaps, internal sensations - can be interpreted as danger. Once activated, the amygdala recruits the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system, flooding the body with adrenaline and cortisol before conscious awareness has time to intervene. PTSD is what happens when this alarm system remains too easily triggered and too slow to stand down.

A key genetic regulator in this process is FKBP5. FKBP5 controls how sensitive the glucocorticoid receptor is to cortisol, effectively shaping the “off switch” of the stress response. When FKBP5 expression is increased, cortisol’s feedback signal is weakened. The body produces stress hormones, but the nervous system does not receive a clear message that the threat has passed. Trauma can epigenetically increase FKBP5 expression, particularly when it occurs early or repeatedly, training the stress system to remain vigilant. This is why many people with PTSD feel both constantly on edge and deeply exhausted - mobilisation without resolution.

Adrenaline chemistry further reinforces this state. Variations in adrenaline and noradrenaline receptor genes can heighten sensitivity to catecholamines, amplifying hypervigilance, startle response, panic, muscle tension and sleep disruption. Elevated noradrenaline also strengthens fear-based learning in the amygdala, causing traumatic memories to be encoded with a sense of immediacy. This is why PTSD flashbacks are experienced as happening now, rather than as something remembered. The nervous system is not recalling the past; it is predicting danger in the present.

Clearance of stress neurotransmitters is equally important. COMT breaks down adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine. When COMT activity is slower, stress chemicals linger longer, extending activation, rumination and sensory overload after a trigger has passed. MAOA regulates serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline balance and influences emotional braking, impulse control and irritability. Under trauma load, certain MAOA patterns can contribute to emotional volatility, shutdown or internal aggression — not as character traits, but as biochemical expressions of overwhelm. These genetic tendencies help explain why some people become anxious and frozen, while others become agitated or reactive under similar stress.

Inflammation adds another layer to PTSD chemistry. Chronic stress shifts immune signalling toward a pro-inflammatory state. Inflammatory messengers can cross into the brain, sensitising the amygdala further and impairing mood, cognition and pain regulation. Genetic predispositions toward heightened inflammation can make trauma more physically entrenched, often presenting alongside autoimmune symptoms, chronic pain, gut dysfunction or profound fatigue. This is one reason PTSD is so often experienced as a whole-body condition, not a purely psychological one.

This is where my work integrates nervous system genetics with Mindscaping. Mindscaping recognises that the nervous system is constantly mapping internal and external terrain — scanning for safety, threat, exits and possibilities. Trauma distorts this internal landscape, narrowing it into danger zones and dead ends. Mindscaping gently expands that map. Through imagery, metaphor, visualisation and relational presence, we work directly with how the brain predicts and organises experience, rather than trying to override symptoms through logic alone.

Alongside Mindscaping, I use advanced nervous system genetic analysis to understand how each person’s stress response is biologically wired — how cortisol feedback operates, how adrenaline is processed, how neurotransmitters are cleared and how inflammation interacts with the brain. This allows trauma work to become precise rather than generic. Biochemically, support may include stabilising blood sugar and circadian rhythm, reducing inflammatory load, supporting methylation where COMT or MAOA are strained, and strengthening vagal tone so the system can return to rest. Nervous system rhythm is restored first, so psychological work can land safely.

Mindscaping then helps re-pattern the amygdala’s predictions. By working with images, felt sense and internal environments, the brain begins to encode new experiences of safety, coherence and choice. Over time, this changes the chemistry. Adrenaline settles more quickly. Cortisol feedback improves. The amygdala fires less often and with less intensity. The nervous system regains flexibility - the ability to move between activation and rest without becoming stuck.

This approach moves beyond managing PTSD symptoms. It works with the biology that holds trauma in place and the meaning systems that allow it to release. Healing becomes a process of restoring internal terrain - chemically, neurologically and symbolically - so the nervous system no longer has to live as if the danger is still happening.

I am right here…