What number of instances have you ever heard somebody say “it’s all in your head” in response to a psychological well being situation? Being a psychological well being supplier myself since 2011, I’ve most likely heard it over hundreds of instances from buddies, household, physicians, and numerous, misinformed, however well-meaning psychological well being suppliers as effectively. Whereas well-intentioned, this response can typically really feel fairly dismissive or minimizing to emotional ache, particularly trauma. It could possibly additionally additional discourage the psychological well being sufferer from sharing their experiences and may suggest it is their fault for not considering their method out of their struggling. However science—and lived expertise—inform us one thing very totally different: trauma isn’t simply psychological (van der Kolk, 2014). It’s deeply physiological as effectively. It resides within the physique, bones, cells, mind, and your nervous system. This isn’t simply poetic language; it’s organic actuality.
Trauma Is a Full-Physique Expertise
After we undergo a traumatic occasion, our nervous system kicks into overdrive instantaneously earlier than we will even cognitively course of what occurred. The mind’s worry heart, the amygdala, prompts the fight-or-flight response, flooding the physique with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. In a wholesome restoration course of, this activation would cool down. However with unresolved trauma, the physique can change into “caught on activation,” and subsequently battle to its wholesome baseline. It could possibly keep hypervigilant—looping in a mode of “at all times scanning for hazard,” even once we’re bodily protected.
That is why trauma survivors typically report bodily signs like muscle pressure, complications, digestive points, persistent fatigue, and sleep disturbances continuously. Based on analysis cited in van der Kolk’s (2014) The Physique Retains the Rating, the physique actually “retains the rating” from traumatic occasions. The experiences are encoded not solely within the mind, however in your complete nervous system spanning throughout each nook and cranny of the physique and its emotional programming.
It’s Not Simply in Your Head—It’s in Your Cells
Analysis within the discipline of epigenetics strongly helps this mind-body hyperlink. Research present that trauma can result in adjustments in gene expression—basically altering how your physique responds to emphasize sooner or later. One examine (Yehuda et al., 2016) discovered that youngsters of Holocaust survivors had epigenetic markers related to trauma, suggesting that the organic imprint of trauma may even be handed down by generations.
Equally, researchers have discovered larger ranges of irritation and stress-related biomarkers in people with PTSD. These bodily imprints usually are not the results of being “dramatic” or “too delicate”—they’re proof of a system that’s been overloaded and hasn’t been given the possibility to reset.
Thoughts-Physique Therapies Are Key
As a result of trauma lives within the physique, efficient therapeutic should contain the physique too. Whereas conventional speak remedy may be useful, many individuals discover that somatic (body-oriented) modalities like EMDR (Eye Motion Desensitization and Reprocessing), Emotionally Centered Remedy, Somatic Experiencing, yoga, and even physique and breathwork may be important elements of restoration. These therapies assist launch trauma from the nervous system—not simply analyze it cognitively.
Dr. Peter Levine, creator of Somatic Experiencing, emphasizes that therapeutic requires a “bottom-up” strategy—beginning with the physique, not the mind. His analysis and medical work present that trauma restoration includes gently guiding the nervous system out of its frozen or hyper-aroused state, permitting the physique to finish the defensive responses it couldn’t throughout the authentic trauma (Levine, 1997).
Frequent Misconceptions That Hurt
One of the dangerous myths about trauma is that it’s solely severe if one thing “massive” occurred—like fight, assault, or pure disasters. However trauma isn’t outlined by the occasion; it’s outlined by the nervous system’s response to the occasion. A toddler who felt chronically unseen, criticized, or emotionally uncared for could carry the identical trauma imprint as somebody who skilled a significant exterior disaster.
I repeat, it is a widespread, pernicious fantasy is that trauma is solely psychological or “in your head.” This may lead folks to hunt assist solely by treatment or speak remedy, with out addressing the bodily dimensions of their signs. Trauma isn’t a psychological weak point—it’s a organic damage to the nervous system that wants holistic care.
Conclusion
Understanding that trauma resides within the physique may be extremely relieving and validating. Should you’ve ever puzzled why you may’t simply “transfer on” or “suppose positively,” it’s not since you’re damaged or weak—it’s as a result of your physique continues to be making an attempt to guard you from a risk it had decided continues to be very a lot current (even when it is not). That’s its job; prioritizes defending us, and typically it will get so entrenched on this function that it might frequently misperceive risk. And therapeutic isn’t about pushing by or toughing it out. It’s about listening deeply to what your physique is making an attempt to inform you and dealing gently with it, not in opposition to it, so it might transfer by us and delicate reprogram over time.
The excellent news is the physique can be a strong car for therapeutic. Neuroplasticity—the mind’s potential to rewire itself—mixed with somatic therapeutic practices implies that restoration isn’t solely potential, it’s deeply embodied. Trauma isn’t solely treatable however curable!
It was by no means “simply in your head.” Trauma turns into programmed into your physique—and with the suitable help, it may be unprogrammed (and reprogrammed) as effectively.
To discover a therapist, please go to the Psychology At this time Remedy Listing.
