Surviving to Thriving: Healing the Body & Nervous System From the Effects of Trauma
An Effective Way to Heal from Chronic Pain and Disease for Good
Trauma doesn’t just live within our memories. It is imprinted into our cells, tissues, and nervous system. Even when we believe that we have moved past the trauma, it resides within our physical bodies. In fact, many diseases, chronic pain, and perpetual illness are a result of unaddressed pain from the past.
For most of my life, I didn’t realize how much my nervous system was directing my reactions to certain things. On the outside, everything appeared normal. I was productive, happy, and thriving. But what people didn’t see was that I was living with chronic headaches, nausea, stiffness in my neck and shoulders, and in a constant state of internal pressure that felt like the weight of the world.
And if I am being completely honest, I am still working on feeling safe within my body every single day. A single breathwork session or deep tissue massage can not erase years of abuse and neglect.
My big AHA came after spending years in therapy talking about my experiences and realizing that to heal mentally, emotionally, and physically fully, I needed to learn to tune into the sensations and messages of my physical body, not just the mental chatter of my mind.
I began to explore somatic healing and nervous system regulation through yoga, taking walks in nature, hot epsom salt baths, and using Shamanic Healing practices with the help of my Spirit Team and Higher Self to gain more clarity and guidance on the root of pain and discomfort so I could heal it for good.
Healing didn’t happen overnight, but with time and patience, I have more awareness around the physical signs and sensations that my body is giving and learned how to return to a state of calm and peace. I am not special. This shift is possible for everyone.
The Body’s Stress Response
Our bodies are energetic warehouses. They store information from all of our life experiences, especially ones that provoke an intense emotional response. When trauma occurs, the body shifts into survival mode, moving us into a state of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. This isn’t a conscious process. It happens automatically through the Autonomic Nervous System in an effort to keep you safe.
Ever felt a sudden increase in your heart rate, your body becomes tense, and you feel a rush of adrenaline? This is your body’s way of fighting off the perceived threat.
Or maybe you experience a sudden urge to smooth things over by giving in, you feel an urgency to people-please by not creating emotional waves, and become agreeable.
If you are anything like me, you’re still, you become numb and quiet. Your body will literally freeze to stay safe.
Sometimes a situation can activate the flight response, which makes you want to flee the situation as fast as you can. Like a lion chasing a rabbit through a grassy field.
These are nervous system responses that we use to adapt to a potential threat, which was initially triggered by an earlier trauma. These patterns get entrained into our cells long after the initial wounding. The body’s responses get played on repeat throughout our lives and become harder to rewire, leaving most people in a state of heightened awareness. It’s no secret why people walk around in a constant state of arousal and stress.
When you experience a potential subconscious trigger, the body produces a stress hormone loop by pumping cortisol and adrenaline throughout the system. High levels of cortisol over time affect memory, weaken the immune system, and contribute to mental instability such as depression and anxiety.
The constant activation of the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) is why trauma survivors experience poor sleep, chronic fatigue, and other health issues.
Did you know that 90% of our serotonin (the feel-good neurotransmitter) is produced in the gut? Trauma and persistent stress disrupt proper gut function, which ultimately leads to a bad mood. This is proof that trauma doesn’t just affect the mind; it influences digestion, hormones, immune response, and overall physical health and well-being.
Trauma and the Nervous
The nervous system is the body’s command center. Its job is to keep you out of harm's way by constantly scanning your environment for danger. Consider it your Chief Safety Director. When it sees a potential;l threat, it will do whatever it can to keep you safe.
The nervous system isn’t just your brain; it runs throughout your entire body. It’s the communication center that links your organs, tissues, nerves, spinal cord, brain, and gut.
The nervous system is made up of 3 main components housed within your physical body.
1. Central Nervous System (CNS)
Brain: the command center, responsible for thoughts, emotions, memory, and controlling body functions.
Spinal Cord: carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body.
Think of the CNS as the “headquarters.”
2. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Located everywhere outside the brain and spinal cord.
Includes nerves that branch out into your arms, legs, face, and organs.
Divided into:
Somatic nervous system → controls voluntary movements (like walking, picking things up).
Autonomic nervous system → controls involuntary functions (breathing, heartbeat, digestion).
3. Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
This is the piece most linked with trauma and healing. It has two main branches:
Sympathetic Nervous System → activates “fight or flight” responses.
Parasympathetic Nervous System → calms the body, supports rest, digestion, and healing.
The ANS is located throughout the body, in the heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, and even the skin. By creating a calm environment within the Parasympathetic Nervous System, we can then heal the brain-gut axis to feel more at peace and less reactive.
A simple way to visualize the system:
Brain and spinal cord: the CEO
Nerves throughout the body: messengers that create feedback
Autonomic system: the survival manager, decoding safety or danger
Healing The Nervous System
The good news is that your nervous system can be rewired to be calm and resilient. Trauma may shape us in undesired ways, but it doesn’t have to dictate our future experiences.
Many practices and tools are available to help you through your healing journey. It’s never a one-size-fits-all approach. Healing trauma requires body-based practices to release what talking alone can’t address. There needs to be an intentional practice of tuning into the body’s program to heal as a whole.
Here is what I have done to tune into my body and release what's been energetically and physically trapped.
Somatic practices: Yoga encourages the mind-body connection through presence and awareness. Breathwork helps move stagnant energy out. Vibration plate to shake it out. EFT tapping works in an instant.
Grounding tools: Walking in nature to feel the vibrations of the earth and the sounds in the air. Hot salt baths to remove toxic energy. Feet in the grass to feel the positive ions of the earth.
Energetic clearing: Sound frequencies to clear energy. Filling my whole system with activated light from the Divine. Shamanic Journey to collaborate with my helping Spirits. Accessing the Akashic Records through meditation. Angelic Reiki
Physical therapies: Monthly deep tissue massage. Cranial Sacral therapy for balance within the Cerebrospinal fluid. Chiropractic adjustments.
Our bodies are programmed naturally to be in a state of peace and presence. It will remember the trauma, but it also has an incredible ability to heal. Trauma healing isn’t about erasing the past; it’s about teaching your nervous system that it is safe and can relax.
So if you have experienced muscle tightness, digestive issues, trouble focusing, chronic pain, or on edge and shut down, know that your body is just protecting itself and that you can reverse these symptoms.
You were meant to live in a relaxed state of flow and ease. It’s not your fault you experienced trauma, but it is your responsibility to heal. Trust me, your body and nervous system will thank you for taking the time to restore it to balance.
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If you’re looking for support and guidance on how to heal what has kept you stuck, visit my website to see the many ways I can help you in your journey of coming home to who you truly are. www.nikkiheals.com