Understanding Trauma: Part 2 In A Three Part Series

• What is It? 
• How Does it Get Stuck on Our Bodies?
• What Can We Do About It?

Click here for Blog 1 and here for Blog 3

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In these three blog posts, I will share my understanding of trauma, its impact on the body, and ways we can release it. I’m not a therapist by any means but I’ve done my fair share of personal research and healing with professionals of all styles so my intention is that these insights:

• Help to shed light on what trauma is
• Highlight the profound ways trauma can affect us
• Help release ourselves from it’s grip

In my first blog I explained what trauma is and how it can happen. 

Now, we’ll explore how and why trauma can show up in our bodies and impact out lives. 

Stay tuned because in my final blog of this series, I’ll talk about what we can DO about releasing and healing from trauma so that we don’t stay stuck.

Effects on the Body – How Trauma Gets Trapped

We learned in my first post about the two broad types of trauma: big ’T’ and little ’T’. Both of these can manifest in many different ways for different people. 

We can experience the impact emotionally, through anxiety, depression, or emotional numbness; mentally, as memory problems or difficulty concentrating; spiritually, as a sense of disconnection or loss of purpose; and physically, in the form of chronic pain, fatigue, or digestive issues. 

Recognizing these signs is a positive step toward understanding and addressing trauma trapped in the body so let’s take a closer look at why trauma can get trapped and what the possible physical effects are.

Why can trauma leave a lasting impact on the body? 

When our nervous system is overwhelmed by a traumatic experience, whether it’s something as severe as abuse or the constant erosion of self-confidence that comes from micro aggressions, the body occasionally holds on to unresolved stress, leading to tension and discomfort. This stored trauma can manifest physically, often without us realizing its connection to past emotional pain. 

Understanding how and why trauma gets trapped in the body is key to finding holistic healing.

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk⁽¹⁾, a leading trauma expert and author of “The Body Keeps the Score,” explains that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body.

Our bodies and brains are designed to process and recover from stressful experiences. 

This amazing vehicle we take for granted every day really does have the capacity to heal itself IF we give it the space it needs to process the experience….but that’s not always available in the moment. 

BUT when an event is too overwhelming, the natural recovery process can be disrupted. This can cause the trauma to get “stuck” in the body. 

Dr. Peter Levine⁽²⁾, another prominent figure in trauma research and the author of “Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma” emphasizes that trauma is stored in the body through unprocessed sensations and reactions. 

This means that the physical response to trauma (such as a rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, or a sense of dread) can persist long after the threat has passed. As we learned above, this encompasses the PTSD that many soldiers experience as an after effect of big ’T’ trauma.

Here’s how the process happens:

Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn: 

When faced with danger, our bodies instinctively react to protect us. We are probably all familiar with the “fight, flight” response where our system is flooded with stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, preparing us to either confront or escape the threat. If the situation is too overwhelming and neither fighting nor fleeing is possible, the body may enter a “freeze” state, shutting down to protect itself. 

In addition to these three well-documented responses, researchers have identified a fourth adaptive survival strategy known as the “fawn” response. This term describes a social survival strategy where individuals prioritize appeasing and pleasing others in order to mitigate threat and ensure safety.   

Incomplete Processing: 

Normally, when faced with these responses our bodies gradually return to a state of calm after the danger has passed. But in the case of trauma, the body’s stress response can get stuck in the “on” position. This means the physical sensations and emotional responses associated with the trauma are not fully processed and the nervous system can remain in a heightened state, not allowing the emotion to move up and out of the body. Remember, emotion can be thought of as “e-motion”, meaning energy in motion!

When unresolved energy/emotion isn’t able to circulate and move through (be processed by) the body, it can literally become “stuck” in various parts of the body and become, as several researchers suggest, body memories.

Body Memories: 

The body can hold onto traumatic memories in ways that bypass the conscious mind. As in the case of incomplete processing of the emotions surrounding traumas, you might experience physical sensations, like pain or tension, that are linked to a past trauma even if you’re not consciously thinking about it. 

This often manifests in areas of chronic tension, like the neck, shoulders, or back, or through digestive issues and difficulty breathing. Emotionally, this trapped trauma can also result in anxiety or feeling “on edge,” as the body remains in a state of alert, unable to fully return to a state of rest and safety.

I have a few personal examples of how I discovered trapped trauma in my body. I’ll share one of them here.

I felt a small twinge in my lower back while lifting something fairly heavy at work; it seemed relatively minor, something that I could “walk off” or recover from in a few days. Unfortunately, it became a chronic lower back pain that plagued me for over 6 years! 

I went to chiropractors and massage therapists, I tried acupuncture and physiotherapy, all with limited, short-lived results.

One day, I was using a self-massage ball (you know, those rubber ones like a tennis ball that you can lean against to relieve tension) to dig into the pain in my lower back. 

As I was rolling, I was using EFT tapping (learn more about that here) to help clear the pain and I was asking my body what it needed to release. All of a sudden, I started sobbing. 

Not crying, SOBBING. 

I had no idea what was going on but I just kept tapping and rolling on that ball, finding tension points and allowing my body to express whatever it needed to express. 

After that 20-30min session of giving my body the space it needed to allow those trapped “e-motions” to rise up and be expressed, my back pain had decreased by about 85%. 

In the following 2-3 years I continued this process and with the help of chiropractic, massage care, physiotherapy and more EFT, I healed the last 15%. 

It’s been 6 more years and I rarely have lower back pain. If I do, it’s easily relieved with a bit of stretching.

The piece I was missing in the first 6 years of trying to resolve my chronic pain was the “E-MOTION-AL” component. By acknowledging, then feeling the stuck emotions and allowing them to be expressed, my body had enough space to heal itself much more easily.

We may never have any idea of WHICH trauma causes our symptoms. I have no idea what I was releasing that day but I do know there were some big feelings that had been trapped for a long time and with the help of a few different methods, I gave my body the space and time to express and to MOVE the stuck emotion.

Recognizing trauma responses that indicate trauma may be trapped in the body is crucial for initiating healing processes. Here are some key indicators and signs:

Physical Symptoms

• Chronic Pain – Unexplained or persistent physical pain that doesn’t have a clear medical cause.

• Tension and Tightness – Constant muscle tension, particularly in areas like the shoulders, neck, or jaw.

• Digestive Issues – Recurring stomachaches, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or other gastrointestinal problems.

• Fatigue – Persistent tiredness or exhaustion that isn’t alleviated by rest.

Emotional and Psychological Signs

• Hyperarousal – Feeling constantly on edge, easily startled, or experiencing heightened anxiety without clear triggers.

• Hypervigilance – Being excessively watchful or alert to potential threats or danger.

• Dissociation – Feeling disconnected from one’s body or surroundings, experiencing a sense of unreality or detachment.

• Mood Swings – Rapid shifts in mood or emotional responses that feel overwhelming or unpredictable.

Behavioral Patterns

• Avoidance – Persistent efforts to avoid situations, places, or people that remind one of the traumatic experience.

• Difficulty Trusting Others – Struggling to trust others or form close relationships due to fear of vulnerability or betrayal.

• Self-Destructive Behavior – Engaging in behaviors that harm oneself, such as substance abuse, self-harm, or risky activities.

Cognitive and Perceptual Changes

• Memory Issues – Difficulty remembering details of traumatic events or experiencing intrusive memories.

• Negative Beliefs – Holding negative beliefs about ourselves, others, or the world (e.g., “I am not safe,” “I am unworthy”).

• Distorted Perception of Time – Feeling as though traumatic events are happening again or that time is distorted.

Interpersonal Difficulties

• Conflict in Relationships – Experiencing frequent conflicts or challenges in relationships, both personal and professional.

• Isolation – Withdrawing from social interactions or feeling isolated despite being around others.

Sensory and Body Awareness

• Heightened Sensitivity –  Becoming easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli (e.g., sounds, lights) that trigger memories or emotions associated with trauma.

• Body Memories – Sensations or feelings in the body that seem disconnected from current experiences but relate to past traumatic events.

WHEW! This is by no means an exhaustive list but I hope that by recognizing these signs and symptoms, you can understand how trauma can have a pretty big impact on our lives. 

If you resonate with any of these symptoms, please don’t despair! Recognizing it is the first step toward healing.

I highly encourage anyone who thinks they have unresolved trauma, especially at the big “T” level or if it feels too much to take care of on your own,  to please seek support from professionals trained specifically in trauma-informed care. 

There are many support systems that can help facilitate your journey toward healing, recovery, and resilience.

In my last blog on this subject, I’m going to list a few techniques, therapies, and support systems that have helped me personally move through some of the small ’T’ trauma that was living in my body.

Click here for Blog #3!

Trauma Informed Care Resources:

Somatic Experiencing International: https://directory.traumahealing.org/

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies: https://istss.org/portal/find-a-clinician/

EMDR International Association: https://www.emdria.org/

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References

1. Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.

2. Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma: The innate capacity to transform overwhelming experiences. North Atlantic Books.