When a person lives through a difficult experience that exceeds their ability to cope, it can permanently alter their nervous system. Their brain may detect danger everywhere, even when their environment is safe. It’s as if they get stuck in “fight or flight” mode. Our bodies aren’t meant to be in this heightened state of arousal all the time, but with unprocessed trauma, the brain keeps seeing danger.
If this cycle continues, it can lead to serious physical health concerns that may even require medical treatment (Thau et al., 2025).
Scientific research shows that people who experienced trauma, especially in early childhood, are more likely to experience negative health outcomes (Caglayan et al., 2025). Just some of the physiological symptoms associated with surviving traumatic experiences* can include:
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Chronic pain
- Migraines
- Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
- Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Sleep disturbances
- Cardiovascular disease
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Kidney disease
- Heightened sensory reactivity
- Skin conditions
- Urological problems
- Sexual dysfunction
*(Bird et al., 2021; Caglayan et al., 2025; CSAT, 2014; Heim et al., 2009; Ploesser et al., 2024)
This list is not exhaustive, yet it covers nearly every system in our bodies! Though researchers can’t fully agree on why emotional trauma is so impactful to our physical health, it’s clear there is a connection that should not be ignored.
Somatisation
Somatisation is a well-documented phenomena in medical research that describes physiological manifestations of emotional pain.** The stress you “carry” in your shoulders is an example of somatisation. Most people experiencing somatisation are unaware of this connection, and oftentimes will resist treatment suggestions that focus on psychological wellbeing rather than their physical pain (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2014).
This mind-body disconnection so many of us experience can unintentionally prolong our suffering.
**Unfortunately, many people from marginalised groups have experienced medical gaslighting, where their physiological symptoms were dismissed and left untreated, being told it’s “psychosomatic,” “just anxiety,” or “all in their head.” Let’s be clear: not all unexplained physical ailments are somatisation, but all psychosomatic pain is worthy of attention and treatment.
Alternative Therapeutic Approaches
There is no one size fits all approach to treating the physical and psychological symptoms of trauma. Medical professionals will typically prescribe psychiatric medications or some form of psychotherapy, but both have their limitations. Medications like anti-depressants can help reduce the severity of symptoms, but they don’t actually treat the underlying cause. Psychotherapy can be lifechanging for some people, but others find the act of revisiting past experiences re-traumatising.
Many people who engage in talk therapies make considerable progress, but at some point start to feel like they plateau in their trauma recovery. This is often due to chronic intellectualisation, a clever coping mechanism where they fixate on learning the who, what, why, and how to understand their experience while conveniently avoiding the emotions associated with it. It’s a perfect example of the mind-body disconnection that seems to hinder trauma recovery.
We get so in our heads hunting for answers that we forget to actually feel.
Somatic therapies, ranging from breathwork to eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR) to drama therapy, take a less cerebral approach. They focus, not on the trauma itself, but on repairing the severed connection between body and brain that occurs when trauma is endured. There is growing research on somatic therapies showing these alternative methods can improve physical symptoms as well as reduce psychological ones like anxiety and depression (Winbald et al., 2018). Not every somatic therapy is right for every person, but they all have the same goal in mind:
Repair the mind-body connection so the brain can detect safety again.
At Camdoonen Integrative Therapies, we use craniosacral therapy paired with other somatic therapy techniques to facilitate your healing journey. This gentle, non-invasive approach calms the nervous system and creates conditions for the body to allow deeper healing of the brain at the client’s pace (Upledger et al., 2008). It can be used on its own or in tandem with traditional talk therapies. For additional questions or accommodation requests, feel free to email us at support@camdoonen.com.
We believe trauma wounds can heal without re-living the past, and are dedicated to helping our clients find relief from the physical and psychological pain they may experience as a result of their lived adversity.
References
Bird, E. R., Piccirillo, M., Garcia, N., Blais, R., & Campbell, S. (2021). Relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and sexual difficulties: a systematic review of veterans and military personnel. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 18(8), 1398–1426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.05.011
Caglayan, S., Høye, A., Thimm, J. C., Wang, C. E. A., & Grønli, O. K. (2025). Association of adverse childhood experiences with physical illness and self-rated health in the population-based Tromsø Study. PubMed, 35(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf031
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2014). Trauma-informed care in behavioral health services (Treatment Improvement Protocol [TIP] Series No. 57, Chapter 3: Understanding the impact of trauma). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/
Heim, C., Nater, U. M., Maloney, E., Boneva, R., Jones, J. F., & Reeves, W. C. (2009). Childhood Trauma and Risk for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(1), 72. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2008.508
Ploesser, M., Silverman, S., Daniel, J., Zincke, M. T., & Taylor, M. B. (2024). The link between traumatic stress and autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a systematic scoping review. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, 69, 152558–152558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152558
Thau, L., Gandhi, J., & Sharma, S. (2025). Physiology, Cortisol. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538239/
Upledger, J. E., Grossinger, R., Ash, D., & Cohen, D. (2008). CranioSacral Therapy: What it is, How it Works. North Atlantic Books.
Winblad, N. E., Changaris, M., & Stein, P. K. (2018). Effect of Somatic Experiencing Resiliency-Based Trauma Treatment Training on Quality of Life and Psychological Health as Potential Markers of Resilience in Treating Professionals. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12(70). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00070