Lauren Dummit-Schock 1/10/26 Lauren Dummit-Schock 1/10/26

Why Talking Is Not Enough to Process Anger Stored in the Body

Why Talking Is Not Enough to Process Anger Stored in the Body

Talking can help you understand anger, but it cannot release it from the nervous system. Learn why stored anger lives in the body and how somatic therapy helps.

Have you ever talked through your anger endlessly, understood exactly why you feel the way you do, and still found yourself snapping, shutting down, clenching your jaw, or feeling simmering resentment beneath the surface?

Do you find yourself asking:

— Why do I still feel angry even after years of therapy?
— Why does my body react before my mind can intervene?
— Why does anger show up as tension, headaches, stomach issues, or emotional withdrawal?
— Why does resentment linger even when I logically understand my story?

These questions point to a truth that modern neuroscience and trauma research continue to confirm. Anger is not only a thought or emotion. It is a physiological state stored in the nervous system. And while talking can create insight, it is often insufficient for releasing anger that lives in the body.

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we specialize in trauma-informed, nervous system-based therapies that go beyond insight alone. We help clients understand why anger persists and how to work with the body to restore regulation, safety, and relational health.

Anger Is a Nervous System Response, Not Just an Emotion

Anger is frequently misunderstood as a character flaw or a problem with emotional control. From a neuroscience perspective, anger is a protective survival response.

When the brain perceives threat, whether physical, emotional, or relational, it activates the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic branch mobilizes energy for action. Heart rate increases. Muscles tighten. Breath becomes shallow. Blood flow shifts away from digestion toward survival.

This response is adaptive in the moment. The challenge arises when anger is activated repeatedly or never fully discharged.

Research in affective neuroscience shows that emotional memories are encoded not only in the cortex where language lives, but also in subcortical structures such as the amygdala, basal ganglia, and brainstem. These regions operate largely outside conscious awareness and do not respond to language in the same way the thinking brain does.

This is why clients often say:

— I know I should not feel this way, but my body reacts anyway.
— I can explain my anger perfectly, but it does not go away.
— I feel tense and on edge even when I am calm on the surface.

Talking accesses the prefrontal cortex. Anger stored in the body lives elsewhere.

Why Talk Therapy Alone Often Falls Short

Traditional talk therapy emphasizes insight, narrative, and cognitive understanding. These tools are valuable. They help clients make meaning of their experiences and reduce shame.

However, insight alone does not automatically regulate the nervous system.

From a neurobiological standpoint, top-down approaches that rely primarily on thinking and verbal processing may not reach the bottom-up systems that store anger. When anger is encoded as muscle tension, breath holding, postural collapse, or hypervigilance, it requires interventions that engage sensation, movement, and physiological awareness.

This explains why many high-functioning individuals experience:

— Chronic resentment in relationships
— Anger that turns inward as depression or anxiety
— Explosive reactions that feel disproportionate
— Emotional numbing followed by sudden outbursts

Without addressing the body, anger remains unresolved at the level where it was first stored.

The Body Keeps the Score on Anger

Trauma research has repeatedly demonstrated that the body remembers what the mind tries to move past. The book, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, describes how unprocessed emotions are stored in the nervous system, muscles, and autonomic responses long after the original event ends.

Anger that could not be expressed safely in childhood, relationships, or traumatic situations often becomes inhibited anger. The body stays braced, alert, or constricted as if the threat is still present.

Common signs of anger stored in the body include:

— Chronic muscle tension in the jaw, neck, shoulders, or hips
— Shallow breathing or frequent breath holding
— Digestive issues or nausea
— Restlessness or agitation
— Emotional withdrawal or shutdown
— Difficulty with sexual desire or intimacy

These symptoms are not random. They reflect a nervous system that has not completed its defensive response.

Polyvagal Theory and the Physiology of Anger

Polyvagal Theory helps explain why anger is deeply relational and physiological. According to Stephen Porges, the nervous system continuously scans for cues of safety and danger.

When safety is present, the ventral vagal system supports connection, emotional regulation, and flexibility. When safety is compromised, the nervous system shifts into sympathetic activation or dorsal vagal shutdown.

Anger often emerges when:

     — Boundaries are violated
  — Needs are ignored
  — Power is taken away
  — Attachment feels threatened

If these experiences recur without repair, the nervous system learns to remain mobilized. Talking about anger without addressing these physiological states can inadvertently reinforce frustration and self-blame.

Why Anger Often Shows Up in Relationships and Intimacy

Anger stored in the body frequently surfaces in close relationships. This is not accidental.

Attachment bonds activate the same neural circuits involved in threat and safety. When relational wounds go unprocessed, anger may appear as:

     — Irritability with partners
    — Emotional distance or stonewalling
— Sexual shutdown or avoidance
    — Conflict cycles that repeat despite insight
    — Difficulty trusting or softening

From a somatic perspective, intimacy requires a regulated nervous system. When anger remains stored as tension or hyper arousal, the body struggles to access states associated with closeness, pleasure, and vulnerability.

This is why relationship therapy that integrates nervous system repair is often more effective than communication skills alone.

How Somatic Therapy Helps Release Stored Anger

Somatic therapy works bottom up. It helps clients track sensations, impulses, posture, breath, and movement patterns associated with anger.

Rather than asking, Why are you angry? somatic work asks:

— Where do you feel anger in your body?
— What happens in your breath when anger arises?
— What impulse wants to complete itself?
— What happens when the body feels supported and safe?

By gently guiding the nervous system through completion of defensive responses, anger can be discharged without overwhelm or harm.

Approaches used at Embodied Wellness and Recovery include:

— Somatic Experiencing
— Attachment-focused EMDR
— Trauma-informed parts work
— Nervous system regulation skills
— Relational and co-regulation practices

These modalities help the body learn that the threat has passed and that new responses are available.

The Neuroscience of Bottom-Up Healing

Neuroscience research shows that emotional regulation improves when sensory and motor pathways are engaged. Joseph LeDoux demonstrated that emotional responses can bypass conscious thought entirely.

This means lasting change often occurs through:

— Tracking bodily sensations
— Engaging rhythm and movement
— Using breath to influence vagal tone
— Experiencing safe relational attunement

When the body feels safe, the mind can integrate new narratives. The reverse is far less reliable.

Anger Is Not the Enemy

Anger carries information. It signals unmet needs, violated boundaries, and unresolved grief. When approached through a nervous system lens, anger becomes a guide rather than a problem to eliminate.

Processing anger somatically does not mean acting it out or suppressing it. It means allowing the body to release what it has been holding while restoring choice and agency.

Clients often report:

— Reduced reactivity
— Greater emotional clarity
— Improved relationships
— Increased capacity for intimacy
— A deeper sense of internal steadiness

How Embodied Wellness and Recovery Approaches Anger

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we integrate neuroscience, trauma research, and somatic therapy to address anger at its roots. Our clinicians are trained to work with the nervous system, attachment patterns, and relational dynamics that underlie persistent anger and resentment.

We specialize in supporting individuals and couples navigating:

     — Trauma and developmental wounds
   — Nervous system dysregulation
    — Relationship and intimacy challenges
   — Sexuality and desire concerns
    — Chronic emotional stress and burnout

Our approach honors insight while recognizing that the body must be included in the healing process.

When Talking Becomes Integrated with the Body

Talking is not the problem. Talking without the body is a limitation.

When verbal processing is paired with somatic awareness, the nervous system can reorganize. Anger no longer needs to stay trapped as tension, reactivity, or resentment. It becomes information that can be felt, understood, and resolved.

For many clients, this shift marks the difference between years of insight without relief and meaningful, embodied change.

Reach out to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation with our team of therapists, trauma specialists, somatic practitioners, or relationship experts, and start working towards integrative, embodied healing today.

📞 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) LeDoux, J. E. (2015). Anxious: Using the brain to understand and treat fear and anxiety. Viking.

2) Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

3) van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.

Lauren Dummit-Schock 11/6/25 Lauren Dummit-Schock 11/6/25

When the Body Remembers: Understanding the Link Between Trauma and Chronic Pain and How Somatic Therapy Heals from Within

When the Body Remembers: Understanding the Link Between Trauma and Chronic Pain and How Somatic Therapy Heals from Within

Discover the neuroscience behind the connection between trauma and chronic pain. Learn how somatic therapy helps regulate the nervous system, release stored tension, and restore mind-body balance. Written by trauma and somatic therapy specialists at Embodied Wellness and Recovery.

The Hidden Connection Between Trauma and Chronic Pain

Have you ever wondered why your body continues to ache even when medical tests show nothing is wrong? Why do old injuries flare during times of stress, or why does tension seem to live in your neck, jaw, or stomach? For many people, chronic pain isn’t just a physical condition; it’s the body’s way of communicating unresolved emotional wounds.

Modern neuroscience and somatic psychology suggest that chronic pain and trauma are deeply intertwined. The body remembers what the mind tries to forget. When trauma is left unresolved, it doesn’t simply vanish; it embeds itself in the nervous system, shaping posture, muscle tension, and pain perception for years to come.

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we specialize in helping clients understand and heal the relationship between trauma, chronic pain, and the nervous system. Through somatic therapy, EMDR, and other body-based approaches, clients learn to listen to their bodies’ wisdom and release the stored patterns that perpetuate suffering.

How Trauma Gets Trapped in the Body

When you experience something overwhelming, such as emotional neglect, abuse, an accident, or even ongoing stress, your body activates the fight, flight, or freeze response. This survival mechanism floods the system with adrenaline and cortisol, preparing you to act or escape. But if the threat feels inescapable, the nervous system can become stuck in that state of hyperarousal or shutdown.

In other words, the trauma response doesn’t end when the event ends. The body remains in a constant state of hypervigilance or collapse. This dysregulation may manifest as:

— Chronic muscle tension or migraines
— Stomach pain or gastrointestinal issues
— Lower back pain without a structural cause
— Autoimmune flare-ups
— Fatigue or insomnia

Research shows that trauma changes the way the brain processes pain. The amygdala (fear center) stays overactive, while the prefrontal cortex (rational brain) becomes less able to regulate emotions or sensations. The insula, which helps you perceive internal body states, can also misfire, amplifying the sensation of pain even when there’s no new injury.

The result? A body that keeps sounding the alarm long after the danger has passed.

Chronic Pain as a Nervous System Issue

Many people with chronic pain feel dismissed by traditional medical approaches. They’re told their pain is “all in their head” or simply handed medication to manage symptoms. But chronic pain isn’t imagined; it’s embodied. It’s the language of a nervous system that never got the message that it’s safe again.

From a polyvagal perspective, chronic pain reflects a dysregulated autonomic nervous system. The vagus nerve, which connects the brain to major organs, plays a crucial role in regulating stress responses. When trauma disrupts this system, the body may oscillate between sympathetic overactivation (anxiety, tension, inflammation) and dorsal vagal shutdown (numbness, exhaustion, despair).

Somatic therapy aims to restore flexibility to this system, helping the body return to a state of regulation where healing can occur.

What Is Somatic Therapy?

Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach that helps clients reconnect with their physical sensations, emotions, and inner resources. Instead of focusing solely on cognitive processing, it emphasizes the felt experience, or how emotions manifest in the body.

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, somatic therapy sessions may include:

— Body awareness and tracking: Learning to notice tension, breath, and internal cues without judgment.
— Grounding and orienting: Reconnecting with safety through present-moment awareness.
— Pendulation: Gently moving between states of discomfort and calm to expand the nervous system’s capacity for regulation.
— Resourcing: Identifying internal and external supports to stabilize the body during emotional processing.
— Gentle movement or breathwork: Releasing stored activation and restoring flow through the musculature and fascia.

Over time, this work helps the body discharge old survival energy, completing what the trauma response was unable to finish. Clients often notice not only emotional relief but also reduced physical pain, improved sleep, and greater resilience.

The Neuroscience of Somatic Healing

Neuroscience confirms what many somatic therapists have long observed: the body and brain heal together. When clients tune into physical sensations with curiosity and compassion, the insula and anterior cingulate cortex, regions involved in emotional regulation and interoception, become more active.

This mindful awareness fosters neuroplasticity, enabling the formation of new neural pathways. The prefrontal cortex can once again modulate the amygdala, calming hyperarousal and reducing pain perception. Over time, the nervous system learns that it is safe to relax.

Somatic therapy doesn’t simply manage pain; it helps the body relearn safety, releasing the chronic muscle contractions and inflammatory responses that maintain suffering.

Why Trauma-Informed Care Matters

For individuals with trauma histories, traditional physical treatments like massage or chiropractic care can sometimes feel invasive or even re-traumatizing if the body isn’t ready. Somatic therapy offers a gentle, non-invasive alternative that honors the client’s pace.

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, our trauma-informed approach ensures that every session centers on consent, empowerment, and safety. Clients are guided to develop internal resources before exploring distressing sensations or memories. This helps prevent overwhelm while supporting integration at both the emotional and physiological levels.

A Holistic Approach to Chronic Pain

Healing chronic pain isn’t just about addressing the physical body; it’s about repairing the relationship between body, mind, and emotion. That’s why we integrate EMDR, mindfulness, and relational therapy into somatic work.

This integrative model supports:

— Nervous system repair through Somatic Experiencing and EMDR resourcing
— Emotional release through safe exploration of stored sensations
— Relationship repair by addressing attachment wounds that perpetuate tension and fear
— Sexual and emotional intimacy restoration, when pain or trauma has disrupted connection

When trauma healing and body awareness come together, clients rediscover a sense of ease, vitality, and wholeness.

Asking the Right Questions

If you’re struggling with chronic pain, it can help to pause and ask yourself:

— When did my pain first begin? Was it around a time of loss, conflict, or emotional stress?
— Do I notice my symptoms worsen when I feel anxious or triggered?
— Have I spent more time treating the symptoms of my pain than exploring its emotional roots?

Sometimes, the body holds answers that words cannot reach.

Hope Through Somatic Awareness

Chronic pain can make life feel small, restricting movement, joy, and connection. But within your body lies the map to healing. Through somatic therapy, you can learn to listen to what your body is communicating rather than trying to silence it.

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we guide clients through a process of reconnection and regulation, helping them feel safe in their bodies again. As the nervous system stabilizes, both pain and emotional distress tend to soften. The goal isn’t just the absence of pain; it’s the presence of vitality, agency, and inner peace.

Pain as a Messenger

Chronic pain is more than a medical condition; it’s often a messenger of unhealed experience. Somatic therapy offers a compassionate and scientifically grounded path toward understanding those messages and transforming them into wisdom.

Your body isn’t betraying you; it’s asking to be heard. And with the right guidance, it can finally exhale.

Contact us to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation with our team of somatic practitioners, trauma specialists, and relationship experts. Start your journey toward embodied connection and freedom from pain today.