How Trauma Affects the Body: What You Feel Is Real
If you've ever said, "I feel it in my gut," or noticed your chest tighten during stressful moments, you're not imagining things. Trauma doesn’t just live in your memories—it shows up in your body, too. And the more we learn from both modern science and ancient healing systems, the clearer it becomes: our bodies remember.
In this blog, we’ll explore how trauma is stored in the body, what parts are affected, and how emotional healing involves tuning into these physical signals. Whether you're new to therapy or you're in the thick of trauma recovery, this post is for you.
How Trauma Affects More Than Just Your Mind
Most people think of trauma as something that only affects your brain—like nightmares, flashbacks, or anxiety. But trauma also shows up in very real ways throughout your body. This can look like:
Chronic tension in your neck and shoulders
An upset stomach that won’t quit
Chest tightness or difficulty breathing
Numbness or tingling in your limbs
Constant fatigue or a sense of being "on edge"
That’s because trauma activates the nervous system, especially the parts of your body that work automatically—your heartbeat, digestion, breathing, and more. It’s why you might feel frozen during a scary moment or jumpy days or even years after something traumatic happened.
Emotions and the Body: What Science Shows
One powerful study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), created a "body map" of emotions.
People from many different cultures reported where they felt basic emotions like sadness, anger, fear, and happiness in their bodies.
The results? Certain emotions light up specific areas of the body:
Anger: Head, chest, arms
Fear: Chest and stomach
Sadness: Chest and limbs
Happiness: Whole body activation
These maps show that emotional pain and emotional joy aren't just in our minds—they physically register in us. (Warm colors in the map showed more activation; cool colors showed less.)
You can view the full study here: PNAS Emotion Mapping Study
The Role of the Vagus Nerve and Autopilot Functions
Your vagus nerve is one of the biggest players in how trauma shows up in the body. It runs from your brain all the way down to your colon and connects to your heart, lungs, and digestive organs. It’s part of what’s called your autonomic nervous system—the autopilot part of your body that runs things like your heartbeat, breathing, and digestion without you thinking about it.
So, when trauma happens, your vagus nerve may respond by:
Speeding up your heart
Making you sweat
Causing you to hold your breath
Shutting down your digestion
Even long after the trauma, your vagus nerve might still be in "high alert" mode, which is why it’s hard to just talk your way out of trauma symptoms.
What About Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Meridian System?
There’s growing interest in how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the meridian system may overlap with Western science. Acupuncture points often align with major nerve pathways. While not yet fully proven, there’s early research (like the ones in PubMed Central) showing possible overlap between meridian points and parts of the peripheral nervous system.
In both systems, emotions are seen as stored or expressed in different organs:
Grief: lungs
Fear: kidneys
Anger: liver
Joy: heart
You may have felt this before—fear in your stomach, heartbreak in your chest, or your breath catching when overwhelmed.
How to Listen to Your Body’s Signals
If trauma lives in the body, then healing has to involve the body too. This is where somatic therapies (like EMDR, brainspotting, yoga therapy, or DBT) come in. These approaches help you slow down, tune in, and notice what your body is trying to tell you.
Here are some body-based ways to work with trauma:
Breathwork: Slowing your breath helps calm your nervous system
Body scans: Checking in with how different parts of your body feel
Movement: Gentle stretching, yoga, or walking
Touch: Weighted blankets, self-soothing touch, or massage
Healing starts when we stop ignoring our symptoms and start getting curious. What’s your body trying to say?
Trauma Recovery Takes Time—and Embodiment
A key part of healing is learning to regulate your emotions. In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), this is called emotional regulation—and it’s essential for long-term recovery. Instead of reacting automatically, DBT teaches you how to pause, name what you're feeling, and decide what to do next.
This kind of work isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. It’s about reconnecting with your body in a way that feels safe, supported, and real.
Trauma Doesn’t Have to Live in You Forever
Trauma may live in the body, but it doesn’t have to stay stuck there. You can learn to read the signals, shift your patterns, and begin to feel safe again. Therapy can be a huge support in that process.
Call your Christian counselor in Denver at 720-577-5571 to get faith-based support with trauma-informed care to help you gently reconnect with your body and story. You're not alone—and you don't have to do this by yourself.
Ready to Start Healing?
If you're noticing signs that trauma may still be living in your body, let's talk. A 15-minute phone consultation is a great first step to see if we're a good fit. You can learn more about trauma therapy in Denver and how we can walk this journey together.
