Summary
The inability to visualize a future — let alone a positive one — is a hallmark trauma symptom that leaves survivors unable to imagine themselves at 80, make New Year’s resolutions, or work backward from long-term goals that others take for granted. Trauma disrupts this capacity through three mechanisms: altering memory and autobiographical recall needed for “mental time travel,” impairing executive functioning required for future planning, and fundamentally distorting self-perception so survivors can’t imagine themselves surviving or thriving long-term. Recovery is possible through trauma-informed therapy and targeted exercises that make abstract futures concrete.
Table of Contents
Why do I struggle to visualize a future for myself?
“Why do I struggle to visualize a future for myself, let alone a positive one?” I’ve been practicing as a clinical psychotherapist for ten years. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard some iteration of this question. And the question is always almost paired with some degree of incredulity. That there are people out there who can really, truly do this. Think forward decades into the future and visualize a positive, happy outcome for themselves. And then work backward, taking steps that secure that future. It sounds as unbelievable to someone with a trauma history that this is possible. As much as it sounds impossible for someone with a normative psychological background to believe that others can’t imagine a future version of themselves. This may seem incredible to some. But the inability to visualize a future – let alone a positive future – is indeed a hallmark of coming from a trauma background.Why is this?
Terrific research has been done and continues to be done on why, exactly, trauma impacts one’s ability to visualize a (positive) future for oneself. Detailing the full breadth of that research is beyond the scope of this essay. But I’ll share the three primary ways I’ve personally and professionally come to understand how and why trauma alters the brain’s ability to imagine a future for oneself:Trauma alters memory.
With trauma survivors, access to autobiographical data points and past memories may be greatly impaired as a result of the brain’s adaptations to the trauma they lived through. And when this ability to reach back into the past and construct a sound, cohesive narrative is impaired, it may make it difficult if not impossible to “mentally time travel” into the future and achieve the mental flexibility required to visualize a future – let alone a positive future.What’s Running Your Life?
The invisible patterns you can’t outwork…
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Executive functions – housed in the frontal lobes of the brain – are the set of skills that allow us to, broadly speaking, plan and monitor our actions. For example: organizing, planning, and prioritizing complex tasks; starting actions and projects and staying focused on them to completion; regulating emotions and practicing self-control; practicing good time management, etc. When these critical skills are impaired, it can make it more difficult (if not impossible) to plan and take action towards a (positive) future for oneself.Trauma can alter one’s self-perception fundamentally.
Per extensive research (not to mention this being a core diagnostic criterion of PTSD in the DSM-5), we know that trauma survivors are often left with negatively altered cognitions about themselves, others, and the world in the wake of trauma. Plainly put, negatively altered self cognitions can often leave trauma survivors with a core belief that they are “broken, dysfunctional, and/or unworthy of being treated well” (by themselves and others). With such a negatively altered self-concept, the ability and motivation to plan for a (positive) future is greatly hindered.What are the costs and consequences of not being able to visualize a future for myself?
Whether you struggle to visualize a positive future for yourself because of any one of the above reasons (or all of them together), the inability to visualize a positive future for yourself can have deleterious, multitudinous impacts on the developmental stages of a human life cycle including but not limited to:- Failure to plan for a sound education;
- Failure to plan for a sound career;
- Failure to plan for a sound, rooted-in-reality financial future;
- Failure to cultivate and sustain healthy, functional, rooted-in-reality relationships;
- Failure to protect and nurture your physical safety;
- Failure to protect and nurture your medical health;
- Failure to protect and nurture your mental health;
- Failure to plan for and protect your reproductive health;
- And so much more.
How can I begin to visualize a future for myself?
If you come from a trauma background – particularly a relational trauma background where the trauma you sustained took place over a longer period of time – trauma recovery work will be essential in helping you begin to better visualize a positive future for yourself. I’m a particular proponent of brain-based trauma recovery therapies – especially EMDR – to support trauma recovery. But trauma-informed talk psychotherapy can be extremely effective, too. In addition to brain-based and/or trauma-informed talk psychotherapy, when working with my clients and online course students, I assign additional psychotherapeutic exercises to help them personalize and better realize their futures. Here are just a few of them:“Age” a photo of you to get more in touch with your older self.
FaceApp is one such app that does this, AgingBooth is another, Oldify, or simply Google “age your face app” and you’ll come across other resources. By aging our faces, we start to make something that feels abstract and surreal (old age, the fact that we may someday be 80) feel more real and thus more important to consider and plan for and act in service of. It’s hard to imagine that at age 25, 30, 35, or even 40 that we’ll be frail and elderly when we’re in the prime of our lives. By aging a photo you can connect more viscerally to your future self and in connecting that way, you may not only personalize your future but you may also feel more motivation to take action to support your future.Practice this visualization to see yourself as an old person in two future scenarios:
Scenario One:
Close your eyes, settle your body, breathe deeply. Now bring to mind your future self at age 80 if you haven’t changed your habits and actions. If you haven’t planned well for your future. See what kind of environment/home you might be in. See what’s in your fridge. Imagine what’s on your calendar in terms of work versus unstructured time. Or imagine having medical bills and what your ability to pay them might be. Imagine wanting to be able to fly across the country to visit your grandchildren. (if you choose to have children) Will you be able to do so whenever you want? How will your children – if you have any – be obligated or unobligated to support you financially, logistically, psychologically? How do you imagine you’ll feel about money and your aging body and mind? Will you feel relaxed? At ease? Or worried? Will you have healthy, connected relationships around you or will you be alone? Really lean into this vision. And, when you’re ready, come out of it. Feel free to jot down any notes that stood out to you about what your future self may have to endure if you DON’T change your habits and actions and if you don’t start visualizing a future for yourself.Scenario Two:
I want you to again imagine that you’re 80. But in this scenario, you HAVE changed your habits, actions, and your willingness and desire to plan for your old age. You’ve implemented the action steps you need to care for your future self. Financially, logistically, mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally. Now, envision the environment you’ll be in if you transform these habits and behaviors and your ability to work towards a future. Think about the freedoms you’ll have to work or not work, to travel to see your grandkids (if you choose to have children), or travel to destinations you always wanted to see. Imagine what kind of health you will have, what kind of pride you will have about your life, and how you’ll be able to take care of yourself and your loved ones with the assets and actions you’ve long ago put in place. Really lean into this vision. And when you’re done, come back to the room and jot down any notes you want.Act as if.
I’m a big believer in faking it until you make it. And so if connecting to a vision of your future self feels challenging and the above exercises yield no motivation for you, try this next exercise and begin acting as if you were an esteemed, self-loving person who cared deeply about their own future. Pick someone you admire. Michelle Obama. Jacinda Ardern. Robin Arzón. What would they do to plan for their future? How would they act if they knew they would live until 80 and wanted to give themselves a great life at that point? How would they approach that situation or choice you’re facing in the present?Wrapping this up…
As we conclude today’s essay and as we conclude 2021, I want to remind you that if you struggle to visualize a future for yourself (let alone a positive future!) for this coming new year or for any point moving forward, this makes perfect sense if you come from a trauma background. And I’ll also remind you: the brain is plastic. We can rewire and alter our neural pathways (and thus our cognitions and behaviors) up until the day we die. Just because you can’t visualize a future for yourself now, doesn’t mean that this skill isn’t possible. Please, take heart from that fact. And now I’d love to hear from you in the comments below:Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I picture my future self?
This is a documented trauma symptom, not a character flaw or lack of motivation. Trauma disrupts the brain’s capacity for “mental time travel” — the ability to project oneself into the future — by altering memory systems, impairing executive functioning, and creating such profound negative self-beliefs that imagining a future version of yourself surviving or thriving feels literally impossible. If you can’t picture yourself at 80, your brain may simply be protecting you from hoping for something it was taught not to expect.
Is the inability to visualize the future a symptom of PTSD?
Yes. The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for PTSD include “persistent negative alterations in cognitions and mood” — which encompasses the inability to imagine a positive future. This isn’t a peripheral symptom; it’s central to how trauma affects the brain. For those with Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) from prolonged relational trauma, this symptom is often especially pronounced, because the core belief “I won’t survive” or “I don’t deserve a good life” was reinforced repeatedly over years.
What exercises actually help with visualizing the future?
The most effective exercises combine somatic and cognitive elements: aging photo apps to create visual contact with your future self; dual-scenario visualization (imagining yourself at 80 with and without change); “act as if” exercises where you take one action aligned with a future you’re not yet sure you believe in; and letter-writing exercises from your future self to your present self. These work because they make the abstract concrete and accessible to a nervous system that needs sensory evidence to begin building hope.
Can EMDR help with the inability to visualize the future?
Yes — EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is particularly effective for this because it addresses how trauma is stored in the nervous system and in implicit memory, not just in conscious recollection. Many EMDR protocols include a “future template” component specifically designed to help clients install positive future scenarios at a neurological level. Working with a trauma-informed therapist who uses EMDR or another brain-based approach is strongly recommended if you struggle with this symptom.
If you’re struggling to visualize a positive future for yourself, trauma-informed therapy can help. Reach out here to explore working together →
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do trauma survivors struggle to visualize the future?
Trauma survivors often struggle to visualize the future because their nervous system is oriented toward threat detection and survival rather than forward planning. When early experiences taught that the future was unpredictable or unsafe, the brain may have learned to avoid future-oriented thinking as a protective mechanism.
Is difficulty imagining the future a symptom of trauma?
Yes, difficulty imagining or planning for the future can be a recognized symptom of trauma, sometimes called a ‘foreshortened sense of future.’ It’s particularly common in complex PTSD and can manifest as inability to set goals, feeling disconnected from future possibilities, or a sense that life won’t continue normally.
How can therapy help with future visualization after trauma?
Trauma-informed therapy helps by first addressing the underlying nervous system dysregulation that blocks future-oriented thinking. As the trauma is processed through approaches like EMDR and somatic therapy, the capacity to imagine, plan for, and feel hopeful about the future naturally begins to return.
