Releasing somatic trauma involves body-centered practices to discharge stored stress, using techniques like focused breathing, gentle movement (yoga, dance), body awareness (body scans), grounding, self-soothing touch, and mind-body therapies such as Somatic Experiencing (SE) or EMDR, often with a therapist, to safely process physical sensations linked to past events and calm the nervous system.
The belief is emotions and traumatic experiences can become trapped in the body, and somatic therapy helps release this pent-up tension and emotions. Somatic therapy uses body awareness, breathwork and movement exercises to be more aware of bodily sensations and release stored emotions.
The key is finding ways to release that stored trauma and chronic stress. Practices like somatic experiencing, yoga, and meditation can help regulate the nervous system and promote relaxation. By releasing trauma from the body, we can start to experience greater physical and emotional well-being.
Somatic Full Practice-Calming Sessions
Can I heal from childhood trauma without therapy? While professional support is recommended, self-healing strategies like mindfulness, journaling, creative expression, and physical practices can support recovery.
While all traumas leave a profound mark on an individual's life, there's a different level of difficulty in recovering from what's called "complex trauma." Unlike single-incident traumas, complex trauma stems from repeated experiences of stressful and traumatic events, usually in environments where there's no escape.
It won't rid you of PTSD and your fears, but let your tears flow and you'll maybe feel a little better afterwards. 'Crying for long periods of time releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids, otherwise known as endorphins. These feel-good chemicals can help ease both physical and emotional pain.
Because our nervous system and brain can hold onto painful and traumatic events, chronic pain can be very real and present even after the physical injury has healed.
Physical Sensations
Tremors or Shaking: These involuntary movements can occur as the body releases stored energy associated with traumatic experiences. Tingling or Warmth: You may feel tingling sensations or warmth in certain areas of your body as trauma is processed and released.
8 Trauma Release Exercises to Try at Home
Exercise and movement can also be helpful in rewiring the brain after trauma. Exercise has been shown to increase the production of endorphins, which can help reduce anxiety and depression. Movement-based therapies like yoga and dance can also be helpful in reducing symptoms of trauma and improving mental health.
Strategies for Emotional Detachment in Trauma Bonds
Limiting Contact: One of the most effective steps towards emotional detachment is to limit or entirely cut off contact with the abuser. This can be challenging but is often necessary to stop the cycle of abuse and begin healing.
Your Body Holds the Stress
Chronic stress from trauma can settle into your muscles and tissues, leading to tension, pain, or unexplained fatigue. You might feel this as a constant ache in your shoulders, a tightness in your chest, or even digestive issues that seem to come out of nowhere.
The 3-3-3 rule is a simple grounding technique for anxiety that brings you to the present moment by engaging your senses: 1) Name three things you can see, 2) Name three sounds you can hear, and 3) Move three parts of your body (like wiggling fingers/toes, rolling shoulders). This helps shift focus from overwhelming thoughts to your immediate environment, offering quick relief during panic or stress.
Patients with functional illnesses such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome have a greater prevalence of somatic symptom disorder. The reported frequency of somatic symptom disorder, as defined by the DSM-5 criteria, ranges from 25 to 60% among these patients.
10 Somatic Therapy Techniques for Daily Life
Some of the signs of unhealed trauma may include:
Survivors of childhood family trauma typically go through 6 stages in their path to healing: pre-awareness, uncovering, digging in, healing, understanding, and nurturing. Using elements from her clinical work, as well as personal experience, Gillis provides support and tips for survivors navigating these 6 stages.
Smiling or laughing when disclosing trauma can be an indicator of shame. Some trauma survivors hold deeply entrenched feelings of self-blame and other distorted and inaccurate thoughts about the role they believe they played in their abuse.
Understanding Grief Trauma and Its Impact on the Body
Trauma can get stored deep in your muscles, in your breath, and even in the way your heart beats. And over time, if that grief isn't released, it can start to affect your body in ways you might not expect.
Our bodies keep unprocessed trauma. For some, that strength manifests inside the feet as a “holding on” response — the body literally grips the ground for stability and protection. It's a subconscious way of dealing with beyond fear or instability.
Unwanted distressing memories, images, or thoughts
Treatment for Unhealed Trauma
Common treatments for PTSD include trauma-informed therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Trauma-informed therapy can provide a supportive and gentle approach when you walk into your therapist's office.
Emotional response: sadness, grief, happiness, frustration, or even relief. Tears are produced in response to heightened feelings, and the act of crying can serve as a cathartic release, helping to alleviate tension.
If you are storing trauma in your body and you're having trouble releasing it, you may benefit from chiropractic treatment. With a holistic, patient-centered approach focused on the mind and body connection, chiropractors offer many creative ways to help unravel long-standing physical effects of traumatic experiences.