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Can Trauma Create High-Achievers?

Written on: April 22, 2025

Does trauma result in a unique form of ambition? This article explores the significance of a curious phenomenon: how early emotional wounds can become fuel for progress, and what happens when they don’t.

Some say it is pain entrenched in the overpowering drive to succeed. That it is defined by hunger and urgency, forged to reimagine the spaces that once confined us.

Under this lens, success may seem a logical and even highly probable response to trauma, grounded in the stories of many well-known individuals, Olympic medalists, entrepreneurs and visionaries, who all appear to have tread a familiar path. Yet there is a clear juxtaposition between what it means to be healed and what it takes to feed the fire.

This piece questions our perceptions of trauma, offering a perspective on how it manifests in both the mind and body.

‘75% of high achievers have experienced serious childhood trauma’

Childhood trauma is a common thread in stories of prosperity. As suggested by recent research, these experiences very often spark something relentless in a person. They create adults who push harder and chase perfection as if nothing else exists.

When pain is transformed

Evolution, long before the comforts and safety blankets of 21st-century living, was the driving force behind all life on Earth and, ultimately, our human history.

Now, by contrast, society places the focus on eliminating trauma from our lives. A huge amount of resources are poured into doing so, and the phrase ‘living inside a bubble’ comes to mind. Could it be that to a certain extent, we need trauma in order to feel ignited?

Is ‘trauma-transformation’ under the spotlight?

Starting with Michael Phelps, a celebrated Olympian with numerous and infinitely impressive achievements, once credited the intensity of his ambition to emotional hardship growing up.

To this effect, phrases like “the perfect amount of psychological trauma” have recently become more prevalent in the realm of the podcasters. Many hint at trauma being helpful if the energy from it can be used as a force for good.

Chris Williamson says the common link among elite performers is a “crippling sense of insufficiency.” While, to the contrary, Dr. Gabor Maté and Jay Shetty discuss the societal expectations we always try to meet but have never really given us “any real fulfillment”.

So, it appears that opinions on trauma vary greatly, from those who have experienced it to the experts who study it. Add to that, trauma-bound or not, we’re continually told we should ‘get out of our comfort zone’, but what does that actually mean in practice?

The missing piece: the body keeps the score

Here’s where Bessel van der Kolk offers a holistic view. He does not measure trauma by trophies or performance. For him, trauma lives in the nervous system. In tight shoulders, or restless sleep, or in the sense of being stuck on high alert.

In New York Times bestseller The Body Keeps the Score, van der Kolk explains how trauma changes brain circuits and body chemistry. It affects memory, mood, sleep, digestion, and even immune health. We don’t just remember it, but we carry it through our bodies throughout life.

In a 2021 interview with The Guardian, he warned against glorifying trauma. He said, “People should not be left as the walking wounded.” van der Kolk has made it his life’s work to emphasise that healing matters, and that is not enough to succeed while, silently, you are still suffering.

‘The Three E's of Trauma’: why trauma is multifaceted

Dr. Bruce Perry emphasises that trauma isn't solely about the event but also about the individual's experience and its subsequent effects. This perspective helps explain why two people can undergo the same event but have entirely different responses and outcomes in the long term.

Nervous system regulation refers to the ability to bring the body back into balance after minor stress or perceived threat. Dr. Perry discusses how individuals from relatively calm and predictable early environments are more likely to feel safe, curious, and perform well under pressure. Therefore, in a ‘nature versus nurture' way, a regulated nervous system and few triggers in a person could be seen as a privilege.

A lot of people may have a perspective similar to “you either have trauma, or you don't”. But in discussions between academic and podcaster, Brené Brown and Dr. Bruce Perry, they highlight how consistent, yet subtle stressors (such as exclusion, neglect, and microaggressions) can have effects as significant as one-off major traumas. It challenges the notion of trauma as a binary experience, suggesting that trauma is perhaps much more prevalent and universally encountered than once thought.

But what happens when we introduce the topic of healing trauma?

Offering an alternative lens on trauma healing

From a wellbeing perspective, it would appear that trauma is not treated as a resource to mine, more as a wound that needs attention. It’s a deeply expansive topic with many possible avenues, but in essence trauma healing focuses on the body’s ability to restore balance. It’s a process that encourages rest and reconnection.

Instead of pushing harder, trauma healing asks how we can slow down. And instead of suppressing what bubbles up, it explores root causes. Herbal adaptogens, nutritional therapy, somatic awareness, breathwork, and trauma-informed movement are all tools in this approach.

Moreover, trauma recovery doesn't have to look like achievement. Many would say it’s merely reaching a deeper sense of peace.

Is trauma being portrayed as a badge of honor?

Another caveat is: “success breeds success.” This, on the face of it, may not seem like a bad thing. But a problem occurs when a threshold is reached.

Becoming majorly successful often means that people feel less self worth, and keep chasing more as a result. This could manifest in spiralling obsessive behaviour to achieve external validation, financial goals or even safety. It may also lead to burnout.

In certain conditions, turning trauma healing into identity can also become a precursor of obsession.

While tools for healing can be helpful, people can become stuck or fixated and, somewhat ironically, find it difficult to leave certain mindsets behind.

So what actually helps build success?

While the evidence explored points to the possibility that trauma can be transformed, this must be done with a degree of responsibility for the desired outcome.

Help should be sought if you feel severely impacted in terms of poor mental health or being able to function, or if your trauma is unfairly having a knock on effect on other people in your life.

Chasing success while transforming your trauma (healthily or otherwise) can also lead a person to endlessly pursue a dopamine rush.

Conversely, if you consider yourself a person who hasn’t experienced much trauma and would like to remove a degree of comfort and dependence from your life in order to push yourself, a good place to start is by reducing the frequency of the dopamine button hit.

Focus on dopamine detox, mindful consumption, and building a life of rich experiences instead of constantly seeking instant gratification.

What to remember

Some may find strength in hardship. Others may augment it to suit their needs, attempting to outrun the experiences they find painful and never actually confronting their trauma.

One of the hardest parts about “the perfect amount of trauma” is knowing where that boundary actually is.

Perhaps it could be said that the bottom line is this: when does pain become fuel in a harmless way, and when is it time to seek help for the sake of true wellbeing?

True prosperity begins with balance. Support your healing journey with Self Improvement and explore the Energy collection at Healf, for tools that support clarity and resilience.

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This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of Healf

References

Pippa Thackeray

Pippa is a content writer and qualified Nutritional Therapist (DipNT) creating research-based content with a passion for many areas of wellbeing, including hormonal health, mental health and digestive health.

As a contributor to The Healf Source, she regularly attends seminars and programmes on a plethora of contemporary health issues and modern research insights with a drive to never stop learning. In addition, interviewing experts and specialists across The Four Pillars: EAT, MOVE, MIND, SLEEP.

In her spare time, she is an avid swimmer, mindfulness and yoga lover, occasionally bringing a raw, honest approach to the topics she faces. You may also discover some personal accounts of eye-opening wellbeing experiences amidst the reality of a disorientating, and often conflicting, modern wellbeing space.

Written by: Pippa Thackeray

Written on: April 22, 2025