When Your Body Remembers What Your Mind Wants to Forget

Have you ever noticed your body responding before your mind catches up? Your shoulders tense at a certain tone of voice. Your stomach drops walking into a particular room. You feel overwhelmed in situations that logically shouldn't be threatening, yet your body tells a different story.

This is because our bodies hold memory—both beautiful and difficult. When we've experienced childhood trauma, our nervous systems can become stuck in protective patterns that once kept us safe but no longer serve us.

Traditional talk therapy e.g Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on thoughts and emotions. Somatic Experiencing, Polyvagal and Psychodynamic approaches offers something different: healing through the wisdom of your body.

The Body Keeps the Score

Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing recognizes that trauma lives in our bodies, not just our minds. When someone experiences childhood abuse, neglect, or overwhelming events, the nervous system can become stuck in protective responses: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.

These responses were never choices—they were automatic survival mechanisms. Your nervous system did exactly what it needed to do. There's no shame in this—only wisdom and resilience.

In SE work, we help your survival brain understand the danger has passed, allowing your entire nervous system to return to regulation, safety, and stability.

Your Three-Part Nervous System: A Map for Understanding

Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory gives us a beautiful roadmap for understanding how our nervous systems respond to the world around us. Think of it as having three main states:

Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown/Collapse): When threat feels overwhelming, your system might shut down—becoming numb, disconnected, or compliant. You might feel like "the lights are on but nobody's home." This isn't giving up; it's your nervous system conserving energy when other responses aren't available.

Sympathetic (Fight/Flight): When your system detects threat, it mobilises for action. This can feel like anxiety, anger, restlessness, or the urge to escape. Your heart might race, your muscles tense, ready to respond to danger.

Ventral Vagal (Safe & Social): This is your optimal state—when your nervous system feels truly safe. Here, you can rest, digest, play, and connect authentically with others. Your heart rate is steady, your breathing is calm, and you feel present in your body.

The goal isn't to stay in one state all the time (that would be impossible!), but to develop what's called your "window of tolerance"—that optimal zone where you can manage emotions and sensations without automatically flipping into fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses. Building a resilient nervous system means expanding this window so you can tolerate unpleasant sensations while returning to balance quicker and with more ease.

What Happens in Sessions

Our 1-1 sessions use gentle, conversational methods (no touch involved) to help your nervous system settle:

Grounding to become present in your body
Orienting to recognize safety in the here and now
Exploration of bodily sensations with curiosity, developing interoceptive awareness
Pendulation between resource (safety, peace, joy) and discomfort, building capacity
Titration working with small, manageable amounts rather than overwhelming experiences
Integration exploring what you can incorporate into daily life

Throughout, we map your nervous system states, increasing awareness of how past and present affect you.

Who This Work Supports

If you are a woman who has experienced childhood trauma of any kind and now:

Feel stuck in anxiety, depression, or overwhelm
Notice your body reacting strongly to non-threatening situations
Have tried talk therapy but something's still missing
Experience unexplained physical symptoms
Want a deeper relationship with your body and nervous system
Feel disconnected from emotions or body sensations

Glimmer gathering-micro moments of contentment and peace (the opposite of triggers!)

Your Unique Path

Every nervous system is unique. Sessions happen indoors, outdoors, or online—whatever feels most supportive. We can weave in nature and ritual, especially during life or seasonal transitions, though sessions don't need nature elements to be effective.

We attune to your natural rhythms and healing capacity, helping you develop awareness and resources to increase your nervous system's capacity and take aligned, anchored action.

From Survival to Thriving

This work honors where you've been while gently supporting where you want to go. It recognizes your protective responses once served you, and from that compassion, we expand your nervous system's capacity for safety, connection, and joy.

This isn't about fixing what's wrong—it's about supporting your body's natural healing wisdom.

If you're curious about exploring how 1-1 nervous system nourishment might support your healing journey, I'd love to connect.

Book in for a free discovery call or get in touch with any queries here

From Survival to Safety: Your Therapy Journey