The Body Remembers: Trauma and the Nervous System
When you feel something is in the driver's seat
This is part 2 of our 6-part Trauma-Informed Care Series.
The Body Remembers: Trauma and the Nervous System (you are here)
What Does Trauma-Informed Actually Mean? (coming soon)
Signs of Trauma-Informed Care (What It Looks and Feels Like) (coming soon)
Trauma-Informed Care: Red Flags (coming soon)
The Space Between Us: Shared Responsibility in Trauma-Informed Care (coming soon)
Trauma isn’t just about dramatic events. It’s about how the body and mind respond to what happened (or didn’t happen). This post introduces a grounded, compassionate view of trauma and why it matters in care. We’ll explore how trauma is stored in the body, how it affects daily life, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) frameworks that help us understand it.
The Body Keeps Scores
I See You.
You might think you've "moved on" from something painful—until your body and emotional response reminds you otherwise.
A racing heart when you're just trying to rest. The way your shoulders tense when someone raises their voice. The exhaustion that hits after seemingly normal social interactions. These aren't personality quirks or overreactions. They're signs that your nervous system is still carrying a story your mind may not fully remember.
Trauma lives in the body, not just the brain. And when we begin to understand how the nervous system responds to threat, we begin to understand why trauma-informed care isn't just a buzzword. It’s a biological necessity.
Dr. Vessel Van Der Kolk wrote a wonderful book on this topic: The Body Keeps Scores
Recap: What Is Trauma, Really?
Trauma isn’t about the event: it’s about how the body experienced it.
It could be something that happened (like an accident or betrayal), or something that didn’t (like the comfort or protection you needed but never received).
And in the case of chronic trauma or PTSD, what lingers is the body’s ongoing reaction: hypervigilance, disconnection, emotional numbing, anxiety, and more. The severity of the event doesn’t always predict the severity of the trauma. It’s the impact that matters.
How This Shows Up in Real Life
Chronic trauma doesn't always scream. Sometimes, it simmers:
Panic attacks “out of nowhere”
Emotional numbness or detachment
Feeling chronically unsafe, even in safe places
Overexplaining, people-pleasing, or constant self-doubt
Fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, or chronic pain
Perfectionism, procrastination, or explosive reactions to seemingly small things
Some people are misdiagnosed with anxiety, ADHD, depression, or even personality disorders when trauma is at the root.
This doesn’t mean those labels are wrong, it means we need to ask deeper questions.
Can You Heal From Trauma?
Yes and no, depending on how you define "heal".
Healing isn’t about forgetting what happened or live as if it didn't happen. It’s about helping the body feel safe again, sometimes for the first time.
Regulation doesn’t mean calm at all costs. It means having the capacity to be with what’s happening, without spiralling into shutdown or panic.
That takes time. It also takes care that meets you where you are, not where someone thinks you should be.
Compassion goes a long way.
TCM’s Perspective on Trauma
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sees trauma not just as a psychological disruption, but a whole-body imbalance. It doesn’t require digging up every memory. It does require giving the body new experiences of safety and connection.
In trauma-informed care, we slow down. We listen to the nervous system. We create space for the body to soften its grip on survival.
This might look like:
Regulating the breath
Supporting digestion and sleep
Releasing protective muscle patterns
Restoring trust in the body’s signals
Meeting each response—numbness, tension, shutdown—with respect
In Chinese Medicine, these are supported by connecting the Heart and Kidney systems, addressing blood stagnation, easing tension in the sinews (muscles and fascia), or regulating digestive functions.
Treatments like acupuncture, herbs, and lifestyle guidance can help regulate the nervous system, reconnect body and mind, and gently discharge what’s been held too long.
It’s not about fixing you. It’s about helping your system feel safe enough to come back to itself.
Looking Ahead
Understanding how trauma imprints on the nervous system helps make sense of symptoms that seem out of proportion or resistant to change. It’s not that your body is broken. It’s that your body is protecting you the best way it knows how, often based on what it learned a long time ago.
When care takes this into account, things shift. We stop forcing progress and start listening. We stop pushing symptoms down and start working with the deeper story underneath.
Trauma-informed care isn’t just about comfort or kindness, it’s about working in a way that respects your body’s pace, signals, and survival logic.
In the next post, we’ll explore what “trauma-informed” actually means beyond the buzzword.