9 Signs You Have Unresolved Trauma Stuck in Your Body

Unresolved trauma, especially childhood trauma, can have a profound impact on your emotional, physical, and mental well-being. As an energy healer, I regularly see how trauma becomes trapped in the body, leading to long-lasting discomfort and imbalances. If you've experienced trauma, especially childhood trauma, it is essential to recognize the signs that it may still be affecting you. Identifying these signs is the first step in healing trauma and releasing its hold on your body and mind. Here are five clear indicators that unresolved childhood trauma may be stuck in your body and how you can start the healing process:

1. Chronic Physical Tension or Pain

One of the most common signs of unresolved childhood trauma is chronic physical tension. This often shows up as tightness in the shoulders, neck, lower back, or jaw. The body holds onto emotional stress when trauma is not processed, creating physical discomfort that can persist for years. This tightness can prevent you from fully relaxing, making it difficult to enjoy life without feeling pain or stiffness.

What You Can Do:
Start by paying attention to the areas where you experience tension. Make it a habit to breath into these areas with intention. These areas that carry pain often have a great deal of stuck energy that is not circulating and breathing into it is an energetic practice to allow this energy to begin moving. Working with a reiki practitioner and/or massage therapist are other ways to help shift the energy in the body. You can also do reiki on yourself and visualize the energy shifting out of these areas of pain.

2. Overactive Nervous System (Fight or Flight Mode)

When you live with unresolved trauma, your nervous system can remain stuck in a constant state of "fight or flight." This is a natural response to danger, but when trauma is not processed, your body stays on high alert, leading to heightened anxiety and stress. Over time, this state of constant arousal can disrupt your physical health as you are in a constant state of hyper-vigilance.

What You Can Do:
Working to calm your overactive nervous system is about understanding how your trauma response is triggered. When the body is triggered it reacts to the feeling of danger and it is important to teach the body it is safe.  Practices such as yoga, Tai Chi, or other mind-body exercises can help bring balance back to your body’s stress response, promoting deeper healing and emotional regulation.

3. Emotional Numbness or Difficulty Feeling

If you've experienced unresolved trauma, you may find it difficult to connect with your emotions. Emotional numbness is a defense mechanism that helps your mind protect you from overwhelming pain, often by detaching from feelings altogether. Over time, this emotional detachment can extend to physical sensations, leading to disconnection from both your body and your emotions.

What You Can Do:
Reconnecting with your emotions starts with gentle self-awareness. Engage in practices like journaling, guided meditations, or energy healing techniques like Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to release emotional blockages. These practices can help you open to the full range of your emotions and begin healing from past wounds. It is ultimately about teaching your body that it is safe to feel and allowing it to do so.

4. Difficulty Trusting or Forming Healthy Relationships

Unresolved trauma can significantly impact your ability to trust others or form healthy, meaningful relationships. If you’ve experienced betrayal, neglect, or abuse during childhood, it can leave lasting emotional scars that make you wary of others' intentions. This lack of trust may show up in your relationships as fear of abandonment or emotional distance.

What You Can Do:
Healing your trauma involves learning how to trust again, first with yourself and then with others. Start by rebuilding trust with yourself. Recognize your worth, learn to set boundaries, and practice self-compassion. Journaling and self-reflection can help you uncover the beliefs you hold about yourself and others, allowing you to challenge negative patterns that stem from past experiences.

5. Frequent Digestive Issues

The mind-body connection is incredibly powerful, and unresolved trauma often shows up in the digestive system. Many individuals with childhood trauma experience digestive issues such as bloating, constipation, or even irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This is because the gut is highly sensitive to emotional stress, and unresolved trauma can block energy flow, causing physical discomfort.

What You Can Do:
Start by supporting your digestive health with mindful eating practices. Pay attention to the experience of eating; slow down, savor each bite, and notice how different foods make your body feel. This helps you tune into your body’s needs and avoid stress eating, which is often connected to emotional triggers from unresolved trauma. Incorporating foods that are easy on the gut, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods, can help improve digestion and restore balance.

6. Sleep Disturbances

Trauma often disrupts your sleep cycle. If you struggle with insomnia, frequent waking, or nightmares, it could be a sign that unresolved trauma is affecting your nervous system. Your body may remain in a state of hypervigilance, preventing you from fully relaxing into a restful sleep. This leads to exhaustion, irritability, and an inability to function at your best.

What You Can Do:
Create a calming bedtime routine that includes practices such as deep breathing, gentle stretching, or listening to soothing music. Energy healing methods or guided meditations focused on relaxation can also help reset your nervous system, improving sleep quality and restoring balance. If you find yourself waking up at a particular time in the middle of the night, there is likely and connecting organ trying to get your attention. Click here for more info.

7. Self-Sabotaging Behaviors

Self-sabotage is often a subconscious coping mechanism used to protect yourself from disappointment or failure. When unresolved childhood trauma is at play, it can manifest as procrastination, negative self-talk, or avoiding opportunities altogether. These behaviors stem from deep-seated beliefs formed during childhood that prevent you from achieving your full potential.

What You Can Do:
Become aware of these self-sabotaging behaviors and trace them back to their roots. Healing trauma can help reframe the negative beliefs you hold about yourself. Once you identify them, you can begin to challenge and reframe them by learning to replace self-doubt with self-compassion and empowerment.

8. Hyper-Sensitivity to Criticism or Conflict

If you find yourself reacting disproportionately to criticism or conflict, it could be due to unresolved trauma. Early experiences of emotional abuse, neglect, or criticism can make you overly sensitive to feedback, often causing feelings of shame or inadequacy.

What You Can Do:
Start by exploring the root cause of your sensitivity to criticism or conflict. Ask yourself if there are patterns in your past that may have led to these emotional triggers. Acknowledge that these responses are often connected to past trauma, and it's important to be compassionate with yourself as you work through them. Working on the solar plexus chakra is beneficial for this as well.

9. Repetitive Thought Patterns or Flashbacks

Repetitive, intrusive thoughts or flashbacks to traumatic events can indicate that unresolved trauma is affecting you. These mental patterns can keep you stuck in the past, preventing you from fully engaging in the present moment. The mind’s need to replay traumatic experiences over and over can be exhausting and overwhelming.

What You Can Do:
To break free from these repetitive thought patterns, it can be helpful to work with the root chakra, which is closely tied to feelings of safety and stability. Grounding techniques such as deep breathing or spending time in nature can help you reconnect with the present moment and reduce the intensity of these thoughts.

Unresolved trauma can show up in many areas of your life: physically, emotionally, and mentally. Recognizing the signs of trauma stuck in your body is the first step toward healing and releasing its hold on you. Through energy healing, mindfulness, and self-awareness, you can start to process and release the emotional blockages that have been preventing you from living a full and healthy life. If you're ready to begin your healing journey, don’t hesitate to reach out for support. You deserve to experience peace and balance from the effects of past trauma.