How Does the Body Hold Trauma? An Expert Explains

It’s no secret that stress can wreak havoc on your body, which is why it’s unsurprising that trauma of any sort can too. While I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t hold anything in, the truth is, the body always remembers. We all have things we keep inside, knowingly or unknowingly. Which begs the question: How does the body hold trauma?

The truth is, many of us hold onto emotions and experiences more than we think. After all, the brain often suppresses unpleasant memories and traumatic events as a coping mechanism. But because the body always remembers, this trapped tension often manifests physically through things like chronic pain or illnesses days, months, or even years later.

Needless to say, while all of this is completely normal, it’s no way to live. No one should have to repeatedly suffer or re-live trauma, which is why I tapped trauma-informed breathwork practitioner, physical therapist, and spiritual mentor Kate Crawford for her expertise on the matter. Ahead, learn how the body holds all kinds of trauma, and 4 ways to release it.

---

How the Body Holds Trauma:

How does the body hold trauma?

The mind and body remember everything. Which is how you know not to trust certain people or make your boss happy. It’s also why your body goes into overdrive whenever you’re reminded of a distressing event. Crawford explained that this chronic fight-or-flight response keeps the body in a constant state of hypervigilance. As a result, “the body keeps itself in a state of constant contraction, which will result in pain in the muscles and joints of the body, resulting in chronic pain and fatigue,” she said.

That said, the way trauma presents itself in the body will vary from person to person. Crawford explained that people with unresolved trauma will often get a chronic pain diagnosis from a medical professional or experience ongoing injury in their body. Likewise, memory issues or brain fog are also common, along with depression, anxiety, and trouble sleeping.

How do you know if your body’s holding trauma?

Ah, the million dollar question: How do you know if your body’s holding trauma? While determining this may seem damn near impossible, it’s actually easier than you think, according to Crawford. She explained that whatever you’re feeling can often be pinpointed back to a certain event (or events) in your life.

Regardless of whether you have a diagnosis (many people with unresolved trauma often don’t), look at what was going on in your life when the pain started. Were you under an immense amount of stress? Were you grieving the loss of something or someone? Had your life just dramatically changed? Asking these kinds of questions may be difficult, but it’s the first step of the healing process. And once you have your answer, you can begin releasing the trauma your body’s holding.

How to release trauma in the body:

Processing and releasing trauma will be completely unique to you and your experience. “The trick is finding a way to look at and move this energy in a safe way for your nervous system,” Crawford said. Since there are so many ways to do this, she suggests playing around with different tactics in order to find what works best for you. These are the four tips she swears by:

1. Movement

Trauma is overwhelming, and it can often make you feel stuck. When this happens, Crawford says moving your body is key. Not only does exercise help strengthen the mind-body connection, but it can also discharge any pent-up energy you’re holding onto, release adrenaline, and boost endorphins. Which will help restore balance to the mind and body.

The good news is that this doesn’t have to be anything crazy. Simply taking a walk in nature or on the beach can be incredibly restorative. Likewise, yoga, Pilates, walking on the treadmill, taking a bike ride, and so on can also be beneficial. Don’t be afraid to do some trial and error in order to find what works best for you.

2. Talk therapy

Opening up about trauma can be challenging, but Crawford implores you to do so by engaging in talk therapy. “The trauma that is stored needs a release point,” she said. Keeping it inside will only let it fester and grow. Plus, it’ll likely induce feelings of shame and guilt—two things you should not be carrying. Talking to a professional can help you make sense of what happened and remind you that you are more than your trauma. Likewise, it’ll make you feel supported as you navigate and work through everything.

3. Breathwork

Before you can heal it, you need to feel it. And Crawford suggests using breathwork to do this. “Connecting to a a breath pattern that feels good to you is going to safely and effectively start to get energy moving into your body by understanding and integrating the feelings,” she told me. “The breath is the energy of life!” She then went on to say that respiratory system is what brings our nervous system back online. Which is why breathing can bring you back from a panic attack, calm you down when you’re feeling angry, etc.

In terms of how to use breathwork to release trauma, there are many options. Working with someone like Crawford can be particularly helpful for unpacking and releasing trauma. Likewise, you can start slow and simply try bringing awareness to your breath. “Being intentional about your breath will bring you back home to yourself at every moment,” Crawford said. Also, using a wellness app like Open or Saged can help you get started.

4. Listen to your body

After going through 36 hours of labor and nearly dying after hemorrhaging during an emergency C-section, Crawford told me that her pelvic floor became so tight that her doctor couldn’t perform a routine pelvic exam 6 weeks post-birth. “My body wouldn’t let her in. I literally had no control over this,” she told me. While she thought this was relatively normal after childbirth, every subsequent pelvic exam became more and more difficult emotionally and physically. It wasn’t until she was trying to help someone with urinary incontinence 6 years later when she realized what her body had been trying to tell her all along.

“The most important thing to remember here is that your beautiful, wise body is only ever going to offer to you what is ready to be looked at and released from a perspective of held trauma,” Crawford told me. She then went on to give the example of someone who’s had unremitting migraines since a bad accident in their 20s. This is their body telling them it’s time to look at why their head is screaming at them all day long.

If you have unrelenting pain, Crawford says this is your body pleading with you to take a deeper look inside yourself. It’s less about the pain and more about the trauma that needs to be addressed. “Accept what is happening inside of you, [and] move this energy and turn it into forgiveness, compassion, and self-love,” she said. “Your body is only ever going to offer you a direction of love and alignment. You just need to be willing to listen.”