Calm Her Mind

Trauma: a term that is widely used on the internet nowadays, but what is it actually? It is a mental response to a severely stressful event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. Trauma doesn’t only live in memories; it lives in your body. Some common symptoms of an unhealed trauma are unexplained fatigue, chronic pain, panic attacks, or numbness without a clear medical reason.

Sometimes, years after the occurrence of trauma, emotional wounds translate into physical symptoms for many women. The first step towards healing is understanding how trauma manifests in your body. 

1. What Exactly is Trauma?

Trauma isn’t always about extreme events like abuse, assault, or accidents. It can also come from:

• Emotional neglect
• Repeated invalidation
• Toxic relationships
• Betrayal
• Medical trauma
• Miscarriage or birth trauma
• Chronic stress in unsafe environments

2. Common Physical Symptoms of Trauma in Women

Due to hormonal differences, social conditioning, and caregiving roles, women often experience trauma differently from men. Let’s discuss some ways trauma may show up physically in women:

• Chronic pain, especially in the back, neck, shoulders, or pelvic area
• Digestive issues like bloating, nausea, and IBS-like symptoms, as the gut stores emotional distress.
• Fatigue and brain fog can be another way. You might struggle to concentrate or remember things or feel tired even after sleeping enough.
• You might experience autoimmune flares as trauma can dysregulate the immune system, sometimes triggering conditions like thyroid issues, lupus, or fibromyalgia.
• You might have trouble falling asleep, frequent nightmares, or wake up in panic.
• Sexual dysfunction or numbness: Avoidance of intimacy, disconnection from the body, or pain during sex.

3. Why Does The Body Store Trauma?

Your body activates the fight-flight-freeze-fawn response when something traumatic happens. If your nervous system doesn’t complete the stress cycle (which often happens when trauma is prolonged or ignored), the body stays on alert. Over time, this leads to: 

• A dysregulated nervous system
• Stored tension in muscles
• Hormonal imbalances
• Hypervigilance or numbness
• Difficulty trusting others

This is why talk therapy alone may not always feel like enough. 

4. How to Begin Healing

Healing a trauma is not just about reprocessing memories. It’s more about reclaiming safety in your body. Start with:

• Body scan meditations
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Somatic experiencing (with a trained professional)
• Yoga
• Dance therapy
• Walking in nature
• Breathwork
• Journaling with body awareness
• Grounding techniques

5. You’re Not Overreacting

When you are trying to know your trauma or trying to heal, know that you’re not overreacting or being selfish in any way. You are a human and you have all the rights to help yourself.

6. When to Seek Help

If your symptoms are interfering with daily life, relationships, or self-worth, consider reaching out to:

• Trauma-informed therapists
• Psychologists who use EMDR, CBT, or somatic therapy
• Women’s health professionals familiar with the trauma-body connection

Your body is protecting you in every possible way. It can remember what your mind might not, and it also holds the key to healing. Be gentle with yourself.