The Body Remembers: How Stress Shapes Our Physical and Emotional Memory
Stress isn’t just an emotional experience—it’s a full-body event.
The Body Remembers The Score
When we face challenging situations, our bodies respond with a cascade of biological processes designed to help us survive. But what happens when stress is chronic, unresolved, or deeply traumatic? The answer lies in a phenomenon that has been increasingly explored in psychology and neuroscience: the body remembers the score.
The Science of Stress: Fight, Flight, and Freeze
Stress activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals prepare us to act quickly—our heart races, breathing accelerates, and muscles tense. In short bursts, this response can save lives. But when stress is prolonged or repeated, the body never fully shuts off these survival mechanisms.
Over time, chronic stress rewires the brain and body, embedding emotional experiences into physical patterns. This process is deeply tied to the work of trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, who describes how the brain and body collaborate to store stress and trauma.
Stress Lives in the Body The body doesn’t just react to stress—it remembers it. For example:
Muscle Memory: Have you ever felt your shoulders tighten when you’re anxious? This isn’t random. Over time, the body stores tension in certain areas, often corresponding to past stress or trauma.
Digestive Health: The gut, often called the “second brain,” is particularly sensitive to stress. Chronic stress can lead to issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammation.
Nervous System Overdrive: Prolonged stress keeps the nervous system in a heightened state, leading to exhaustion, anxiety, and even difficulty concentrating.
The Role of Trauma
For individuals who have experienced trauma, the body often holds onto unresolved memories in profound ways. Dr. van der Kolk explains that trauma can create “somatic flashbacks,” where the body relives sensations tied to a traumatic event even if the mind suppresses the memory. This might manifest as chronic pain, a racing heart, or an overwhelming sense of fear without a clear trigger.
Healing the Body’s Stress Memory
The good news is that the body’s memory of stress isn’t permanent—it can be rewritten with intentional care. Here are some strategies for healing:
Mindfulness and Meditation
Practices like meditation or deep breathing can help calm the nervous system and reconnect the body and mind. By shifting focus to the present moment, individuals can retrain their bodies to associate calmness with certain sensations.
Physical Release
Exercise, yoga, and somatic therapy (body-centered therapy) can help release stored tension in muscles and tissues. Movement allows the body to “complete” stress cycles that may have been interrupted.
Therapeutic Support
Talk therapy, particularly trauma-focused approaches can help process unresolved memories. Pairing therapy with body-focused techniques often yields the most effective results.
Self-Compassion
Acknowledging that stress has left a mark—and giving yourself permission to heal—is a powerful first step. The body’s ability to recover is remarkable when met with patience and care.
Moving Forward
The body’s ability to remember stress is both a challenge and an opportunity. While stress and trauma leave deep imprints, they also reveal how interconnected our mind and body truly are. By learning to listen to and care for our physical selves, we can begin to release the weight of past experiences and reclaim our sense of peace.
The score that stress keeps is not the final chapter—it’s the beginning of a healing journey. Let your body guide you; it has the wisdom to recover and thrive.