You know you are safe, yet anxiety persists. You want a healthy relationship, but you anticipate rejection. An innocent comment triggers a reaction that feels out of proportion. According to Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., a biochemist, immunologist, and originator of the Healing from the Body Level Up™ (HBLU™) methodology, these experiences often stem from unconscious emotional patterns formed by troubling or traumatic events. The implication is that many people are not simply remembering the past; they are reliving it through automatic reactions that shape their perceptions, decisions, and relationships.
Swack draws a critical distinction between functioning and healing. "Functioning and healing aren't necessarily the same thing," she says. People can cope with difficult experiences without resolving the emotional patterns that continue to influence their perceptions, reactions, and decisions. These patterns can create negative conclusions about ourselves, others, and the world, shaping how we interpret events even when circumstances change. For individuals and organizations focused on mental health, this suggests that traditional coping strategies, while useful, may leave the root cause untouched.
The consequences are far-reaching. "Until trauma is cleared at the body level, it keeps repeating and you keep reacting," Swack says. "That's why you can understand your trauma, and still feel stuck in it." Although coping mechanisms help people manage daily life, avoiding painful memories or working around emotional triggers does not necessarily resolve the underlying issue. When old patterns resurface, they can manifest as anxiety, defensiveness, heightened reactivity, or chronic stress. This matters because unresolved trauma can silently undermine personal and professional success, even when no obvious threat exists.
During Emotional Wellness Month in October, Swack encourages people to consider whether past experiences are influencing their present reactions. She suggests asking: Is my reaction larger than the situation warrants? Does this same emotional response recur in different circumstances? What am I assuming this situation means about me, others, or the world? Could an older emotional pattern be influencing my response? These questions can help identify recurring patterns and the beliefs or emotions behind them, offering a starting point for addressing reactions rather than simply trying to control them.
Swack also highlights the hidden cost of unresolved trauma. "It requires a lot of energy to consciously or unconsciously suppress and compensate for trauma reactions," she says. "This energy drain makes it difficult for people to be completely successful, to fully enjoy their life in the present, and to easily progress into the future." The implication is that what looks like a lack of motivation or chronic fatigue may actually be the brain and body expending resources to keep painful material at bay.
To address these patterns at a deeper level, Swack developed HBLU to address trauma at the conscious, unconscious, body, and soul levels. Drawing on scientific research and decades of clinical experience, she helps individuals address emotional patterns associated with trauma, anxiety, and other forms of distress. Her book, Clear Trauma Now: The Powerful Solution for Getting Unstuck, expands on this approach. Emotional wellness, she emphasizes, means recognizing not only what is happening now but also how the past may shape present-day perceptions and behavior. Identifying these patterns can be an important step toward meaningful change, and for a society grappling with rising anxiety, that step may be more urgent than ever.
