When the Body Remembers: Understanding Somatic Responses to Trauma

Trauma doesn’t just live in our memories. It lives in our muscles, our breath, our posture, and our nervous system. As Barb Dorrington explores in The Trauma Monster, the body remembers what the mind may try to forget.

Even if you can’t recall every detail of a traumatic experience, your body often carries its imprint. This is why someone with trauma might flinch at sudden sounds, freeze in a moment of conflict, or carry chronic tension in the shoulders, even without understanding why.

This is called a somatic response—a physical reaction to stored emotional pain.

The Body’s Role in Trauma

When we experience something traumatic, the brain and body respond instantly. Our nervous system decides whether to fight, flee, freeze, or fawn to survive the perceived threat. If the trauma isn’t fully processed, the nervous system can get stuck in that response—long after the danger is gone.

This is why trauma isn’t just a mental health issue—it’s a full-body experience.

Common Somatic Symptoms of Trauma

• Chronic muscle tension or pain

• Shallow breathing or frequent breath-holding

• Digestive issues or nausea under stress

• Fatigue or burnout with no clear cause

• A racing heart or sweaty palms when triggered

• Feeling disconnected from your body (dissociation)

These are not “overreactions”—they are protective responses your body developed to keep you alive.

Listening to the Body

In The Trauma Monster, Dorrington encourages us to stop judging our physical responses and start listening to them. Your body is not betraying you—it’s telling you that something needs attention.

The healing begins when you stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking, “What is my body trying to tell me?”

How to Soothe the Body and Rebuild Safety

1. Grounding Techniques
Use your senses to connect to the present. Press your feet into the floor, hold a warm mug, or focus on the details of your surroundings.

2. Breathwork
Practice slow, deep belly breathing to regulate the nervous system. Try inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4, and exhaling for 6.

3. Gentle Movement
Stretching, yoga, or walking can help discharge stored stress. You don’t have to “work out”—you just have to move with intention.

4. Body Scans
Close your eyes and scan from head to toe, noticing any tension. Simply naming the sensations without judgment creates space for release.

5. Creative Expression
Art, music, or journaling can bridge the gap between emotion and embodiment—helping you process what words can’t always express.

You Deserve to Feel Safe in Your Own Body

Your body has been your shield, your messenger, and your memory keeper. Now, it can also become your sanctuary.

As Barb Dorrington reminds us, “The trauma monster may live in the body—but so does your strength, your intuition, and your ability to heal.”

Let the body speak. Let it release. And let it guide you home to yourself.