Healing in the New Year - How Trauma Lives in the Body & How to Release It

 

A new year often brings a sense of hope, renewal, and fresh beginnings. But for many, it also brings a subtle heaviness - the sense that we want to change but don't know how to step into it. Trauma has a way of settling into the body, shaping how we think, react, and feel, even when we don't consciously remember or understand why.

As therapists at The Counseling Collective, we often remind clients that healing does not begin with willpower - it begins with understanding. And one of the most compassionate truths we can offer is this: your body is not malfunctioning; it is remembering. 

How Trauma Lives in the Body

When we've experienced overwhelming events, especially in childhood or moments when we felt powerless, the body stores pieces of the experience as:

• tightness in the chest
• chronic tension
• hypervigilance
• emotional reactivity
• shutting down or "going numb"

This happens because of the way God designed the brain: to protect us.

The Nervous System's Role

Trauma activates the fight, flight, or freeze response. When the event is over, the body doesn't always receive the message that we are safe. It can get "stuck" in survival mode - even years later - leading to:

• anxiety
• irritability
• trouble sleeping
• startled responses
• difficulty connecting in relationships

This is why someone can logically know they are safe, but their body still behaves like danger is near.

Scripture's Wisdom on the Body

The Bible speaks often about embodied experiences:

"My body is not at rest; my heart is troubled." - Job 30:27

"My soul is downcast within me." - Psalm 42:6

Scripture recognizes what modern science now affirms - emotional wounds affect our physical selves.

How Healing Begins

Healing trauma is not about erasing memories. It is about releasing the body from patterns of protection that no longer serve us.

1. Naming What the Body Has Been Carrying

Often this begins with acknowledging:

• "This fear kept me alive."
• "This shutdown helped me survive."
• "This anxiety was a signal that something was unsafe."

Naming turns shame into self-compassion.

2. Safe Connection

Healing happens in presence - with God and with others.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." - Psalm 147:3

A therapeutic relationship provides a nonjudgemental, steady, safe connection that helps regulate the nervous system.

3. Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapies help people reconnect with their bodies gently:

• grounding exercises
• breathwork
• body scans
• slow movement
• pendulation (moving between comfort + discomfort)

These practices help the body renegotiate old patterns. 

4. EMDR Therapy

EMDR helps the brain reprocess painful memories and reduces emotional intensity. Many clients describe feeling "lighter," "more connected," or "finally able to breath" after EMDR sessions. 

5. Inviting God Into the Healing Process

Jesus often met people in moments of embodied distress - trembling, crying, falling to the ground. He did not shame their reactions; He restored them. 

You can pray:

• "Lord, show me what my body is trying to tell me."
• "Jesus, be with me in the places that still feel afraid."
• "God, help my body feel what my mind knows - that I am safe."

You Can Start This Year With Compassion

If the beginning of the year feels heavy, you're not doing it wrong. You're not behind. You're not broken. You are carrying a story in your body that deserves care.

Healing is possible.

If you're ready to begin that journey, our clinicians at The Counseling Collective are here to walk with you.