Why Do Even Simple Tasks Feel So Hard After You’ve Experienced Workplace Trauma?

You know how when you look at your to-do list, even the easy stuff can feel impossible? If you’re struggling to start or focus, it might not be a motivation problem.

It might be trauma.

Trauma, whether it’s a single major event or a slow buildup over time, changes your brain and body in ways that can stall even the most motivated individuals.

How Trauma Hijacks Your Motivation

Your brain’s top priority is survival.

Your brain is on fire on high alert stuck FULL ON.

Under trauma, it shifts from planning and action to survival mode.

That means the part of your brain that helps you focus, organize, and start tasks (the prefrontal cortex) is offline.

It’s like being in a burning room, you’re just focused on survival and there’s no time to clean or tidy up. There’s so much smoke you can’t see clearly.

Things feel impossible because your brain is working overtime to figure out how you’re going to survive.

Why Trauma Keeps You Stuck

If you ever find yourself stuck staring at your list or sitting in bed unable to move, you’re not unmotivated—you’re overwhelmed.

When your brain is on fire, it’s not about lacking motivation.

In survival mode, routine tasks get dropped because they’re not essential to survival

Productivity and Burnout After Trauma

Individuals who keep pushing through workplace trauma often end up burned out.

At work or at home, it shows up as shutdown and you stay stuck AF. You can’t start or finish anything, even when you’ve quit your job or taken time off.

This isn’t weakness. It’s your brain demanding rest and safety after running on empty for too long.

One of my clients worked in a toxic workplace and quit to take a year off. She wanted to travel but the most she could do was to drink coffee in bed. She stayed stuck for 2 months.

After our second session, she cleaned her entire condo from top to bottom, front to back. She was amazed. She even cleaned her deck, put beautiful wood tiles down, and got new furniture. She hadn’t been able to work on her deck since her father had passed away 2 years earlier.

Rebuilding Motivation Starts With Safety and Chill

Trying to push harder against this feeling overload usually backfires. It’s like pouring lighter fluid on a brain that is already on fire.

The way forward is to cool down the brain so your the part of the brain that can heal and integrate can get to work on what it does best.

You’re not broken or unmotivated—your brain is just asking for relief.

Let’s connect.