When the body holds what words cannot say

Have you ever felt a heavy tightness in your chest that words couldn’t explain? Or found your shoulders aching after a stressful day—even when you didn’t lift a thing?

This isn’t just coincidence. It’s the body remembering what the mind has long tried to forget.

Trauma doesn’t always show up as flashbacks or nightmares.Sometimes, it lives quietly—in muscles, posture, breath, and pain.

The science behind it

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, in his landmark book The Body Keeps the Score, shares that trauma is not just a memory in the mind—it’s an imprint on the nervous system.

When we go through something overwhelming or unsafe, especially if we couldn’t fight or escape, the body freezes the moment. That tension, that breath we never got to release, that emotion we had to suppress—it all gets stored.

Over time, unprocessed trauma may show up as:

• Chronic muscle tension

• Fatigue and burnout

• Digestive issues

• Dissociation or body numbness

• Difficulty trusting your own body or emotions

  
  

Rina’s story

Rina, 35, had nagging neck pain for years.Physiotherapy helped, but the pain always returned.

In therapy, we explored her childhood experiences—especially the pressure to “hold it together” as the eldest sibling. She often felt she was “carrying everyone,” literally and emotionally.

Once we gently worked with this stored belief through body awareness and somatic processing, her pain softened.

She later said:

“It felt like I could finally put the weight down.”

Body area and possible emotional or Trauma-related associations

• Shoulders Feeling burdened, carrying too much responsibility or emotional weight

• Neck - Suppressed anger, feeling stuck or unable to express oneself

• Chest - Grief, heartbreak, anxiety, fear of vulnerability

• Stomach - Anxiety, dread, gut instinct being ignored, fear of the unknown

• Lower Back - Lack of support, financial stress, early developmental trauma

• Hands - Control issues, holding on too tightly, fear of letting go

• Legs - Fear of moving forward, instability, childhood trauma

• Feet - Lack of grounding, feeling unsafe or disconnected from the present

• Jaw - Repressed anger, holding back words or emotions

• Eyes / Head - Overthinking, mental overload, avoidance of seeing or acknowledging truth

• Pelvis / Hips - Sexual trauma, safety concerns, creativity blocks

Note: These are not diagnoses—just patterns that may help you reflect.

How can healing happen?

When therapy is supported by body-based work, deep healing becomes possible.

Some powerful somatic approaches include:

Body scanning & grounding

Bringing slow, kind awareness to body sensations without judgment.This helps reconnect the mind and body gently, especially after dissociation.

Sensorimotor therapy

Noticing posture, tension, and gestures—then slowly completing “interrupted actions.”For example, if you wanted to push away but froze, the body can learn to finish that push safely now.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

Works by integrating traumatic memories using eye movement or tapping while focusing on the felt sense.Helps discharge stored activation from the nervous system.

The next time you notice a persistent ache, instead of ignoring it, you might try asking:

“What is this part of me trying to say?”

“When did I first feel this tightness?”

“Is there a memory or emotion connected to it?”

You don’t have to analyze or fix it.Just noticing begins the process of release.

Be aware-

Your chronic fatigue, your frozen shoulders, your restless legs—may not be random.They might be messengers, patiently waiting to be heard.

You can learn to listen to your body—and help it let go.