13 Signs Your Body Is Releasing Trauma

What Is Trauma?

Trauma is the long-term psychological, emotional, and physical impact of an event that was life-threatening or overwhelmed the body’s nervous system. Events such as abuse, neglect, natural disasters, and violent attacks can all cause trauma. It is normal to experience some disturbance after a traumatic event such as traumatic shock, strong emotions, or difficulty sleeping for a period of days or weeks.¹

The body is resilient. It has a natural ability to recover from such events. Sometimes trauma resolves on its own and normal functioning resumes, however, unresolved trauma can develop into a disorder. Trauma qualifies as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when the effects of trauma have persisted for at least one month since the event occurred, and are impairing at least one aspect of daily functioning such as work or family life.

Common symptoms of trauma include:²

• Hypervigilance
• Dissociation
• Intrusive dreams or memories
• Avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event
• Memory issues
• Sleep disturbance
• Irritability or angry outbursts
• Persistent state of fear or anxiety
• Difficulty concentrating
• Detachment from others
• Diminished interest in activities
• Inability to experience feelings of happiness or love

Is Trauma Stored in the Body?

Trauma is stored in the body and has a lasting impact. During a traumatic event, the brain learns to associate aspects of the traumatic event with a sense of danger. This results in the body having involuntary and subconscious reactions to reminders of the traumatic event, causing the body to react as if the event is happening again even when the body is physically safe.

The body’s memory of the traumatic event also manifests by the body remaining in or being easily triggered into the state of flight or flight after the event occurred. This causes physical symptoms such as muscle tension, gastrointestinal issues, increased heart rate, shallow breathing, and impaired immune functioning as well as emotional symptoms such as anxiety and irritability.

Stages of Trauma Healing

Although trauma can have a lasting impact on the body and brain, recovery is possible. Healing from trauma does not mean the memory or all impacts of trauma disappear but that the body can return to a state of feeling safe and the intrusive symptoms of trauma can diminish. One early sign of healing is greater emotion regulation.

Recovery from trauma occurs in stages, but progression through the stages does not necessarily happen linearly. Although re-establishing safety is an essential first step in trauma recovery, one can bounce between stages. The three stages of trauma recovery are safety and stabilization, remembering and grieving, and reconnecting and integration. Through the stages, the survivor addresses the physical, emotional, and cognitive impacts of the traumatic event.

The stages of trauma recovery include:

• Safety and stabilization: This stage involves re-establishing physical safety by securing a safe environment and reducing any risk factors that contributed to the traumatic event. It also involves increasing emotional safety by focusing on the present moment and developing emotion regulation skills.
• Remembering and grieving: This stage involves turning towards rather than avoiding the painful memories of the traumatic event(s) through controlled reprocessing. In this stage the survivor also processes the emotions related to the traumatic event(s) which often includes their experience of grief.
• Reconnecting and integration: In this stage, the survivor integrates their experience of the traumatic event(s) with their newly established sense of safety through cognitive restructuring, resulting in more positive beliefs and attitudes. No longer feeling controlled by the impacts of the traumatic event, the survivor begins to look toward their future with a renewed sense of hope and optimism.

13 Signs Your Body Is Releasing Trauma

Traumatic experiences cause intense physical and emotional impacts and disrupt normal functions related to memory and emotional processing. This contributes to a sensation of “stuckness” for the survivor, both physically and emotionally. Thus, healing from the trauma involves a sensation of release and can include experiences such as having a big cry or feeling a wave of relief.

Below are 13 signs your body is releasing trauma from your body:

1. Your Muscles Are More Relaxed

When the sympathetic nervous system is activated, or someone is in the fight/flight/freeze/fawn state, the muscles in the body tense to prepare it to protect itself from a threat. This state of activation is suspended when an individual has not recovered from the traumatic event(s). When healing from trauma, the body begins to know it’s safe which allows the muscles to relax.

The parasympathetic nervous system is activated when the body knows it’s safe, but when the effects of trauma are prolonged it doesn’t always activate when there is no real threat present. Techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing for greater feelings of safety and calm.

2. Your Breathing Changes

For the same reason the muscles tense when the brain perceives danger is present, the breath changes, becoming more shallow and rapid. This breath pattern remains with prolonged impacts of trauma. When healing from trauma is taking place, the brain recognizes the threat has passed and the body begins to act as if it’s safe again, causing the breath to become slower and deeper.

Improving breathwork helps regulate emotions and soothe an activated nervous system. Using the technique of diaphragmatic breathing helps calm the active nervous system and allows the brain to register a sense of safety. Committing to a regular breathing practice can inject a regular dose of calm into your day and develop a calming skill for when encountering triggers of traumatic events.

3. Your Body-Mind Awareness Increases

Traumatic events disrupt the brain-body connection. As emotional awareness is not necessary for immediate survival, resources are diverted from the parts of our brains that process emotions to the parts that control what is essential during a traumatic event. As with all changes that occur in the body during such an event, this can be prolonged after the event if recovery hasn’t taken place.

While recovering from traumatic events, the sense of immediate danger subsides and the processes that were suspended while the event was taking place begin working again. During the process of your body releasing trauma, the processing of emotions can take place. This can be a disturbing and intense part of the healing process, but is healthy and necessary and contributes to greater self-awareness.

4. Your Gut Health Improves

Digestion, another non-essential biological process for surviving an immediate threat, goes “offline” during a traumatic event and can remain so afterward. Posttraumatic stress disorder has been associated with a number of GI issues including irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, and dyspepsia.³ When healing from trauma, the brain registers it needs those nutrients to survive long-term and reactivates the digestive system, improving gut health.

5. You Feel Safe in Your Body

Generally speaking, PTSD causes the body to feel unsafe in a safe environment because it is stuck in a state of danger. This contributes to hypervigilance and an easy startle response, appropriate reactions in a dangerous environment. When releasing the effects of trauma from the body, the brain and body reconnect to a sense of safety, helping you feel more at ease in your environment and own skin.

6. You Want to Form More Relationships

Traumatic events often include being harmed by another, causing a general distrust of others and persistent, negative beliefs such as “people are unsafe.” An active fight/flight system also makes it difficult to maintain relationships because it feels as if danger is constantly present. Releasing trauma soothes the nervous system and allows a greater ability to feel safe with others.

7. You No Longer Experience Flashbacks

Flashbacks are an example of how trauma is stored in the body. During a flashback, the body is hijacked into the past, causing the person to feel as if they are reliving the traumatic event. No longer experiencing flashbacks is a sign of re-integration of traumatic memories in normal consciousness,⁴ an important aspect of healing trauma.

8. You No Longer Avoid Trauma Triggers

Due to the strong emotional and physical reactions to trauma triggers, it is natural to avoid them after the traumatic event. After developing emotion regulation skills and correctly placing the traumatic experience in the past rather than reliving the traumatic event in the present, it is easier to stay in the present, decreasing the need to avoid possible triggers.

9. You Feel More Confident

When trauma is unresolved it controls your life. Misunderstanding the effects of trauma can cause confusion and shame about your experiences. Together these effects decrease self-confidence. Developing a better understanding of trauma, learning ways of coping with symptoms, and having fewer intrusive symptoms increases confidence in the ability to navigate day-to-day life and relationships.

10. You Experience a Wider Range of Emotions

A common symptom of PTSD is persistent feelings of anxiety, rage, or numbness. When releasing the lingering effects of unresolved trauma you can access a wider range of emotions such as joy, calm, and hopefulness.

11. Your Sleep Improves

When the body is stuck in a state as if it were in danger, it doesn’t want to let you fall asleep. Anxiety and nervous system arousal keep the body and brain alert, causing difficulty falling and staying asleep. When releasing trauma and the body feels safe again, the brain knows it can stop being so alert and allow you to drift off to sleep.

12. Your Immune Functioning Improves

Immune functioning is another biological process that is not required for immediate survival thus internal resources are diverted away while a traumatic event is taking place. This can continue if the body doesn’t recover from the traumatic event. This is why chronic stress and PTSD are associated with autoimmune disease⁵ and immune functioning improves when the residual effects of trauma are resolved.

13. You Experience Greater Curiosity & Interest

Existing in a dangerous environment, whether that danger is real or perceived, does not lend itself well to a state of curiosity and interest. Rather, alertness and intense focus are better suited for immediate survival. When the body is releasing trauma and experiencing a sense of safety again, curiosity and interest are restored.

How to Know If You Are Healing From Trauma

Healing takes time and it can be encouraging to notice signs you are healing from trauma along your journey. Signs to look out for that indicate you are progressing through the healing process include a greater sense of safety, an easier time relaxing, fewer intrusive symptoms, and feeling less avoidant of discussing the event(s).

These signs can vary based on the person, their culture, and their history. For example, when healing from relational trauma, the willingness to pursue relationships is a significant indication healing is taking place. Also, in cultures where community and family cohesion are highly valued, engagement in these aspects of life are crucial elements to recovery.⁶

How Long Does Trauma Healing Last?

There is no set time frame for how long it takes to recover from trauma. The healing process can take from weeks to months to years and varies depending on the nature of the trauma, the person, and the method of healing. For example, healing from acute trauma can take less time as opposed to healing from chronic or relational trauma.

Is Trauma Healing & Release Difficult?

Healing and releasing trauma from the body can be a difficult and painful process. Regaining a sense of safety and aliveness can hurt like it does when numb, frozen limbs begin to thaw and start regaining feeling and motion. The difficulties of the healing process can be compounded when struggles with addiction and other mental health disorders exist.

One specific challenge while healing is overcoming the psychological process of self-gaslighting. Gaslighting is the repeated effort of another person to cause you to doubt your own perception of reality as a way to gain power and control over you. This form of psychological abuse can become internalized by the survivor and cause shame, distrust, and confusion. However challenging, it is another impact of trauma that can be worked through.

How to Start Releasing Trauma From the Body

When beginning your trauma-healing journey and looking to start releasing trauma from the body, seek out those who can support and guide you along the way. Supporters can include peers, groups, and professional support. When seeking a mental health professional, seek one trained in trauma-informed therapy to ensure you get the help you need and avoid participating in treatment that can inadvertently cause further harm.

Below are ways to start releasing trauma from the body:

Seek Professional Support

There are various types of trauma therapy available to assist you on your trauma-healing journey. Practitioners of these approaches have specialized training in trauma and utilize techniques that aid in processing and integrating traumatic memories so that the trauma no longer intrudes on daily life. When trying to find the right therapist for you, look for one trained in trauma-informed care.

Below are types of therapy for healing and releasing trauma:

• EMDR: EMDR for trauma, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, involves the therapist using bilateral stimulation of the brain to help you process the traumatic event(s) in a therapeutic setting.
• Trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT): TF-CBT is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that helps identify and modify the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors resulting from the traumatic event(s) that are negatively impacting daily life. This therapy is for children and adolescents, has a strong narrative component, and includes family therapy.
• Internal Family Systems (IFS): Internal family systems therapy helps you reconnect with your essential self by learning to identify and manage the other parts of you that experience the pain of the trauma and that work to protect you from that pain.
• Play Therapy: This type of therapy helps primarily children, but also adults, process their trauma through the use of toys, games, and art. Play therapy is a less intimidating approach than traditional talk therapy.
• Somatic Experiencing (SE): Somatic therapy targets the body’s experience of the trauma and helps release the trauma stored in the body by improving the mind-body connection.

Prioritize Your Needs

Traumatic events override your personal needs and suppression of your needs may have been a strategy you developed to survive abuse so it’s important to restore the act of attending to your needs when recovering from trauma. As you shift out of survival mode, taking time for yourself is important and daily self-care can ensure you are getting your basic needs met.

A solid self-care regimen should be holistic and include anything from getting sufficient sleep, regular meals, physical activity, relaxation techniques, time to express your emotions, and more. Addressing your needs may also include setting boundaries with people who contributed to your trauma or with places or activities that overwhelm your nervous system so you can effectively recover.

Practice Healthy Coping Skills

Traumatic events cause emotions that can be difficult to manage and overwhelm the body’s nervous system. In the absence of effective coping skills, it’s easy to resort to unhealthy coping strategies such as substance use which can exacerbate issues. Practicing healthy coping skills such as deep breathing and journaling about trauma can more effectively help manage symptoms without causing additional problems.

Get Moving

Trauma floods the body with stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol and exercise reduces these chemicals in the body and promotes feelings of euphoria and relaxation. Develop a regular movement practice and stick to it. Whether it’s yoga, running, or dancing, find a way to move your body that feels safe and that you enjoy to feel more relaxed and alive.

Give Yourself Time

There is no specific timeline for releasing trauma and your journey may unfold at a pace slower than you would like. Processing emotions and traumatic memories ought not to be rushed and feeling frustrated or impatient only causes unnecessary suffering. Practice patience with yourself and give yourself time to recover from processing traumatic memories by engaging in activities that sustain you.

Be Kind to Yourself

Effects of trauma can cause you to have negative beliefs about yourself or blame yourself for what happened. It can also cause feelings and behaviors you don’t like. Self-criticizing causes additional suffering and is not an effective strategy for change. Instead, practice self-compassion which helps regulate emotions and promote a balanced perspective on yourself and your experience.

Lean on Your Support System

Humans are not meant to live in isolation and loneliness causes additional suffering. Part of our natural resilience comes with existing in community. Find the trusted guides, teachers, nurturers, and cheerleaders you need while you release, heal, and recover.