When now and then collapse

The Experience

Time doesn't work right anymore.

You know it's the moment present. You know you're standing in your living room. You know logically that the dangerous thing isn't happening right now. But with equal and terrifying intensity, you're there—in that moment, in that place, right when everything went wrong.

You effectively exist in two timelines at once. Your rational brain insists, "This is now, that was then," but your experiencing brain can't tell the difference. Past and present are no longer separate; they're layered on top of each other, bleeding through and occupying the same space.

A sudden touch on the shoulder makes you sixteen again. The smell of coffee transforms instantly into the antiseptic scent of a hospital. You're sitting at your desk, but you're also in the car during the accident. Both realities feel equally real. Both are happening now.

The worst part is the isolation. How do you explain to someone that you're living in two times simultaneously without sounding like you 've lost your mind? You begin to distrust your own reality. If you can't tell when something's happening versus when it happened, how can you trust the present moment at all?

You haven't lost your mind. This breakdown of time perception is one of the most destabilizing—but most common—effects of trauma.

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Why This Happens

Here's what's happening beneath the surface: Your brain relies on two different systems to process time, and right now, they aren't speaking to each other.

First, there's the explicit timeline. This lives in your conscious memory. It's the part of you that creates stories, understands dates, and knows that "2019 was before 2025".

Second, there's the implicit felt-sense. This lives in your survival brain. It doesn't use calendars or clocks; it uses sensory information, emotion, and body memory.

When trauma occurs, these two systems disconnect.

Your explicit timeline knows the trauma is over. It can recite the dates and the facts. However, your implicit felt-sense doesn't understand "past" or "present"—it only understands "safe" or "dangerous".

When something triggers a danger response, your felt-sense screams "This is happening NOW," regardless of what the calendar on the wall says. The boundaries between "then" and "now" become permeable.

Your brain isn't broken; the connection is simply disrupted. Your survival brain has taken over, and because it's focused entirely on threat assessment, it collapses time to keep you ready for danger. That's why the past doesn't feel like history—it feels immediate and ongoing.

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You Are Not Alone

This collapse of boundaries is a hallmark of trauma. It's disorienting, exhausting and terrifying, but it's not permanent.

This is a pattern, which means it can shift.

Your brain is capable of relearning the boundaries between past and present. The two timing systems can reconnect, and your sense of "now" can stabilize. It just requires helping your nervous system distinguish between memory (stored information) and experience (happening right now).

If you feel time collapsing right now:

👉 Speak the facts: Say out loud, "Today is [date]. I'm in [location]. I'm [age] years old."

👉 Anchor yourself: Look for details in the room that didn't exist "back then."

👉 Notice the shoes you're wearing or the color of the wall.

👉 Move deliberately: Wiggle your toes or press your feet into the floor to remind your body that you're here, in this physical space.

Remind yourself: "That was then. This is now. I'm here."

The timeline can become linear again. You're not losing your mind—you're experiencing a disruption that can be repaired. With the right support, time will start working properly again.

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Sources & More Information

* Van der Kolk, B. (2014). *

The Body Keeps the Score*

* Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006).*

Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy*

* International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies:

[Trauma and Time Perception](https://istss.org/)

* Psychology Today:

[Why Trauma Disrupts Time]

(https://www.psychologytoday.com/)