On somatic memory and how psychological trauma affects the body
⸻
When we say someone has “forgotten,” it doesn’t necessarily mean their mind has erased the experience. More often, it means the memory has been buried—hidden under layers of denial and protective coping. But there is another kind of memory that doesn’t lie, doesn’t pretend, and doesn’t trick itself into forgetting: the body’s memory. A memory not written in words, but in chronic back pain, tight diaphragms, recurring headaches, and muscle tension that no scans or blood tests can explain.
This is exactly what psychiatrist and trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk confirms in his well-known book, where he writes:
“Trauma doesn’t disappear. It lives inside us—literally.”
⸻
The Body Does Not Belong to the Mind Alone
In classical philosophy, the mind was often viewed as the “supreme commander” of human experience, with the body acting as a mere tool. But modern neuroscience—especially in the field of psychosomatic medicine—rearranges this hierarchy: the body is not a servant, but a central partner in shaping our awareness and human experience.
Emotions aren’t confined to the mind; they show up in muscle fibers, are stored in the nervous system, and replay themselves physiologically in every unconscious memory of a past event. When life fails you, when you lose someone, or face existential fear—you don’t just cry.
Your stomach tightens. Your neck stiffens.
The body stays alert, as if the danger hasn’t passed.
⸻
Trauma: A Disturbance in Time
Trauma is not just something that happened and ended—it’s a disruption in the inner sense of time. As van der Kolk puts it:
“Trauma is when you cannot move forward because a part of you is still back there.”
That “stuck part” keeps sending signals of distress:
• A stiff shoulder replaying a posture of fear.
• A knotted stomach carrying the weight of an unresolved absence.
• A clenched jaw still refusing to speak the truth.
Here, the vision of philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty becomes relevant. He said:
“The body is not something we have. It is a way of being in the world.”
And in that sense, trauma becomes a disruption to our entire way of being, not just a single event in our life story.
⸻
From Mind to Body: When Pain Becomes Physical
What happens when a person doesn’t express their pain?
When emotions are suppressed out of fear or shame, the pain doesn’t vanish—it transforms into the body’s language. The person isn’t “faking” symptoms—they are being truthful with a body that can no longer carry the weight of silence.
Gabor Maté, one of today’s leading trauma doctors, links emotional repression with physical conditions like:
• Cancer
• Multiple sclerosis
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Autoimmune diseases
These are not “psychological” conditions—they are physical diseases, but they stem from emotional wounds that haven’t been acknowledged.
⸻
Freud and the Birth of the “Speaking Body”
Sigmund Freud was among the first to suggest that the body might speak when the mind is silenced.
He introduced the idea of “conversion”—a defense mechanism where psychological conflict gets translated into physical symptoms.
But today, with the advancement of neuroscience, this is no longer just a theory.
Functional MRI scans show that the brain experiences trauma as a “current event.” When the brain recalls the painful memory, emotional centers light up just as intensely as if the trauma is happening now, triggering bodily responses like sweating, trembling, rapid heart rate, and muscle contraction.
⸻
Why Doesn’t the Body Forget?
Because while the mind may deny, distort, or shut the files—
the body doesn’t know how to lie.
We don’t just live in our bodies; we become them.
That’s why somatic memory shows up in every movement, every glance, every sleeping position, and every unexplained pain.
⸻
Conclusion: The Body as Witness and Messenger
The body is not just a silent shell—it’s the keeper of the soul’s secrets.
It doesn’t sugarcoat reality, it doesn’t forget, and it doesn’t comply with denial.
It holds the truth even when the mind tries to hide it.
In the end, healing doesn’t come from ignoring the pain or burying it.
Real healing comes from returning to the body, and listening to what hasn’t yet been said.
As Jacques Lacan once said:
“What is not spoken is lived.”
And perhaps, the difference between someone who moves beyond their pain and someone who remains trapped in it…
lies not in the intensity of what they went through—
but in their ability to listen to their body, and admit what it has always known.
No comments:
Post a Comment