By Embodywise Somatic Practitioners
Trauma is not an idea or a memory that you keep in your head; it is something which is stored in your body. When the situation is so overwhelming that you cannot cope, your nervous system sees it as a threat and thus stays in survival mode. This is essentially what happens in PTSD.
After a traumatic event, most people will only suffer for a short period of time in which they feel shock, fear, and disruption. Slowly, they are able to come back to normal as their nervous system goes through processing what took place and regaining safety. However, some people have their nervous system stuck in this state. Their threat response does not go away. In fact, their body reacts as if the danger is happening even after many years of the event.
This is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And it is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that your survival system got triggered so hard that it didn’t go through its normal cycle of release.
We at Embodywise use somatic methods to assist people whose nervous systems are traumatized and have trauma patterns. This guide dives into the trauma definition, how trauma affects the body, and how somatic therapy helps people heal.
PTSD is an acronym for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is a condition that arises when the nervous system fails to recover from a very overwhelming situation.
When traumatic events happen, the body enters the survival mode. The nervous system gets into the fight-flight-freeze response. The heart rate goes up, muscles tighten and thinking gets sharper for quick action. This response has been instrumental in saving humans for thousands of years.
Usually, the nervous system becomes less active and returns to calmness after the danger passes. The body sends signals of safety. The brain stops issuing warnings. The person returns to normal functioning.
Sometimes however, the nervous system can be stuck. The body does not get the signal that it is safe. Even months or years after the event, the system is still in a state of threat. Survival responses are still triggered by situations that are not dangerous at all.
This is what PTSD is. It is the nervous system being stuck with the past and not being able to see that the threat has gone.
When a traumatic event occurs, your nervous system operates at a very high level. However, what is really significant here is that the activation of the nervous system is only partial. Your body attempted to handle the danger, but the reaction was interrupted or overwhelmed.
Imagine an animal running away from a predator. After it is safe, the animal still quivers, shakes, and lets go of all that nervous system activation. Its body gets rid of what was energized. Then it relaxes and returns to its normal state.
Humans choose to do something different. We inhibit these natural discharging responses. We think that being strong is the right thing to do. We keep it together. We do not allow the activation to flow through us.
This partial activation is stored in your body. Your nervous system associates the different signals with danger. An odor, a sound, a certain time of day, or a particular situation can make your survival response come up again and again.
After a while, your nervous system becomes very sensitive. Things that are not supposed to be threatening, scare you. Your body is in a constant state of preparedness. This is very tiring.
PTSD is not a single event that only happened to you. Different people suffer from it in different ways. But it has common patterns.
The traumatic event keeps playing over and over in your mind. You have flashbacks and it feels like the traumatic event is happening again. You smell what you smelled originally. You hear what you heard. Your body reacts as if the danger is still there.
Very often, it is the traumatic event that you see in your nightmares. Maybe you wake up terrified, soaking in sweat, and your heart is racing.
Intrusive thoughts about the trauma will happen anytime throughout the day without giving you any warning. You were going on with your day and suddenly you found yourself there again.
You stay away from locations, individuals, or circumstances that remind you of the trauma. You refrain from discussing the incident. You avoid the thoughts and feelings associated with the event.
There are those who dissociate. They go numb. They separate from their body and emotions. Dissociation is a response to survival. It is your nervous system’s method of shielding you when the activation is too much to.
Your concept of life globally changes. Maybe you would think the world to be unsafe. Maybe you would think that people cannot be trusted. Probably you would experience an excessive feeling of guilt and blame yourself for what happened.
There is also a possibility that you feel negative constantly. No longer does anything seem interesting. Things that used to bring joy seem to be at a standstill. You are emotionally numb.
It might also happen that you feel estranged from the people that you love. Being together seems to be dangerous. Trusting seems to be absolutely out of the question.
Your body is not the same: Your nervous system is very much active and it is in a state of hyperarousal. You are always looking out for something dangerous that might come up. All of a sudden you startle at a sudden noise or movement. Your muscles are always somewhat tense. You definitely feel on edge.
Sleep is disrupted: Your nervous system does not feel safe enough to go to deep sleep. You may have nightmares that wake you up suddenly.
Maybe you feel anxiety or panic all the time: Your heart is racing and there is no obvious reason for it. It could also be that you have difficulty focusing or concentrating because your brain is constantly looking for threats.
Some people experience the opposite pattern: they get stuck in a shutdown state. They feel numb, heavy, and disconnected. They struggle with motivation. Everything feels futile.
Your nervous system has three primary states:
Sympathetic Activation (Fight-Flight): All your body resources are prepared for battle. This would have been the right state for a real threat. However, if it is still on chronically, it is still very tiring and distressing.
Dorsal Vagal Shutdown (Freeze-Collapse): In case of absence of escape, the nervous system goes off. The person becomes immobilized, numb, disconnected. This is what occurs when the traumatic experience is too much for the person.
Parasympathetic Calm (Rest-Restore): That is your normal state. This is the place where you want to be most of your time. From here, your nervous system can cope with normal challenges.
In case of PTSD, the system is either in a state of sympathetic activation or in dorsal vagal shutdown. It is not able to access the calm, resourced state which is the place for healing.
The trauma is stored in the brain in a different way than the normal memories. It is not put in the past. It remains active. Your brain keeps treating it as if it were a current threat.
Your nervous system’s dysregulation shows up in your body:
Your body is running a constant stress response. Everything is taxed.
Recovering from PTSD isn’t a matter of throwing out the memories of what happened. The memories you have won’t be removed. Recovery is when your nervous system recognizes that the threat is no longer there. Your body ceases to react as if the danger was still happening.
With recovery:
Recovery is possible. Even if you’ve been struggling for years.
When you are experiencing trauma, your body is incapable of carrying out the survival response it started. Somatic Experiencing which was created by Peter Levine essentially works in such a way that it lets your body go through the response it had to be interrupted somewhere along the line.
Maybe you recognize a tremor in your body or an impulse to move. Instead of stopping it, you engage with it. Your body goes through the reaction that it had to be left stuck in trauma. Perhaps you tremble, cry, or even make sounds. It is not cathartic release for its own sake. It is your nervous system completing the activation cycle and then releasing and calming down naturally.
Interoceptive Awareness
Generally, traumatised individuals separate themselves from their physical body. They hardly ever feel comfortable or safe in their own skin.
Somatic therapy revives the lost bond with your body. Step by step, you become aware of the sensations without evaluating them. A heaviness in your chest is not scary. It is merely information. Your body is sending a message.
Through becoming more aware of your inner sensations, you will be able to identify dysregulation at a much earlier stage. You will be able to tell when your nervous system is becoming aroused and thus apply self-regulation methods before it gets to the stage of a runaway.
Titration and Pendulation
Somatic therapists understand that processing trauma too quickly can retraumatize you. Titration means working with small amounts of activation at a time.
Pendulation means moving awareness back and forth between dysregulated and resourced states. You feel a bit of activation from the trauma, then you bring awareness to something grounding and safe. You alternate between these until your nervous system becomes more flexible.
This gradual approach prevents you from being overwhelmed while still processing the trauma.
Creating Safety in the Therapeutic Relationship
The therapist’s presence itself is healing. When a trained somatic practitioner is present with you in your experience without reacting or trying to fix it, your nervous system learns something profound: it’s possible to be with difficult experiences and survive them.
The therapist’s own regulated nervous system helps regulate yours. This isn’t manipulation. It’s neurobiology. When you’re with a calm, grounded person, your own nervous system begins to entrain to that calm.
When you are experiencing trauma, your body is incapable of carrying out the survival response it started. Somatic Experiencing which was created by Peter Levine essentially works in such a way that it lets your body go through the response it had to be interrupted somewhere along the line.
Maybe you recognize a tremor in your body or an impulse to move. Instead of stopping it, you engage with it. Your body goes through the reaction that it had to be left stuck in trauma. Perhaps you tremble, cry, or even make sounds. It is not cathartic release for its own sake. It is your nervous system completing the activation cycle and then releasing and calming down naturally.
Interoceptive Awareness
Generally, traumatised individuals separate themselves from their physical body. They hardly ever feel comfortable or safe in their own skin.
Somatic therapy revives the lost bond with your body. Step by step, you become aware of the sensations without evaluating them. A heaviness in your chest is not scary. It is merely information. Your body is sending a message.
Through becoming more aware of your inner sensations, you will be able to identify dysregulation at a much earlier stage. You will be able to tell when your nervous system is becoming aroused and thus apply self-regulation methods before it gets to the stage of a runaway.
Titration and Pendulation
Somatic therapists understand that processing trauma too quickly can retraumatize you. Titration means working with small amounts of activation at a time.
Pendulation means moving awareness back and forth between dysregulated and resourced states. You feel a bit of activation from the trauma, then you bring awareness to something grounding and safe. You alternate between these until your nervous system becomes more flexible.
This gradual approach prevents you from being overwhelmed while still processing the trauma.
Creating Safety in the Therapeutic Relationship
The therapist’s presence itself is healing. When a trained somatic practitioner is present with you in your experience without reacting or trying to fix it, your nervous system learns something profound: it’s possible to be with difficult experiences and survive them.
The therapist’s own regulated nervous system helps regulate yours. This isn’t manipulation. It’s neurobiology. When you’re with a calm, grounded person, your own nervous system begins to entrain to that calm.
While working with a trained somatic practitioner is important, daily practices support healing.
Grounding Practices
Throughout the day, pause and notice: What do I feel in my body right now? Where are my feet touching the ground? What textures can I feel? What do I hear? What do I see?
These simple awareness practices bring you into the present moment. They interrupt the trauma narrative your mind is running.
Breathing
Simple conscious breathing settles your nervous system. Inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for six. The longer exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system. Practice this several times a day, especially when you notice activation.
Movement
Gentle, rhythmic movement like walking, swimming, or dancing helps discharge nervous system activation. Your body was designed to move. Movement that feels good to you helps process trauma held in your tissues.
Pendulation in Daily Life
When you notice something is triggering you, don’t just try to distract. Feel the activation for a moment. Then consciously bring attention to something that feels safe and grounded. Your feet on the floor. The texture of cloth. A person you trust. Alternate your attention back and forth. Your nervous system gradually becomes more flexible.
Connection
Traumatized nervous systems desperately need safe connection. Spending time with people you trust, physical touch (when it feels safe), being in community, these all help your nervous system learn that safety and connection are possible.
Sleep and Rest
Your nervous system needs real rest to recover. Good sleep hygiene, avoiding screens before bed, creating a calm sleep environment all matter. Your nervous system is working hard to process trauma. It needs genuine rest.
Yoga and Tai Chi
These practices combine body awareness, movement, and breathing. Research shows they’re effective for PTSD recovery because they help regulate your nervous system while building body awareness and agency.
Recovery from PTSD isn’t linear. You don’t wake up one day fixed. It’s more like gradually regaining your capacity.
Some people notice changes quickly. They feel calmer. Sleep improves. The intrusive thoughts decrease.
Others take longer. Recovery from complex trauma (multiple traumatic events or prolonged trauma) takes more time.
Important: healing takes as long as it takes. There’s no deadline. Pushing yourself too hard can retraumatize. Gentle, gradual progress is sustainable progress.
What helps:
What often doesn’t help:
When to Seek Professional Help
If you’re experiencing PTSD symptoms, professional support makes a real difference. Look for:
At Embodywise, we train practitioners in these approaches. We believe trauma recovery requires working with the body and nervous system, not just the mind.
Trauma alters who you are. Basically, it breaks down the feeling of security you have in the world. But it doesn’t have to be the main theme of your life.
Recovery is real. Your nervous system can relearn safety. You can go through the processing of what happened without being constantly triggered. You can get back to your body and your life.
The path is not the same for everyone, but it is always the same: from being stuck in survival mode to real recovery and involvement with life.
Your body is capable of healing. Your nervous system wants to come back to normal. All the methods we have talked about are in line with this inherent call for revival.
If you have PTSD, please seek help from a professional who uses trauma-informed, body-based approaches. You don’t have to do it by yourself. You don’t have to remain stuck. Recovery is real.
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