Brad SchipkeFounder of Broken To Unbreakable

Why do traumatized people fear positive emotions

3 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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1:00

In this solo talk, Brad Schipke explains that trauma not only amplifies negative emotions but also creates a paradoxical fear of positive feelings. He argues that when trauma survivors attempt to experience joy, happiness, or peace, they often anticipate negative outcomes because past positive moments were followed by bad events. This leads to an increase in negative affect when trying to feel good, creating a limbo where they stay stuck in pain without accessing positive experiences. Schipke emphasizes that recovery requires processing both ends of the emotional spectrum: confronting negative emotions and deliberately relearning to associate positive emotions with safety and pleasure. By identifying which positive emotions have become linked to negative expectations and working through those trauma memories, individuals can unlock genuine joy, peace, and the ability to enjoy life again.

Chapters

Traumatized people don't just need to process negative emotions, they need to also relearn positive emotions. We typically think trauma causes people to feel an increase in negative emotion, which is 100% true. But trauma survivors also feel an increase in negative emotion when they try to feel positive emotions, which means that trauma survivors need to process both ends of the spectrum. They need to process the negative side, but they also need to process the positive side, because there can be this weird kind of limbo space when people are only focusing on the negative and only processing the negative and not installing or processing on the positive side, where they get to this tolerable level of pain, And they never experience the positive emotion they want to experience. In the past, when you felt positive emotion, bad things happened. So you start to associate good things with bad outcomes. So you have to process that trauma there in order to unlock those positive emotions. But once you do, all of those positive emotions return. You feel peace. You're able just to enjoy life again. So make sure you're looking at both sides of the equation, not just the past, but also ask yourself, what positive emotions do I have negative associations with so I can process those and feel the good things in life and not just have to focus on the negative?