The Body Remembers, But the Story Heals: How Meaning-Making Transforms Somatic Trauma Recovery
Unresolved trauma often lives in the body as chronic tension, anxiety, and dysregulation. Learn how somatic therapy and meaning-making work together to rewire the nervous system and support trauma recovery.
The Body Remembers, But the Story Heals: How Meaning-Making Transforms Somatic Trauma Recovery
Have you ever felt hijacked by your body’s response, your heart pounding during a calm conversation, your throat tightening for no apparent reason, your gut clenching in moments that don’t feel dangerous? Do you find yourself overreacting or shutting down, even when your mind tells you you’re safe?
These experiences often leave people feeling confused, ashamed, or disconnected from themselves. And yet, they make perfect sense through the lens of trauma and neuroscience.
The truth is: your body doesn’t forget what your mind tries to move past. However, while the body retains the imprint of past pain, the ability to make sense of those experiences, or meaning-making, plays a crucial role in integrating them and moving forward with clarity and resilience.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we understand that trauma recovery isn’t just about processing memories; it’s about restoring regulation and rewriting the inner narrative. In this article, we explore how somatic trauma therapy paired with meaning-making helps transform unresolved trauma into growth, insight, and deeper connection.
What Does Unresolved Trauma Look Like in the Body?
Unresolved trauma often lives not in words, but in sensations in the nervous system’s persistent perception of threat, even when no danger is present. If you’re struggling with trauma, you might experience:
— Chronic muscle tension or pain
— Sleep disturbances or chronic fatigue
— Panic attacks or anxiety without a clear trigger
— Emotional numbness or hyper-reactivity
— Difficulty trusting others or feeling safe in relationships
— Disconnection from your body, sexuality, or needs
These are not just psychological symptoms; they are physiological responses, shaped by the brain and body’s attempt to survive past overwhelm.
The Science: Why the Body Remembers
When trauma occurs, especially during childhood or within relationships, the amygdala (the brain’s alarm system) becomes hyperactive. Simultaneously, the hippocampus (which processes time and context) may fail to properly store the experience. As a result, the trauma memory doesn’t get filed away as "over." Instead, it remains active, a fragmented imprint stored in the body, reactivated by sights, sounds, smells, or relational dynamics that evoke a vague sense of familiarity.
This is why trauma survivors may experience emotional flashbacks, sudden physiological shifts, or intense reactions that don’t match the current situation.
“Trauma is not the story of something that happened back then,” writes Bessel van der Kolk. “It’s the current imprint of that pain, horror, and fear living inside people.” (van der Kolk, 2015)
Why Telling the Story Isn’t Always Enough
Traditional talk therapy can be a powerful tool for insight and validation. But for many trauma survivors, simply retelling the story doesn’t create the emotional shift they need, because the trauma isn’t stored as a narrative, but as sensory fragments and autonomic patterns.
That’s why somatic therapy, which focuses on restoring safety and regulation in the body, is essential. But equally important is helping the brain construct meaning, a coherent, compassionate narrative that shifts the survivor from shame to understanding, from helplessness to empowerment.
This is the intersection where “the body remembers, but the story heals.”
What Is Somatic Trauma Therapy?
Somatic trauma therapy focuses on reconnecting the mind and body. It helps clients tune into the sensations, movements, and physiological responses that arise from unresolved trauma and develop new ways to respond to them. At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we use a blend of:
— Somatic Experiencing (SE) to release stored survival energy
— EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to reprocess trauma memories
— IFS (Internal Family Systems) to integrate inner parts that carry pain, shame, or fear
— Mindfulness and breathwork to regulate the nervous system and increase interoception
These methods allow clients to access trauma not just cognitively, but somatically through felt experience rather than intellectual analysis.
The Role of Meaning-Making in Trauma Recovery
Meaning-making is the process of interpreting experience through the lens of personal values, beliefs, and identity. After trauma, the brain often forms distorted meanings such as:
— “I’m not safe in the world.”
— “My needs don’t matter.”
— “I’m broken, too much, or not enough.”
— “Love always leads to pain.”
These meanings aren’t just thoughts; they’re embodied beliefs, reinforced by the nervous system.
Through therapy, clients are invited to explore alternative interpretations, such as:
— “What happened to me wasn’t my fault.”
— “My body was doing its best to survive.”
— “I can learn to feel safe, even in small doses.”
— “There is meaning in the way I’ve learned to protect myself.”
By building this new narrative while the body is in a regulated state, the meaning becomes embodied as well, not just a hopeful thought, but a lived truth.
Why This Matters for Relationships, Sexuality, and Intimacy
Trauma recovery isn’t just about feeling better alone; it’s about restoring your ability to feel connected with others. For many, trauma disrupts the ability to:
— Trust or feel safe in close relationships
— Set healthy boundaries without guilt
— Be present during emotional or physical intimacy
— Access desire or sexual expression without shame or shutdown
When the body feels like a battleground, relationships can become sources of anxiety rather than connection. Somatic trauma therapy paired with meaning-making helps rebuild a sense of safety and sovereignty in the body, creating the conditions for healthy, fulfilling connection.
From Survival to Integration: A Nervous System Shift
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we help clients transition from a survival-driven nervous system (characterized by sympathetic hyperarousal or dorsal shutdown) to a regulated state of connection and clarity. This shift allows:
— More accurate perception of present vs. past threat
— Greater tolerance for uncertainty, emotion, and vulnerability
— Increased self-compassion and emotional resilience
— Freedom to pursue intimacy, creativity, and meaningful relationships
Our approach is grounded in neuroscience, compassion, and a profound respect for the body's wisdom.
When the Body Speaks, Listen with Kindness
If your body is speaking through panic, pain, or persistent patterns, it’s not broken; it’s trying to communicate. Trauma may reside in your nervous system, but recovery lies in your ability to reclaim your story, your body, and your connection to yourself and others.
By combining somatic awareness with compassionate narrative reconstruction, you don’t erase the past, but you reshape the future.
Contact us today to schedule a free 20-minute consultation and begin your journey toward embodied connection, clarity, and confidence.
📞 Call us at (310) 651-8458
📱 Text us at (310) 210-7934
📩 Email us at admin@embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
🔗 Visit us at www.embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
👉 Check us out on Instagram @embodied_wellness_and_recovery
🌍 Explore our offerings at Linktr. ee: https://linktr.ee/laurendummit
References
1. Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
2. Siegel, D. J. (2020). The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press.
3. Van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.
