Have you ever noticed that your body seems to hold on to something long after your mind has “moved on”? Perhaps it’s a buzz of anxiety, a tightness in your chest, or a protective pulling back in certain moments. This isn’t your imagination – it’s your nervous system carrying old shock.
Shock Lives in the Body, Not the Event
As Peter A. Levine has shown, trauma – or shock – is not in the event itself, but in how the body responds when it cannot fully process what happened. The nervous system braces, charges, and prepares to act – but if the action can’t be completed, that energy doesn’t just disappear. It gets stored in the body.
Think of those moments when something happened too fast, too suddenly, or felt too overwhelming to respond to. Even years later, the body may still be holding that defensive energy, ready to spring out in unexpected ways.
Protective Patterns That Stick Around
When the body can’t resolve shock, it often shows up as:
- A buzzing, anxious energy with no clear cause
- Defensive reactions that don’t quite fit the situation
These protective patterns were once useful, but when they remain stuck, they keep us from feeling fully open, curious, and ourselves.
Gentle Ways Back to Yourself
The good news is that your body also holds the key to release. By gently exploring these sensations with curiosity -not trying to “fix” or “fight” them – we can create space for the nervous system to settle and complete what was once interrupted. Even something as simple as noticing where your body feels grounded and then shifting your attention between that safe place and a tense area can begin to soften what’s been held for years.
Becoming More Yourself
When old shock begins to clear, it’s not about digging into past events – it’s about freeing the body here and now. The result? More spaciousness. More presence. More of you.
Come and join us in Being Me Therapy membership, where you can experience Being Me Therapy with me, Gaia, for yourself.
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