The body that remembers

Specialist CBT therapy for anxiety, OCD, depression and more in West London

A body sensation can be startling: a faster heartbeat, tight chest, nausea, shaking, exhaustion, a startle response, numbness or a feeling of being far away. Some people connect these experiences with past events or trauma. Others do not. The presence of a physical sensation does not establish a trauma history, diagnosis or psychological cause. Physical symptoms can have many explanations. New, severe, changing or concerning symptoms should be discussed with an appropriate medical professional or urgent service. A blog should not encourage someone to assume that pain, breathlessness, dizziness, palpitations or another symptom is “just anxiety” or a memory held in the body. Trauma aware assessment can explore a person’s history, current safety, relationships, health, medication, stress, sleep, sensory experience, support and what happens around a particular symptom. It should avoid reducing a person to one event or telling them how their body ought to respond. There is no single bodily pattern that proves trauma, and no universal route through recovery. CBT based therapy may be considered after assessment where clinically appropriate. It can offer a structured space to explore connections between thoughts, emotions, behaviour, body sensations and context. It is not a promise that sensations will disappear, a substitute for medical assessment or a self directed instruction to revisit distressing memories. Where trauma focused or behavioural work is suitable, it is planned collaboratively with a qualified clinician and paced around consent, stability, safety, health and the person’s goals. A blog is not a guide to exposure, imaginal reliving, body exercises or memory processing. Some people may need medical, safeguarding, social, specialist trauma or crisis support first, or alongside therapy. It may help to bring one example to an assessment: what happened before the sensation, what the body did, what thoughts followed, what felt safe or unsafe and what support was available. Those observations do not prove a cause. They can help identify the next question and avoid premature conclusions, while making room for medical care, practical needs, strengths and personal choice at a manageable pace with support, gently together. For related information, see <a href="/therapy/trauma/">trauma aware CBT support</a>, <a href="/guides/ptsd therapy west london/">the PTSD therapy guide</a> and <a href="/guides/trauma anxiety body symptoms/">the guide to trauma, anxiety and body symptoms</a>. If distress includes crisis, thoughts of self harm or an inability to keep safe, urgent appropriate help is needed.