When Your Mind and Body Disagree: Somatic Symptoms in Recovery

Introduction

Recovery is often viewed as a mental journey—changing beliefs, behaviors, and mindsets. But what happens when your mind says, “I’m okay,” and your body says otherwise? Somatic symptoms are the body’s way of expressing what words or thoughts can’t. And they matter.

What Are Somatic Symptoms?

Somatic symptoms are physical sensations that arise from psychological distress. They might include:

• Stomachaches or nausea

• Headaches or migraines

• Chest tightness or shortness of breath

• Muscle tension or fatigue

• Insomnia or restlessness

These aren’t “just in your head.” They’re real bodily experiences rooted in the nervous system.

Why They Show Up in Recovery

During addiction or trauma, your body adapts to high levels of stress or threat. Even after detox, the nervous system can remain dysregulated. The body remembers what the mind is trying to forget.

Somatic symptoms can arise:

• As your brain rewires itself

• In response to unresolved emotions

• During moments of safety (when it finally feels okay to “let go”)

When the Mind and Body Are Out of Sync

It can be confusing when you feel mentally clear but physically drained—or when a panic-like symptom arises seemingly “out of nowhere.” But the body is often ahead of the brain in healing, processing stored emotions even when we aren’t consciously aware of them.

How to Support Somatic Healing

1. Body Scans and Breathwork

Take 5–10 minutes daily to check in. Breathe into tense areas. Ask, “What am I holding here?”

2. Somatic Therapy or EMDR

These therapies help release trauma stored in the body, not just process it intellectually.

3. Movement as Medicine

Gentle movement—walking, stretching, yoga—can help “complete the stress cycle” and move stored tension out of the body.

4. Validate Your Experience

You’re not being dramatic. You’re healing. The body just has its own timeline.

Conclusion

Recovery doesn’t stop at the brain. Your body carries the story too—and it deserves to be heard, supported, and soothed. Healing happens when both mind and body get to tell the truth.