Understanding Trauma in the Body: A Comprehensive Guide for Men
Trauma affects both the mind and body in powerful ways. When difficult experiences aren't properly processed, they create lasting changes in how our bodies function and respond to the world. The good news is that science has revealed effective ways to recognize and heal these changes.
The Nervous System and Trauma
Your nervous system serves as your body's command centre and has two main branches that work together to keep you safe and functioning:
The Autonomic Nervous System: Your Body's Automatic Controls
1. The Sympathetic Nervous System (Fight-or-Flight)
• Activates when your brain perceives danger
• Releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol
• Increases heart rate and blood pressure
• Tenses muscles for quick action
• Sharpens senses (especially hearing and vision)
• Slows digestion to conserve energy for survival
2. The Parasympathetic Nervous System (Rest-and-Digest)
• Activated when your brain perceives safety
• Operated largely through the vagus nerve, which connects your brain to many organs
• Slows heart rate and lowers blood pressure
• Relaxes muscles
• Stimulates digestion
• Allows for social connection and calm thinking
When Trauma Disrupts This Balance
Normally, these systems work in harmony—activating during stress, then returning to calm. But trauma can break this natural cycle:
• Your nervous system can get "stuck" in fight-or-flight mode
• Your body remains prepared for danger even in safe situations
• The parasympathetic system struggles to activate properly
• You may alternate between feeling overwhelmed and feeling numb
How Trauma Gets Stored in Your Body
Physical Storage Mechanisms
Muscle Tension and Fascia Trauma creates patterns of chronic tension in muscles and fascia (the connective tissue surrounding muscles). These areas literally hold the physical memory of stress responses that weren't completed.
Altered Breathing Patterns Many trauma survivors unconsciously adopt shallow chest breathing, which perpetuates the stress response cycle.
Disrupted Vagal Tone The vagus nerve's healthy function (vagal tone) becomes compromised, making it harder to feel safe and connected.
The Brain and Trauma Storage
The Amygdala becomes hyperactive, constantly scanning for threats.
The Hippocampus (which contextualizes memories) can actually shrink following trauma, making it harder to recognize that past dangers aren't present threats.
The Prefrontal Cortex (responsible for rational thinking) goes offline during trauma responses, which is why logical thinking doesn't help during triggered states.
Physiological Responses to Trauma
Beyond Fight-or-Flight: Understanding Freeze and Fawn
While most people are familiar with fight-or-flight responses, trauma can also trigger:
Freeze Response
• The body becomes immobile when neither fighting nor fleeing seems possible
• Heart rate may slow dramatically
• Muscles become rigid
• Sensation may diminish or disappear
• Many men experience shame about freezing during traumatic events, not recognizing it's an involuntary biological response
Fawn Response
• Automatic people-pleasing behavior to avoid conflict
• Abandoning boundaries to prevent perceived threats
• This can be particularly confusing for men who were taught to be assertive but find themselves unable to set limits in certain situations
Trauma Triggers and Flashbacks
When something in your environment resembles an aspect of past trauma, your body can react as if the danger is happening now:
• Your heart races
• Muscles tense instantly
• Your breathing becomes shallow
• You might feel dizzy or disoriented
• Time perception may distort
These reactions happen before your conscious mind can evaluate the situation, which is why "just thinking positively" isn't effective.
The Biology of Resilience: A Deeper Look
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Trauma Recovery
NPY is a powerful chemical your body produces naturally that:
• Acts as a natural anti-anxiety compound
• Helps regulate your stress response system
• Improves emotional resilience during challenging times
• Assists in properly storing and integrating difficult memories
How NPY works when functioning optimally, NPY helps counterbalance the effects of stress hormones like cortisol. It essentially acts as your body's built-in brake system for the stress response.
Research with combat veterans and first responders shows that men with higher levels of NPY tend to:
• Recover more quickly from stressful situations
• Experience fewer PTSD symptoms
• Show better emotional regulation
• Maintain better sleep quality
Activities that Boost NPY
• Regular exercise (particularly rhythmic movement)
• Adequate sleep
• Certain meditation practices
• Social connection
• Specific breathing techniques
Other Biological Resilience Factors
DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) is a hormone that helps counteract the negative effects of cortisol and supports brain health during stress.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) helps your brain form new connections and heal from trauma. Exercise significantly increases BDNF production.
Signs Your Body is Holding Trauma
Many men don't recognize that their physical complaints might be connected to past trauma. Common indicators include:
• Chronic tension in specific areas (especially neck, jaw, shoulders, or lower back)
• Digestive problems that have no clear medical cause
• Sleep disturbances (trouble falling asleep or staying asleep)
• Exaggerated startle response
• Chronic fatigue despite adequate rest
• Unexplained pain or headaches
• Difficulty feeling physical sensations in certain body areas
1. Somatic Experiencing
This approach recognizes that trauma responses are often incomplete—your body started a protective action but couldn't complete it.
Physiological Effects:
• Helps discharge energy that was meant for self-protection
• Completes interrupted trauma responses
• Restores natural nervous system oscillation between activation and rest
• Creates new neural pathways associated with safety and resolution
Example Exercise: Grounding Heel Drops When you perform heel drops, the rhythmic movement and vibration help:
• Discharge excess energy stored in leg muscles
• Break the pattern of muscular bracing
• Send signals of safety to your nervous system
• Bring attention to sensations in your lower body, helping reconnect with areas you might have dissociated from
2. EMDR Therapy
Physiological Effects:
• Bilateral stimulation mimics REM sleep processing
• Helps integrate fragmented traumatic memories
• Reduces activity in emotional brain centres
• Strengthens connections to the rational prefrontal cortex
• Allows reprocessing without full emotional reliving
3. Trauma-Informed Yoga
Physiological Effects:
• Increases vagal tone, strengthening the parasympathetic system
• Releases tension in trauma-sensitive areas like the psoas muscle
• Creates opportunities to notice and respect body boundaries
• Builds interoception (awareness of internal bodily sensations)
The Psoas Connection The psoas muscle connects your spine to your legs and is often called the "muscle of the soul." It:
• Contracts during fight-or-flight responses
• Often holds chronic tension after trauma
• Is directly connected to your diaphragm, affecting breathing
• When released, can trigger emotional processing
4. Breathwork
Physiological Effects:
• Diaphragmatic breathing directly activates the vagus nerve
• Extends exhales signal "all clear" to your nervous system
• Increases heart rate variability (a measure of nervous system health)
• Reduces cortisol levels
• Improves prefrontal cortex function for better decision-making
Healing Approaches: How They Work Physiologically
Why This Understanding Particularly Matters for Men
Many men have been conditioned to:
• Ignore body signals until they become overwhelming
• View emotional responses as weaknesses rather than information
• Push through discomfort rather than address its causes
• Handle problems through thinking rather than feeling
This conditioning makes it especially hard to recognize and address trauma, which fundamentally requires acknowledging bodily experiences.
Understanding the neurobiology of trauma gives men a framework that:
• Depersonalizes symptoms ("my nervous system is dysregulated" vs. "I'm broken")
• Provides concrete, action-oriented approaches to healing
• Reframes recovery as building strength and resilience rather than addressing weakness
• Acknowledges that willpower alone can't overcome biological responses
Moving Forward: Integration of Mind and Body
True trauma recovery isn't just about managing symptoms—it's about restoring the natural relationship between mind and body. This integration:
• Rebuilds your sense of safety in your body
• Improves your ability to recognize and respond to your needs
• Enhances your capacity for genuine connection with others
• Allows access to your full range of emotions without being overwhelmed
• Restores your natural resilience
Your body has powerful built-in mechanisms for healing. With the right support and understanding, you can work with these natural systems to process trauma and reclaim your sense of wholeness and strength.
8 Exercises for Trauma Processing and Integration
Beginning with Gentle Physical Practices
1. Grounding Heel Drops
Purpose: Discharge trapped energy
• Stand with knees slightly bent
• Rise onto your toes, then drop your heels forcefully to the ground
• Repeat 10 times, focusing on the vibrations traveling through your legs
• Notice any sensations of release or lightness that emerge
2. Closed-Loop Containment
Purpose: Re-establish safety in your body
• Cross your arms under your armpits
• Cross your ankles tightly
• Tuck your chin slightly and breathe slowly for 1-2 minutes
• This position helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system
3. Spiral Visualization
Purpose: Release emotional blockages
• Focus on areas where you feel tension in your body
• Visualize a spiral in that location
• Mentally reverse its direction while taking deep breaths
• Allow any emotions that arise to simply be present without judgment
4. Trauma-Informed Forward Fold
Purpose: Relax overly tense muscles
• Stand and gently fold forward from your hips
• Let your arms dangle naturally
• Gently shake your head and arms for about 2 minutes
• This position helps release the psoas muscle, often called the "muscle of emotion"
5. NPY-Boosting Rhythmic Movement
Purpose: Enhance neuropeptide resilience
• Dance, sway, or move rhythmically for 5 minutes
• Focus on enjoyment rather than performance
• These activities have been shown to increase NPY production, which helps with stress resilience
Additional Effective Practices
6. Body Scan Meditation
Purpose: Reconnect with physical sensations
• Lie down in a comfortable position
• Slowly bring attention to each part of your body, starting at your feet and working upward
• Notice sensations without trying to change them
• When you encounter tension, breathe into that area and imagine it softening
7. Shoulder Roll and Release
Purpose: Release upper body trauma patterns
• Sit comfortably with your spine straight
• Inhale while slowly lifting your shoulders toward your ears
• Hold briefly, noticing any tension
• Exhale with a sigh while dropping your shoulders completely
• Repeat 5-7 times, allowing each release to be more complete than the last
8. Therapeutic Humming
Purpose: Stimulate vagus nerve for nervous system regulation
• Take a deep breath in
• On the exhale, produce a humming sound with your lips closed
• Feel the vibration in your chest, throat, and face
• Continue for 2-3 minutes
• This practice directly stimulates the vagus nerve, which helps shift from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest mode
Remember to approach these exercises gently, respecting your body's pace and limits. If any exercise creates discomfort or distress, pause and return to a simple grounding practice like deep breathing. The goal is to create safety and integration, not to push through resistance.
References
1. Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking Press.
2. Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
3. Levine, P. A. (2010). In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. North Atlantic Books.
4. Morgan, C. A., Rasmusson, A. M., Wang, S., Hoyt, G., Hauger, R. L., & Hazlett, G. (2002). Neuropeptide-Y, cortisol, and subjective distress in humans exposed to acute stress: Replication and extension of previous report. Biological Psychiatry, 52(2), 136-142.
5. Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.