The Rise of “Trauma Porn” in Breathwork
- Kym Burls
- 16 hours ago
- 4 min read
If you’ve shown even a flicker, of a hint, of a remote interest in breathwork on social media recently it’s likely you’ve been presented with content from high-intensity events — flashy “breakthrough experiences” promising instant transformation, catharsis, radical emotional release, or the one I saw claiming to ‘heal your trauma in a day’.
[That. Can. Get. In. The. Bin. 🗑️]
Beneath that spectacle lies a concerning trend: what some practitioners (myself very much included) have started calling “trauma porn.”
Trauma porn is the commodification of intense emotional release. It’s when facilitators or platforms highlight dramatic moments — screams, sobbing, convulsions — often for marketing or social proof, without necessarily prioritising participant safety, integration, or ethical practice.
This is not just ethically questionable; it carries real, potentially lasting, neurological and psychological risks.
TL;DR
Intensity ≠ integration
Catharsis ≠ resolution
Why Trauma Porn Persists
Understanding why this phenomenon exists requires a lens that combines neuroscience, human behaviour, and cultural patterns:
Ego and spectacle: Humans are drawn to drama. Large, intense breathwork sessions often feed the ego of both facilitator and participants. High-energy, visually compelling releases are tempting to share online because they generate likes, followers, and unfortunately… perceived authority.
Misunderstanding the nervous system: Many facilitators, despite good intentions, underestimate how quickly the nervous system can be pushed beyond its optimal ‘window of tolerance’. What feels “transformative” in the moment can overwhelm the autonomic nervous system, leaving participants dysregulated for days (this is not an overstatement).
Shortcut culture: In our instant-gratification society, people want rapid transformation — a single weekend, a viral breathwork video, or a “breath reset.” Some facilitators, conscious or not, lean into intensity to deliver that immediacy. But deep healing is rarely instantaneous; it’s relational, cumulative, and requires integration.
Lack of training or supervision: Many flashy experiences are led by facilitators with zero-to-no trauma-informed education or supervision. Without a grounded understanding of the interplay between somatic responses, memory, and emotional processing, participants may be left vulnerable to re-traumatisation.
What Happens During Breathwork
Breathwork is potent because it rapidly and powerfully engages the autonomic nervous system. Fast, high-ventilation breathing decreases carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, triggering a shift in oxygen availability, particularly in the brain. There is also increased sympathetic activation and shifts in brainwave states (the jury is still out on a single, consistent “breathwork brainwave state”) resulting in decreased activity in the default mode network (DMN) and pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and increased activity within the limbic system.
This cascade leads to heightened internal awareness and a greater ‘access to self’ — often producing an altered state of consciousness akin to a psychedelic experience.
These altered states create a window of plasticity, a period in which the nervous system is highly malleable (i.e. it’s easily influenced). But plasticity without containment (safety) can simply reinforce old patterns!
In skilled, trauma-informed facilitation, this ‘plastic’ state is an opportunity for growth. However, in poorly guided sessions it can:
Amplify unresolved trauma
Trigger dissociation or collapse
Encourage participants to relive painful experiences without containment
Lead to ‘emotional contagion’ or ‘co-dysregulation’, where emotional experiences spill over from one participant to another, or
Result in ‘countertransference’, where the facilitator unconsciously projects their own unresolved material onto the participant.
In short, intensity does not equal transformation. Without structure, support, and integration, the nervous system can be destabilised rather than healed.
Why High-Drama Sessions Are Risky
It’s tempting to believe that catharsis alone is transformative — that more screaming, convulsing, or crying means more progress. But neuroscience, trauma research, and somatic therapy tell a different story:
Trauma is relational, not performative: Healing happens in safe connection, not spectacle. The nervous system requires attuned presence, pacing, and grounding to integrate experiences.
Forced intensity can retraumatise: Pushing participants beyond their window of tolerance can trigger the same fight/flight/freeze responses that are present in trauma.
Ego-driven marketing skews perception: Highlighting extreme reactions can mislead new participants into thinking they “need” to have dramatic releases to succeed.
Sustainable change is titrated, not explosive: Trauma-informed sessions build activation in small, manageable steps and return to regulation repeatedly. The process moves like a pendulum, not a crescendo.
What Ethical Breathwork Looks Like
The contrast here is greater than chalk and cheese!
Ethical, trauma-informed facilitators:
Tailor sessions to the individual rather than the crowd
Monitor nervous system cues in real time
Honour participant agency and boundaries
Embed integration into the session structure
Maintain transparency about training, scope, and importantly limitations
These facilitators understand that the nervous system responds to safety, and that sustainable change emerges through regulation, not spectacle.
Questions to Ask Before Booking a Session
To protect yourself and maximise benefit, consider:
Does the facilitator have trauma-informed training?
Are sessions structured with pacing, grounding, and integration?
Is there transparency about training, and scope of practice?
Are extreme emotional displays being showcased publicly, or is privacy respected?
Does the facilitator emphasise depth and learning over cathartic spectacle?
Further reading: 5 Qualities to Look for in a Breathwork Facilitator
Raising Awareness Not Creating Fear
Trauma porn is unfortunately a symptom of a wider cultural pattern: the commodification of intense emotional states, the allure of instant transformation, and the spread of unregulated breathwork online.
Understanding these dynamics isn’t about stoking fear — it’s about promoting discernment. By recognising why flashy sessions are risky, you can make informed choices about who holds your nervous system and your experience.
When you choose a facilitator grounded in science, somatics, and trauma-informed principles, you’re investing in growth that’s safe, integrative, and genuinely transformative — rather than theatrical.
Next Steps
If you want to explore how transformative trauma-informed, ethical breathwork can be, you’re welcome to book a free 30-minute consult call. It’s a space to discuss your needs, your pace, and whether my guided approach resonates with you.
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Comment on Images:
Images have been digitally edited (by me) to the protect the privacy of those pictured. Fair use applies to these publicly sourced images.
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