"I used to think my body was a liar. Because how can something that's supposed to be wise also be so dramatic? Why did my stomach sink before a coffee date? Why did I feel like I was going to vomit before a Zoom call? Why did I freeze before taking a step toward the exact thing I said I wanted? I used to think all of that meant something was wrong with me. Or maybe I was just anxious. Or overthinking. Or making it up. Pick a label."
"My body wasn't lying. It just didn't have the language to explain what it was holding. I didn't grow up learning how to listen to my body. I grew up learning how to ignore it. Override it. Be good. Smile. Sit still. Don't cry. Don't be dramatic. So I did what I was taught. I disconnected from it."
"Even when I started "healing," I did it with my mind. Journaling. Talking. Thinking. More thinking. Manifesting. Mindset work. All in the head. Still ignoring the body that never stopped trying to talk to me. At first, it felt like it was working. I felt empowered. I could reframe my thoughts, set intentions, and write affirmations. But it was like taping over a warning light in my car; I wasn't addressing the deeper signal underneath. My body kept breaking through. Subtle at first, then louder."
"And I truly believed I was doing it right. If I could just write the perfect affirmation, process the trigger, and map it back to childhood, then I'd feel better. Right? But it never really lasted. Not until I stopped trying to fix it all with my brain and actually felt what was happening in my body. The signs were subtle at first. A little tightness in my chest. A sudden drop in energy. A weird tension in my jaw that came out of nowhere."
The body stores trauma and communicates it through physical sensations. Early socialization taught suppression: ignore bodily signals, be composed, and avoid emotional expression. Cognitive approaches like journaling, reframing, and affirmations can feel helpful but often fail to resolve somatic signals. Bodily sensations persist and intensify when unaddressed, presenting as subtle tension, energy drops, nausea, or explosive fatigue and rage. Genuine healing involves reconnecting with bodily experience, learning the language of physical sensations, and attending to what the body is communicating rather than relying solely on mental strategies.
Read at Tiny Buddha
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