June was walking down the street when a car backed up. She felt her heart race, her shoulders tense, and her breath become labored. Suddenly, she no longer felt safe, even though nothing had happened to her.
On her way back, she realized this reaction was the trauma her body had stored all those years. And when she least expected it, the feeling resurfaced.
It’s true — your body can remember things your mind has blocked. When something happens that’s too painful to process in the moment, it gets stored in your body. You might wonder: how can feelings get stored in the body?
The fact is, your nervous system is not separate from your body, and physical sensations often evoke memories.
A certain candle can take you back to the time you spent crammed in your dorm room. A stranger’s cologne can remind you of the worst season of your life. A single strand of hair can make you feel like it’s all happening again.
How trauma works in the body is complex. At Alter Behavioral Health, we see people every day struggling with traumatic events that show up as somatic pain. Our job is to help them understand that what seems like a frozen shoulder might actually be the grief of losing a childhood pet.
We teach our patients to listen to their bodies by first helping them understand the connection between the mind and body.
What Does It Mean for Trauma to Be “Stored in the Body”?
Your body has specific ways of reacting to situations — sometimes before your mind even processes them. For example, you might shudder when you hear bad news or clench your teeth when you’re anxious.
This is not a coincidence. The body has a built-in mechanism that detects external cues and protects you from pain. The same system is responsible for “storing” trauma when something happens that you’re not equipped to handle.
Experiencing trauma — whether physical, emotional, or sexual — puts your nervous system in survival mode. This is what scientists call fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
- Your fight kicks in to defend yourself.
- Flight urges you to escape.
- Freeze shuts everything down so you can avoid danger.
- Fawn makes you seek safety by pleasing others or staying calm.
There’s no such thing as a wrong reaction. You don’t get to choose how you respond — these reactions are automatic and activate when you feel endangered. If you’re in a car accident, you might freeze or flee. If you’re being called out, you might automatically fight or fawn.
These reactions are your body’s way of protecting you. But sometimes, when you go through something traumatic, you can get stuck in these modes.
You might remain in a freeze for years, which can look like procrastination. You might stay in fight, which can show up as anger issues.
But what’s really going on?
Your body is holding onto unprocessed stress. It shows up as tight muscles, clenched shoulders, chronic headaches, and most commonly, digestive issues. These symptoms may not make sense to a physician, but a trauma-informed therapist can often tell that the discomfort is linked to a painful event your mind is trying to move on from.
Our goal at Alter Behavioral Health is to help you identify the root of that event and guide you in moving past it, so you can free yourself from living in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
The Brain and Body Work Together
Believe it or not, your brain and body are deeply interconnected. For research purposes, scientists often study them separately, but in reality, psychological trauma affects both the mind and body.
When you’re threatened or overwhelmed, several key brain regions are involved:
- The Amygdala: The body’s alarm system. It senses danger and triggers the fight-or-flight response.
- The Hippocampus: Your brain’s memory center. It records events in order and helps you distinguish between the past and present.
- The Prefrontal Cortex: The part of your brain that helps you think clearly, assess risks, and make decisions. It’s also responsible for calming you down when you’re stressed.
It’s important to remember that people under the age of 25 don’t yet have a fully developed prefrontal cortex, which means how something affected you as a child can look very different from how it affects you as an adult.
Trauma acts like a short circuit — it literally disrupts the brain’s communication pathways.
When you experience trauma, your amygdala becomes hyperactive, your hippocampus struggles to organize memories, and your prefrontal cortex may go offline. This disconnect makes it hard to tell what’s happening in the present versus what’s a memory.
Survivors of trauma aren’t overreacting when they constantly scan for threats or struggle to make decisions. Their brains are working differently; they can’t simply “snap out of it.”
When trauma isn’t processed, the body remains stuck in a dysregulated nervous system, defaulting to survival mode. Over time, muscle tension, increased heart rate, and sleep disturbances can take a toll on a trauma survivor’s body.
It’s not the same body you had before the trauma, and definitely not the same brain.
The good news is that you can retrain your brain to recognize safety through trauma-informed therapy and nervous system regulation techniques. With the help of a qualified trauma therapist, Alter Behavioral Health provides a safe environment where survivors can take control of their thoughts and release what the body has been holding onto.
Healing Is Possible
At Alter Behavioral Health, we don’t expect people to simply “get over it.” We understand the complexity of trauma and the immense toll it takes on the body, but we believe in teaching trauma survivors how to recognize safety so they can be free from it.
If you’re afraid to take the next step and reconnect with your body, our mental health programs at Alter Behavioral Health are designed to support you.
Contact us today to book an appointment.
FAQs
1. How is trauma stored in the body?
Trauma can be stored as muscle tension, changes in breathing, and heightened nervous system activity, even when the mind tries to forget the event.
2. Why does my body react to things that remind me of past trauma?
Your brain and nervous system link certain sights, sounds, or sensations to danger, triggering an automatic “fight, flight, freeze, or fawn” response
3. Can trauma cause physical pain?
Yes. Chronic pain, fatigue, headaches, and digestive issues can sometimes stem from unprocessed emotional trauma.
4. What happens to the brain during trauma?
The amygdala becomes overactive, while the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which manage memory and logic, may go offline.
5. Can trauma affect the nervous system long-term?
Yes. Prolonged trauma can keep the nervous system “stuck” in survival mode, leading to anxiety, hypervigilance, or emotional numbness.
6. How can I tell if my body is holding onto trauma?
You may notice tightness, unexplained pain, fatigue, or emotional triggers that don’t match your current situation.
7. What therapies help release trauma from the body?
Somatic therapies, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), yoga, and mindfulness-based treatments can all help.
8. Is it possible to fully heal from trauma?
Yes. With the right support and therapy, you can retrain your brain and body to feel safe again.
9. Can trauma affect sleep and digestion?
Absolutely. The nervous system controls both, so chronic stress or trauma can lead to insomnia, nightmares, or gut issues.
10. How can Alter Behavioral Health help with trauma recovery?.
Alter Behavioral Health offers evidence-based, holistic trauma treatment that supports emotional and physical healing in a safe environment.
