Are Emotions Stored in the Body? What the Science Says.
Emotions are a fascinating part of our human experience, shaping how we perceive and interact with the world around us. While we often think of emotions as purely mental occurrences, recent studies have shed light on the idea that they can have a profound impact on our bodies, sometimes lingering and influencing our physical well-being.
Many people, when they first hear that emotions can be stored in the body, have a strong ah ha moment. Something clicks, and, in view of their own personal experiences, it just makes sense to them that this would be the case. (This was true for me.)
Others are a little bit more skeptical, and for good reason. What they heck does it actually mean for emotions to be stored, even trapped, in the body? And is there a scientific basis for such a claim?
The Science Behind the Claim that Emotions Are Stored in the Body
Picture this: You have a work presentation coming up and you’ve been feeling super stressed out and on edge about for weeks. You’ve put in a ton of hours of preparation. Nevertheless, in the minutes leading up to when you’re supposed to step out in front of the group, you notice your heart racing, your neck flushing, your muscles tensing up, maybe even a “blurry” feeling in your forehead creeping in.
Sound familiar?
Same. OK, so what's happening here?
Well, it turns out that our emotions can trigger real physiological responses in our bodies. In fact, may scientists argue that emotions themselves have a physiological basis.
Here is the view of Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, neuroscientist and psychologist at Northeastern Univeristy and author of How Emotions Are Made:
“An emotion is your brain’s creation of what your bodily sensations mean, in relation to what is going on around you. In the other words… In every waking moment, your brain uses past experiences, organized as concepts, to guide your actions and give your sensations meaning. When the concepts involved are emotion concepts, your brain constructs instances of emotion”
Scientists have delved into this phenomenon using tools like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which allows them to peek into the brain and see which areas light up when we experience emotions. What they've found is fascinating: certain regions of the brain, like the insula, which is responsible for processing both emotions and bodily sensations, become active during emotional experiences, highlighting the intricate link between mind and body.
In the example I gave earlier, the body’s autonomic nervous system has kicked into gear (think: fight or flight) in response to a stressful stimuli (work presentation). The result is bodily changes like increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and muscle tension. Your brains reads these signals and interprets them as: fear, terror, humiliation.
Fortunately, for a lot of us, we’re able to use this activation to help motivate our performance. Or at least we’re able to soothe our activated nervous system enough in order to make it though the presentation. But that’s not true for all of us.
A healthy nervous system can cycle back and forth between fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest with relative ease. Our sympathetic nervous system temporarily kicks in when we need to be on alert, maximize our energy expenditure, or manage something high stakes. Then, when it's time to relax, our parasympathetic nervous system turns back on.
But what happens when the body never gets a chance to cycle back out of this activated mode of intense arousal and into the rest and digest mode?
Stuck in a State of Sympathetic Arousal
What happens to those who are unable to disconnect from chronic stress or resolve past traumas or emotional wounds? Well, research posits that they can get stuck in the hypervigilant state prompted by the sympathetic response.
To me, this is what it mean when we say that emotions can become stored in the body.
A chronically dysregulated nervous system floods our bodies with high levels of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine and enduring physiological activation, leading to physical pain, musculo-skeletal tension, physcal pain, emotional reactivity and irritability, chronic exhaustion, weight gain, heart disease, anxiety, depression, and so on.
Another way negative emotions can become stuck is through association. For example, your brain may start to associate, often subconsciously, an area within the body with a particular trauma memory. In turn, activating that area may trigger memories — both concrete and vague — of the original traumatic event or intense emotional experience.
“Trapped Emotions” Are a Check-Engine Light
These symptoms function like a check-engine light might in a car. They’re our bodies ways of trying to tell us something, nudging us to pay attention to what's going on beneath the surface.
If you think you have emotions trapped in your body, then it’s time to get curious. My suggestion would be to embrace a holistic approach—one that honors the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit—that empowers you to embark on a journey of self-discovery and healing.
Whether it's through mindfulness practices that bring greater awareness to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations; talk therapy; somatic movement; daily journaling; or heartfelt conversations, there are countless paths to explore on the road to emotional and physical well-being.
And, the next time you feel a twinge of emotion stirring within, take a moment to pause and listen. Your body might just have something important to say.
A Few Salient References
There is a growing body of research that supports the idea that unresolved trauma or chronic stress can lead to dysregulation of the nervous system, contributing to mental and physical symptoms. Here are some key studies that shed light on this phenomenon:
Levine, P. A. (2010). In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. Peter A. Levine, a pioneer in the field of somatic experiencing, explores how trauma can become trapped in the body and lead to chronic symptoms. Through case studies and clinical observations, Levine demonstrates how unresolved trauma disrupts the autonomic nervous system's natural rhythm, resulting in a state of hyperarousal or hypoarousal.
van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. In this seminal work, Bessel van der Kolk examines the neurobiological underpinnings of trauma and its impact on the nervous system. Drawing on decades of research, van der Kolk illustrates how traumatic experiences can dysregulate neural circuits involved in emotion regulation, leading to a range of mental health disorders and physical symptoms.
McEwen, B. S. (2000). Allostasis and Allostatic Load: Implications for Neuropsychopharmacology. Bruce S. McEwen introduces the concept of allostatic load, which refers to the cumulative wear and tear on the body's physiological systems in response to chronic stress. McEwen discusses how prolonged activation of stress response pathways, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system, can contribute to various health problems, including cardiovascular disease, depression, and immune dysfunction.
Sapolsky, R. M. (2000). Glucocorticoids and Hippocampal Atrophy in Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Robert M. Sapolsky explores the impact of chronic stress on the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory and emotion regulation. Sapolsky's research suggests that prolonged exposure to stress hormones, such as cortisol, can lead to structural changes in the hippocampus, impairing its function and increasing vulnerability to psychiatric disorders.
Shonkoff, J. P., Garner, A. S., et al. (2012). The Lifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress. This report by the American Academy of Pediatrics discusses the long-term consequences of early childhood adversity and toxic stress on brain development, behavior, and health. The authors highlight how chronic activation of stress response systems in early life can "get under the skin" and increase the risk of mental and physical health problems throughout the lifespan.