How Does Trauma Live in the Body?
When most people think about trauma, they imagine memories or emotions tied to painful events. But trauma is not just something we think about — it’s something we feel and carry in the body.
As trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, MD, explains in The Body Keeps the Score, trauma imprints itself on the body and brain. The nervous system, muscles, and even immune system can all hold the impact of overwhelming experiences, long after the events are over.
Similarly, physician Gabor Maté, MD, has written extensively about how stress and trauma show up in both emotional patterns and physical illness. In When the Body Says No, he highlights how unresolved trauma can contribute to chronic pain, autoimmune conditions, and other health issues.
Trauma as Adaptation — Not Just an Event
Clinically, trauma is not the event itself, but the body’s adaptation to it. In moments of threat, the nervous system activates survival responses like fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. If the system doesn’t get the chance to fully process or release those responses, the body may remain “stuck” in survival mode.
This can lead to ongoing symptoms such as:
Chronic tension or pain
Digestive problems
Sleep disturbances
Fatigue or exhaustion
Feeling constantly on edge (hypervigilance)
Numbness or disconnection from the body
The Science of Trauma in the Body
Nervous System Dysregulation
Trauma alters the autonomic nervous system, which regulates heart rate, breath, digestion, and more. Instead of smoothly shifting between activation and rest, the system can get locked in high alert (sympathetic activation) or shutdown (dorsal vagal freeze).Muscle Memory and Body Tension
The body can literally brace for danger even when none is present. Shoulders may stay tight, the jaw clenched, or the breath shallow — as if preparing for impact.Hormones and Stress Chemicals
Trauma can lead to chronically elevated stress hormones like cortisol, which affect energy, mood, and immunity.Body-Based Triggers
Sometimes, the body reacts before the mind does. A smell, sound, or touch can spark panic, shaking, or numbness even if someone isn’t consciously thinking about the trauma.
Healing Trauma in the Body
Because trauma is stored in the body, healing also needs to include the body. Talk therapy can provide insights and perspective, but somatic approaches work with the nervous system directly. Examples include:
Somatic therapy – tracking sensations, grounding exercises, and gentle movements to help the body release tension.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) – integrating traumatic memories while keeping the body regulated.
Mindfulness and breath practices – building awareness of the present moment and reconnecting to bodily signals.
Safe relationship experiences – therapy itself provides a new relational experience, helping the body relearn what safety feels like.
Final Thoughts
Trauma lives in the body because our survival responses are biological, not just psychological. The good news is that the body also holds the key to healing. By learning to listen to and work with the nervous system, it’s possible to release old patterns and reconnect with a sense of safety and vitality.
As Bessel van der Kolk writes: “The body keeps the score. If the memory of trauma is encoded in the viscera, in heartbreaking and gut-wrenching emotions, in autoimmune disorders and skeletal/muscular problems…this demands a radical shift in our therapeutic assumptions.”
Call to Action
If you’re noticing signs of trauma in your body, you don’t have to navigate it alone. I offer somatic and trauma-informed therapy that integrates body, mind, and emotions. Reach out today to learn how therapy can help your nervous system find balance again.
