Money Trauma Is Real, And You’re Not Alone
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been traumatized by money in some way. Whether it’s growing up in a household where bills were a constant source of tension, going through a divorce that ripped apart your financial stability, experiencing food insecurity, or navigating years of financial scarcity, every one of us carries money stories. And those stories live in our bodies.
They create something called neuro tags, a concept from neuroscience referring to clusters of neurons that fire together in response to a stimulus. Essentially, your brain links a moment, a feeling, or a situation to a specific response. Over time, if something stressful happens repeatedly, like seeing your account dip into overdraft or hearing your parents argue about money, your brain forms a “tag” around that experience.
These neuro tags are like internal alarm systems. Even years later, when the moment has passed, the body still reacts as if it’s happening again. The nervous system lights up. We tense, brace, spiral, freeze, or go numb.
How Money Trauma Shows Up
Here’s an example: Imagine someone who grew up with food insecurity. As an adult, even if they earn a good income, they may feel deep anxiety at the grocery store. They overbuy, hoard, or feel immense guilt with every swipe of their card. Why? Because the neuro tag says “There might not be enough later.” And the body responds to that tag, reinforcing the belief every single time.
It becomes a loop: trigger → bodily response → emotional reinforcement → behavioral pattern → more proof that the fear is valid.
This Work Became Personal
Even though I’ve worked in finance for over two decades, my own money story didn’t fully come alive until about five years ago.
I was on disability living on 30% of my income, using my investments, going into debt, and scarcity became my daily reality. I was in survival mode, emotionally shut down, trying to control what I could, but feeling like I was barely holding it all together.
Since then, as a business owner, I’ve had to navigate the peaks and valleys of abundance and scarcity again and again. I’ve had to learn how to stay grounded, not just in strategy, but in my body. I’ve had to witness what my stories were telling me, learn how to calm my system, and rewrite what was never mine to carry in the first place.
And I didn’t just dip a toe into healing, I went all in.
Because I had to be different.
So I could show up differently.
I became certified in the Trauma of Money. I completed a life coach training created by The Angry Therapist/John Kim. I’ve worked with therapists, coaches, and healers. I’ve studied trauma, embodiment, spiritual development, positive psychology, neuroplasticity, nervous system regulation, all because I needed to understand why we stay stuck in patterns that hurt us.
I did have some healing ground work prior to diving into the money aspect.
This isn’t something I just teach, it’s something I’ve lived. Over and over again.
And I refused to let that be the end of my story.
Healing my relationship with money meant rebuilding more than my finances.
It meant rebuilding my relationship with my body, with trust, with safety, with myself.
Because money isn’t just about numbers.
It’s about who you believe you are.
It’s about what your body remembers.
It’s about what you were taught to fear, avoid, or carry silently.
And, I want to be clear, I heal it every day, I am not at the finish line.
The Work Starts in the Body
So what do we do?
We begin by noticing.
What happens in your body when you pay a bill?
When you invest in yourself?
When you give money away?
When you make a big financial decision?
Is there a sensation, a twinge in your chest, a knot in your stomach, a shallow breath, or even a complete shutdown?
That’s your nervous system responding to a well-worn pathway. That’s the neuro tag lighting up. And that is your access point to healing.
This is where the work begins, not just in mindset, but in the body.
Your brain is a powerful computer, and the beauty is: it can be rewired. You can create new beliefs that serve you. But you can’t change what you’re not aware of. And most people skip over this part because it feels inconvenient, uncomfortable, or too “woo.”
We’ve been conditioned to stay in our heads. To rationalize. To push through. But your body holds the truth. It remembers what your mind has buried.
Becoming Conscious Is Inconvenient, but It’s Everything
Doing this work at a cellular level isn’t easy. Becoming conscious of your behaviors, your triggers, your stories, it takes courage. You have to pause when you want to rush. Sit with feelings when you’d rather escape. Watch your spending, your hoarding, your avoiding, not with shame, but with curiosity.
Most people stay unconscious because it’s more comfortable. But comfort won’t heal you. It won’t change your patterns. And it won’t get you free.
It All Starts With Awareness
Awareness is the beginning, but not the whole story.
To truly heal your relationship with money, you have to go deeper: into your body, into your nervous system, into the places where your patterns were formed and are still being reinforced. This is the work I walk women through every day, and you don’t have to do it alone.
Want to go deeper into healing your relationship with money?
I created a free 5-day email series for women ready to move beyond mindset into embodied financial healing.
Each day, you’ll receive:
A deeper reflection to build self-awareness guidance, j
A guided somatic practice or body cue
A journal prompt to help reconnect with your power
Start the journey here → Join our free 5-day email series
Let’s begin this journey together.
I don’t claim to know it all, I am on this journey beside you, knowing this work matters. If you would like additional support, or if you found this series helpful, please send me a note, I would love to be a domino in your journey.
Your friend in financial empowerment,
Kim