The Body Keeps the Score

You've been to the doctor. Maybe multiple doctors.

You've described your chronic back pain, your migraines, your digestive issues, your exhaustion that doesn't go away no matter how much you sleep. You've explained the jaw pain, the tension that never releases, the random heart racing, the inflammation that keeps flaring up.

And they run tests. And the tests come back normal. And they look at you like you're making it up. Or they give you the diagnosis that feels like dismissal: 'It's probably stress.'

What they don't ask—what they almost never ask—is: 'Have you experienced trauma?'

Because here's what your doctors may not know: Your symptoms aren't medical mysteries. They're not in your head. And they're not random.

Your body is keeping score. It's been keeping score of every moment of stress, fear, and survival. And now it's speaking the only language it knows.

Today, I'm going to walk you through the physical symptoms of trauma that nobody connects—the ones that make you feel crazy, the ones that send you doctor to doctor with no answers. I'm going to explain why your body stores trauma and what's actually happening in your nervous system.

And then I'm going to give you one somatic practice you can start today—something that actually helps your body begin to release what it's been holding.

I'm Tania. I'm a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist in addition to being a trauma coach. And as someone who spent years with symptoms no one could explain, I'm going to connect some dots for you today.

Why Trauma Lives in the Body

To understand why your body is hurting, you need to understand how trauma actually works.

When you experience something traumatic, your body goes into survival mode—fight, flight, or freeze. Your muscles tense. Your heart races. Stress hormones flood your system. Your entire body prepares to protect you from danger.

In a healthy system, once the threat passes, your body returns to baseline. The muscles relax. The heart rate drops. The stress hormones clear out. You go back to normal.

But when trauma is chronic—when you lived in that survival state for months or years—your body doesn't get the signal that it's safe to come down. It stays mobilized. It stays tense. It stays flooded with cortisol and adrenaline.

Over time, this becomes your baseline. Your nervous system forgets what 'calm' feels like. It's like a smoke alarm that's been going off for so long that you don't even hear it anymore—but it's still running, still draining your batteries, still affecting everything.

The Stored Trauma Response

When your body doesn't get to complete its survival response—when you couldn't run, couldn't fight, couldn't process—that energy gets stuck. It literally becomes stored in your muscles, your fascia, your organs.

Think about it:

• If you braced for impact, your shoulders might still be carrying that tension—years later.
• If you clenched your jaw to keep from screaming, that jaw might still be tight.
• If you held your breath to stay quiet, your breathing might still be shallow.

Your body is still protecting you from something that's no longer happening. And that ongoing protection has a cost.

This isn't weakness. This isn't your imagination. This is biology. Your body did exactly what it needed to do to survive. And now it needs help knowing that the war is over.

7 Physical Symptoms Nobody Connects to Trauma

Let me walk you through the physical symptoms that are often connected to trauma—the ones that send you to doctors who can't find anything 'wrong.'

As I go through these, notice which ones you recognize. Remember: This isn't about self-diagnosis. It's about understanding your body.

1. Chronic Pain Without Clear Cause

Back pain. Neck pain. Shoulder tension that never releases. Migraines. Fibromyalgia. TMJ and jaw clenching.

When your body has been in protective mode for extended periods, your muscles learn to stay contracted. They're bracing for impact that isn't coming anymore—but they don't know that.

The pain is real. The scans might look normal, but that doesn't mean your pain isn't valid. It means the cause is in your nervous system, not a structural injury. Different cause—same real pain.

2. Digestive Issues

IBS. Chronic stomach pain. Acid reflux. Nausea. Constipation or diarrhea. Bloating that doesn't respond to diet changes.

Your gut and brain are directly connected through something called the gut-brain axis. When your brain is in chronic stress mode, your gut feels it. Digestion isn't a priority when your body thinks you're in danger—so digestion gets shut down or disrupted.

This is why you can eat 'perfectly' and still have symptoms. It's not just about what you're eating—it's about what's happening in your nervous system while you eat.

3. Exhaustion That Sleep Doesn't Fix

You sleep eight hours and wake up tired. You're dragging through the day. You used to have energy, and now it's just... gone.

This bone-deep fatigue happens because your body is running on survival mode constantly. Hypervigilance is exhausting. Your nervous system is working overtime to scan for threats, process danger signals, and keep you on alert—all while you're trying to go to work and live a normal life.

You're not lazy. You're depleted. Your battery is being drained by a program running in the background that you didn't install and can't easily turn off.

4. Sleep Disturbances

Insomnia. Nightmares. Waking at 3am with a racing mind. Restless sleep even when you're exhausted.

Sleep requires feeling safe. Your brain needs to power down its threat detection to truly rest. When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, it doesn't want to let you sleep deeply—because deep sleep means vulnerability, and your body has learned that vulnerability is dangerous.

The nightmares are your brain trying to process what happened. The insomnia is your body refusing to let its guard down.

5. Immune System Issues

Frequent colds and infections. Autoimmune flares. Inflammation that doesn't resolve. Slower healing from injuries.

Chronic stress suppresses your immune system. When cortisol is constantly elevated, your body's ability to fight off illness and heal itself is compromised.

Research shows a significant connection between trauma and autoimmune conditions. The body, stuck in survival mode, can start attacking itself. The inflammation that was meant to protect you becomes chronic and destructive.

6. Heart and Breathing Issues

Random heart racing. Chest tightness. Shallow breathing. Feeling like you can't get a full breath. Panic attacks.

Your heart and lungs are directly controlled by your autonomic nervous system—the same system that's stuck in survival mode. When you're in fight-or-flight, your heart rate increases and your breathing becomes shallow. If that state becomes chronic, so do those symptoms.

You go to the cardiologist. They say your heart is fine. And it probably is—structurally. But your nervous system is telling it to run from a threat that isn't there anymore.

7. Where Trauma Hides in Your Body

Here's something most people don't know: Trauma tends to store in specific areas based on what happened.

• Shoulder and neck tension often relates to carrying burdens—the weight of responsibility, of secrets, of protecting others.
• Jaw clenching often connects to words unsaid—things you couldn't express, screams you had to swallow.
• Lower back pain can relate to lack of support—feeling like you had no one to lean on, carrying everything alone.
• Chest tightness often connects to heartbreak and grief—the emotions too big to let yourself feel.
• Hip tightness can store trauma related to survival, sexuality, or violation.

Your body isn't random. It's telling a story. And when you learn to listen, you can begin to heal.

What Doesn't Work

Before I give you what actually helps, let me validate what probably hasn't worked.

• Just 'relaxing' more. You can't think your way out of a triggered nervous system. Telling your body to relax doesn't work when it doesn't know how anymore.
• Medication alone. Medications can help manage symptoms, and I'm not suggesting you stop any treatment. But if the root cause is an unresolved trauma response, medication addresses the symptom without healing the source.
• Intense exercise. For some trauma survivors, pushing hard in the gym actually increases stress hormones and keeps the nervous system activated. Your body doesn't know the difference between 'good stress' and 'bad stress' when it's already maxed out.
• Ignoring it. Hoping the symptoms will go away if you just push through. They won't. They tend to get louder until you listen.

What your body needs is to learn—at a nervous system level—that the danger has passed. And that requires somatic work, not just cognitive understanding.

One Practice to Start Today: The Trauma-Informed Body Scan

Let me give you one practice that actually helps—something you can start today.

It's called The Body Scan, and it's specifically designed to help you reconnect with your body in a safe, gentle way.

This takes about five minutes. Do it lying down if you can, or sitting comfortably if that feels safer. You can do it with your eyes closed or with a soft gaze—whatever feels okay.

That's it. That's the practice.

Why This Works

This practice does something powerful: It starts teaching your nervous system that you can feel your body without danger.

For many trauma survivors, the body has become the enemy—something to ignore, override, or disconnect from. This practice begins rebuilding the connection—safely, slowly.

Do this daily for two weeks and notice what shifts. Not in your symptoms—but in your relationship with your body.

Your Next Steps

So here's what I want you to take from this:

• First: Your physical symptoms are real. They're not in your head, they're not made up, and you're not crazy. Your body is communicating in the only way it knows how.
• Second: Trauma lives in the body, not just the mind. Your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, and that creates real physical consequences that show up as chronic pain, fatigue, digestive issues, and more.
• Third: Healing the body requires different work than healing the mind. You can't think your way out of a triggered nervous system. You have to show your body it's safe—through somatic practices like the body scan.
• Fourth: Reconnection takes time, but it's possible. Start with five minutes a day. Notice without judgment. Build a relationship with your body instead of fighting against it.

And if you're ready for more support, explore my coaching programs—from group courses to 1:1 VIP coaching. I'm here to walk this path with you.