Your Body Remembers

Have you ever had a sudden wave of anxiety for no clear reason? Or felt your heart race in certain situations, even though your mind insists, I’m fine?

Maybe you have a vague sense that something happened in your past, but the details feel hazy or are completely missing.

This is because trauma isn’t just stored in your mind. It’s stored in your body. Even if you can’t consciously remember what happened, your nervous system does.

 

When something overwhelming happens whether it’s a single traumatic event or a repeated experience over time your body reacts instantly to protect you.

Your nervous system goes into survival mode:

• Fight – ready to defend yourself.
• Flight – ready to escape.
• Freeze – shutting down or dissociating when escape isn’t possible.

In a healthy cycle, once the threat passes, your body processes the stress and returns to balance. But when the trauma is too much or too ongoing your body doesn’t complete that cycle. The survival response gets “stuck,” and those unprocessed stress signals remain in your system.

This is why trauma can live in your body long after the event, quietly shaping how you feel, think, and react.

 

But What If I Don’t Remember the Trauma?

 

Here’s the thing: your mind can forget, but your body doesn’t. Sometimes, your brain protects you by burying memories that feel too painful or overwhelming. This is called dissociation, and it’s a coping mechanism. It’s your brain saying, I can’t handle this right now, so I’ll tuck it away. But the nervous system still remembers the feeling of the trauma, even without the memory. It remembers the panic, the fear, the helplessness.

That’s why you may:

• Have triggers you don’t understand, like a smell, sound, or even a certain tone of voice.
• Experience chronic tension or pain, especially in areas like the neck, shoulders, chest, or stomach.
• Struggle with unexplained anxiety, numbness, or emotional shutdowns.
• Feel unsafe in situations that are actually safe.

Your body is holding onto the trauma signal as if it’s still happening even when you logically know it’s over.

 

You don’t need to have a clear memory of trauma for it to affect you. It can show up as:

• Hypervigilance always feeling “on edge” or like something bad might happen.
• Difficulty relaxing or resting, even when you’re exhausted.
• Chronic health issues like digestive problems, headaches, or muscle pain with no clear cause.
• Emotional flashbacks sudden feelings of fear, shame, or sadness without a clear reason.
• Feeling disconnected from your body or like you’re living on “autopilot.”

If this sounds familiar, it’s not because something is “wrong” with you. It’s because your nervous system is still trying to protect you.

 

The good news is you don’t have to remember everything to heal. You can gently work with your body to release the trauma it’s holding, even without the full story.

How healing can begin

1. Start with safety. Before diving into the past, your nervous system needs to feel safe in the present. This might mean building small daily rituals of comfort like grounding exercises, mindful breathing, or self-soothing practices.
2. Work with your body, not just your mind. Trauma isn’t only a thought; it’s a felt experience. Somatic (body-based) approaches, like gentle movement, breathwork, or trauma-informed yoga, can help release stored tension.
3. Learn to regulate your nervous system. Simple practices like slow exhaling, humming, or holding yourself with gentle pressure can signal to your body that it’s safe now.
4. Seek supportive guidance. A trauma-informed counsellor or therapist can help you navigate these layers without retraumatising yourself.

The goal isn’t to force memories to surface it’s to help your body stop living as if the trauma is still happening.

 

The fact that your body remembers is not a sign of weakness. It’s proof of your resilience. Your nervous system did what it had to do to keep you alive.

 

And now, slowly, you can teach it that it’s safe to let go.

You don’t need to rush. You don’t need to have all the answers. Healing is about moving at your own pace, with compassion for every part of you that survived.

You’re Not Alone in This

At The Inner Compass Society, I believe in holding space for what feels unsaid and unseen. You don’t have to have all the words or all the memories to start healing. Together, we can gently untangle what your body has been holding, and guide you toward a sense of safety and calm within yourself.

If this speaks to you, you can reach out to learn more about one-to-one support sessions. You don’t have to carry this alone.

With tenderness,

Laura Dix

The Inner Compass Society