When you’ve been through something overwhelming or deeply painful, it’s easy to think of trauma as something that lives in your mind—memories, emotions, maybe flashbacks. But the truth is, trauma often takes up space in your body, too.
If you’ve ever felt tense for no clear reason, had unexplained stomach aches, or noticed your heart racing even when nothing “bad” was happening, you’re not imagining it. That’s your body still protecting you from something it thinks could happen again.
Trauma can keep your nervous system stuck in survival mode—ready to fight, run, or shut down at a moment’s notice. And when your body lives like that for a long time, it starts to show up in real, physical ways.
Common Physical Symptoms of Trauma
At Transformative Mindset, we’ve worked with so many people who came to therapy for emotional pain and were surprised when we also started talking about things like back pain, headaches, and gut issues. But it makes sense—your mind and body are connected, and what happens to one will always affect the other.
You might notice:
- Tightness in your shoulders, jaw, or back that never fully goes away
- Headaches or migraines that flare during stressful moments
- Digestive issues like IBS, nausea, or stomach pain
- Feeling exhausted no matter how much you sleep
- Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling rested in the morning
- A pounding heart, shallow breathing, or chest tightness
- Feeling easily startled or overwhelmed by noise, crowds, or even bright light
Sometimes these symptoms show up right after the trauma. Other times, they appear months—or even years—later. But they all have one thing in common: your body is still remembering.
The Body Keeps the Score
Your brain and body are always in conversation. When you’ve experienced trauma, that conversation changes. The part of your brain that’s in charge of keeping you safe becomes extra alert, and stress hormones like cortisol stay high. This impacts your muscles, digestion, immune system, and even your hormones.
That’s why, even if you’re not thinking about what happened, you might still feel it—in your chest, in your stomach, in the ache of your muscles.
How Trauma Therapy Can Help Your Body Heal
Trauma therapy isn’t just about talking through memories—it’s also about helping your body learn how to feel safe again. We can work together to calm your nervous system, release tension, and give your body permission to rest.
In sessions with us, we might guide you through:
- Grounding and mindfulness exercises to help your body shift out of survival mode
- Gentle body awareness practices so you can notice when stress is building before it takes over
- Trauma processing methods like EMDR or somatic work to help your brain reprocess what happened without your body going into overdrive
- Breathing and relaxation techniques to loosen tension and slow a racing heart
- Small steps toward safety so you can start to trust your body again
Over time, your body begins to believe what your mind might already know—you’re safe now. And when that happens, those physical symptoms often become less intense, less frequent, and sometimes disappear altogether.
Summary
Trauma doesn’t just affect your mind—it can manifest physically in your body. Symptoms like chronic pain, digestive issues, and fatigue are common physical manifestations of trauma. Understanding how trauma affects the nervous system and body memory is crucial for effective healing. Therapies such as somatic experiencing, EMDR, and mindfulness practices can help release stored trauma and restore balance. If you’re experiencing unexplained physical symptoms, it’s important to consider the impact of past trauma on your body and seek appropriate therapeutic support.
If you’ve been told “it’s just stress” or “there’s nothing wrong” but you still feel something in your body, please know this: you’re not making it up. Your body is simply telling its side of the story. And together, we can help it find peace. Contact us at Transformative Mindset to book your in-person or virtual therapy session.
