How the Body Keeps Score, And How to Heal

You may have heard the phrase “the body keeps score”, made famous by trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. But what does it actually mean?

In simple terms, it means that our bodies remember. Long after a stressful or traumatic experience has passed, its imprint can remain, not just in our memories or emotions, but in our muscles, nervous system, posture, and even our immune response.

Unprocessed trauma doesn’t always show up as flashbacks or obvious distress. Sometimes it speaks through chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, digestive issues, or a sense of always being "on edge."

These physical symptoms are the body’s way of communicating that something deeper needs attention. And until it’s acknowledged and safely released, it tends to keep showing up, again and again.

But here’s the good news: just as trauma lives in the body, healing can begin in the body too.

Holistic therapies such as massage, reiki, somatic work, and breath-based practices can help regulate the nervous system and create space for stored emotions to surface and gently release.

These approaches work with the body’s natural intelligence, inviting calm and restoring balance.

Belief Coding® and other subconscious therapies go a step further, helping you identify and reprogram limiting beliefs and emotional blocks that may have taken root during traumatic experiences. 

By addressing these core imprints, we’re not just putting a sticking plaster on the symptoms, we’re working with the root cause so the trauma no longer needs to express itself through physical pain or emotional patterns.

In short: the body keeps score… but it also holds the key to healing. When we listen with compassion and curiosity, profound transformation becomes possible.

Got something you'd like to work on? Maybe we should have a chat?