How to Change Limiting Beliefs from Trauma, Part 2

You don’t have to experience “big T trauma” to develop limiting beliefs that shape what you think is possible in life. As I noted in Part 1, these beliefs can form through experiences that helped you survive, yet outlive their usefulness. Compare “Life’s a beach and then you die” with “It’s all good.” Neither is completely true. Your updated belief may lie somewhere in the middle, and discovering that revisions, in your own heartful phrasing, is part of changing limiting beliefs.

Part 1 blog: how trauma can shape deep beliefs and inner patterns

Updating our learned programming is the key to operating with heart and authenticity. Old beliefs tend to blame others for our challenges, and have a dour view of how the world works. Keys to the kingdom of truth tend to involve shifting some of these key beliefs, to hold truth and possibilities you didn’t see. Then, watch how your world changes as a result of these inner pivots.

This is deep belief change. It is a blessing to you and your ancestral line. Often these learned beliefs go way back. The inner work can feel never ending; yet shifting some of the common defaults makes continued work easier. It’s the difference between waking up and rehearsing your deficiencies – that type of common human default, and… seeing the bud of self-love arise, alongside that old story. It’s not sugar-coated, no. It acknowledges life challenges, and joy.

Why Changing Limiting Beliefs Takes Practice

For any deep inner change, the first step is awareness. Witnessing the story, the history that may be connected, with a growing neutrality and compassion. Watching it in action, before any movement toward changing it, gains traction.

You see this happen when you want to change a habit. First, you realize something’s not working, and it may be causing harm. Even with this awareness, you watch yourself repeat the harmful habit for a time. You may be taking mini steps; researching what might support your change, talking to friends who succeeded in this type of change, considering hiring help.

You may know tools that have helped or want to restart these. Being human and the cycle known as ‘the stages of change’ contain successful periods, followed by relapses. As frustrating as this is, it’s normal. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve restarted practices, or had to remember tools. But this regular work of the reset, this returning, this remembrance of what’s important – it’s the heart of transformation.

And it’s always competing with the urge to stay comfortable. (No simple goal for the Earth walk.)

So, alongside this awareness step, it helps to be easy on yourself. Stay curious about how it works, and the way this old belief or this relapse made sense due to the context of that past or current time. And use your muscles to navigate – create that intention to change. Clarify, and maybe write down, the “why” of how this will benefit you and your life, your loved ones, your ancestors.

How to Practice Changing Deeply Held Beliefs

Changing deep beliefs requires retraining. That’s why we call it practice. You notice the old program. You return to the tool. You practice the new view. You let your system experience something different. It feels weird and awkward. It’s new ground. You get up and try it again.

And gradually, the new pathway will become more familiar and routine. You catch the old story trying to sneak in, and say, HEY! WAIT! Didn’t you get the update, my friend? Here, this is the current view. (Pass them the sticky note…)

A client asked me about this last week who was feeling some shame about having to keep working with her fears during a big expansion. Shouldn’t this be complete by now? Shouldn’t I be beyond that old instinct to hide? To feel shame or guilt or fraudulent?

No need for shame, dear heart, this is the way transformation works. Two steps forward, one step back. And, as you progress, your compassion for yourself keeps growing. Your patience. Your realization of how complex and deep these changes are, how much reprogramming is needed.

The good news again, is that as you grow these deep change muscles, there are wonderful “side effects”. Using effective tools in the midst of the chaos of expansion and growth curves – this brings more self-love and compassion for yourself. And then, compassion for others. It’s not a smooth ride, but Earth was never meant to be the vacation planet. Though… hammocks rock.

The takeaway: Don’t judge yourself because a pattern comes back. Repetition isn’t failure. It’s part of where practicing new patterns forms that new ground that’s asking to emerge.

Inner Child Work and the Beliefs We Carry

In the last blog I showed how my inner-child work resulted in one of those new affirmations:

Rest leads to abundance.

What a relief for my system – and for all the amazing parts inside me.

Parts work has become increasingly common in therapeutic approaches, including Internal Family Systems (IFS) and the framework I use for this, Trauma Informed Hypnotherapy. One way of understanding this approach is that we have different inner parts, each with its own experiences, perspectives, protective strategies, and intentions. Kind of like how different family members can have a very different experience of growing up, inside the same family system, if they arrived at different times of the family cycle.

Some parts may be carrying old fears. Some may be working overtime to keep us safe. Some may still believe they’re responsible for jobs we were never meant to carry forever. Often those jobs were way above our pay grade at the time!

The goal isn’t to get rid of these parts. It’s to understand them. To appreciate what they were trying to accomplish. To have them meet each other, and operate as a team or tribe. To even consult them for their ideas and enlist their support when you’re shifting patterns.

And, when appropriate, to help them update their role so they can support who you are now.

This is especially relevant for the helping professionals I work with. You may be highly capable, understand yourself intellectually, and perhaps have years of training in helping other people navigate these very issues.

Explore trauma-informed hypnotherapy with Denise: Book a session.

And you still find yourself saying yes too much, second-guessing, procrastinating, overthinking, playing small, or hesitating at the exact moment you’re being called to grow. Money, work, relationships – these are areas where you’ll see the limits of the old stories create challenges – ceilings you can’t seem to rise above.

That’s not necessarily a failure of knowledge. Sometimes it’s an old protective program doing its job a little too well. And the logical brain may know the deal, but it’s the emotional brain that holds the old programs. The emotional brain needs practices and experiences to buy the new story, to walk the new ground. (This is brain shorthand… it’s more complex – but just to simplify.)

The takeaway: Instead of fighting the part of you that is afraid or anxious, get curious about what it’s trying to protect – and whether that part needs a new assignment or job.

How to Recognize Limiting Beliefs That Are Ready to Change

Here’s a question I’d love you to ask yourself:

What has been revealed to you in the last few weeks about an old inner program or deep belief that may be ready for an update?

Maybe you’ve noticed:

• “I have to do everything myself”, “It’s easier to DIY”, or “If I ask for help, I’m weak.”
• “If I slow down, everything will fall apart.”
• “If I put myself out there, I’ll be judged”, or “It’s safer to be invisible.”
• “It’s safer not to want too much”, or “If I succeed, I’ll have even more responsibility.”
• “I need to be perfect” or “This needs to be flawless.”

These beliefs can feel like facts, when they’ve been running for a long time. But a belief is not necessarily a truth. It’s an old strategy which had its time in the sun. It’s ready for the software update.

Because when you do the deep work; when you can see it, feel it, understand where it came from, and practice something more aligned with who you are becoming, you shift. You create more room for your deeper gifts and truest possibilities to emerge.

It has a profound clearing and releasing effect – almost like decluttering an overfull desktop. Except it’s the desktop of your heart. Your emotional intelligence. Your full Self gets to take a deep breath and participate in your life more deeply. Ah, I’ve arrived, it says. Again.

In that bigger space, there’s more potential. More of you becomes available to create the life and work that you incarnated to create. Like getting a brand new software system, phone, laptop… All that clear flow, speed, extra bandwidth…

So, if something has been getting in your way lately, perhaps don’t ask only: “How do I fix this?” or “How do I work around this?” or “What’s wrong with me?”

Try asking:

“What is this trying to show me at this time?” There may be an old program underneath the surface. And it may be ready for an update.

It’s time for us all to rototill those old beliefs and let them compost and fertilize new programs. To fertilize our New Ground for the next phase. We’re doing this alongside Mother Earth’s transition, and her dance is equally wobbly. Yep, life death birth – kind of a dangerous passage. Its takes all of us to get through.

With much respect for your inner young one and their sibs, and all of your loved ones.
Blessings to the New Earth and the emerging New Ground.

Namaste,

Denise

RESOURCES: Read part one of this blog here.

Ready to explore the beliefs behind your patterns?

If you’re a helping professional who understands the work intellectually but still finds yourself repeating old patterns, you don’t have to navigate every layer alone. Learn more about working with Denise through trauma-informed hypnotherapy and explore what may be ready for a new perspective. Book a session with Denise. Find your New Ground.

Explore Denise’s free resources for your inner work – Soulsavvy Free Stuff section of the Soulsavvy website.

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See Denise’s book Stress to Strength for tools to stay empowered in challenging times. The Free Stuff section also has some teachings from this elegant system of tools.

Astrology from Madrona’s Pulse Teachings – Liking this YT astro channel I recently found. This one showed up after I wrote the blog – and has a lot of similar themes.

FAQs

What are limiting beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are assumptions about yourself, other people, or the world that can restrict what you believe is possible. They may develop through past experiences and continue influencing your choices long afterward.

How can trauma affect core beliefs?

Difficult experiences can shape beliefs about safety, trust, worthiness, what to expect from others, and your sense of your future. These beliefs may once have served a protective purpose but may no longer fit your present circumstances.

How do you begin changing limiting beliefs?

Start by noticing the belief without judging yourself. Easy to say, I know… Explore the context and history of this belief, and consider what it was trying to protect. Practice a more balanced perspective over time. Tools for changing your thoughts help here.

What is the connection between inner child work and limiting beliefs?

Inner child work explores how earlier experiences may continue to influence present-day feelings and responses. It can help people approach old protective patterns with curiosity and compassion.

Why do old beliefs return even after personal growth?

Recognizing a pattern doesn’t mean it will disappear immediately. Familiar responses may recur in stressful situations, and consistent practice can help you respond to them differently.