Have you ever felt a knot in your stomach when you're anxious? Or tightness in your chest when you're holding back tears? These aren’t just metaphors—our bodies remember. When emotions go unexpressed or are chronically suppressed, they often get stored in specific areas of the body. Over time, this can lead to physical tension, pain, or even illness. But there’s good news: our bodies also hold the key to healing.
The Body Keeps the Score (Literally)
We often think of emotions as fleeting, mental experiences. But science and ancient traditions alike have shown us that emotions are also deeply physical. When we're unable—or not allowed—to express a powerful emotion, the nervous system doesn’t just forget. It adapts, holds on, and compensates. This is how emotional patterns become embedded in the body.
This is the core idea behind somatic therapy: listening to the body, gently bringing awareness to where we’re holding on, and helping those old feelings move through and out.
How Different Emotions Get Stored in Different Organs
While every body is unique, there are certain common patterns where emotions tend to land:
Liver – Anger and frustration
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver is known to be the seat of anger. When we suppress rage or irritability—especially from a young age—it often manifests as tightness in the upper body, headaches, or digestive issues.
Lungs – Grief and sadness
Ever felt like you couldn't breathe when grieving? Our lungs are closely tied to loss and sorrow. If grief isn’t fully processed, it can turn into chronic tension in the chest, shallow breathing, or even fatigue.
Stomach – Anxiety and worry
"Gut feelings" aren’t just a saying. The stomach and digestive system are highly sensitive to worry, fear, and overthinking. This is often where we hold stress from perfectionism or control patterns.
Kidneys – Fear
From an energetic standpoint, our kidneys are deeply affected by fear, especially chronic or survival-based fear. Trauma, especially in early life, can imprint here, leading to fatigue and adrenal issues.
Shoulders and neck – Burdens and responsibility
Carrying “the weight of the world” often shows up here. Emotional burdens, guilt, and over-responsibility can create tight shoulders and neck pain that won’t go away, no matter how many massages we get.
Pelvis and hips – Shame, sexuality, and repressed trauma
The hips often store unprocessed trauma, especially around boundaries, sexuality, or violations. This area can feel frozen or tense if those emotions haven’t had a safe outlet.
Why Talk Therapy Isn’t Always Enough
Talk therapy can be incredibly helpful for insight and understanding, but it doesn’t always reach the layers that are buried in the body. That’s where somatic therapy comes in. A skilled somatic therapist guides you to reconnect with your body in a safe, grounded way—helping you notice where emotion is stuck, and supporting its release, not just mentally, but physically and emotionally too.
Healing Is a Full-Body Experience
We are not just minds walking around with bodies—we are integrated beings. Emotions are not separate from our physical selves, and healing doesn't happen in the mind alone. If you’ve been feeling stuck, anxious, chronically tense, or like old wounds keep replaying in your life, it may be time to try a more embodied approach.
If this resonates with you, I highly recommend working with a skilled somatic therapist. I’m lucky to know an incredible one who creates a warm, safe space for deep healing. (Reach out to me if you’d like a personal referral!)
Your body has a story to tell. And it deserves to be heard—not just through words, but through breath, movement, and presence.
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