Your Nervous System Remembers What You Try to Forget

This article is for psychoeducational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. For personalized support, please contact a licensed therapist in your local area.

Many people believe their anxiety is a sign of weakness or oversensitivity, but anxiety is often the result of a nervous system that learned to react quickly because it once had to protect you. The body remembers experiences that felt overwhelming or unsafe, even when the conscious mind tries to move on. When a present moment resembles something from the past, the nervous system can activate before you have time to think. This rapid reaction can feel confusing, especially when the situation does not seem threatening on the surface. Understanding this mind body connection is essential for healing.

The first way to work with this type of anxiety is to notice the earliest physical cue your body gives you. It might be a tight chest, racing heart, sudden heat, or a sense of restlessness. These sensations appear before the thoughts, and they serve as a signal that something inside you feels activated. Naming the sensation without judgment helps reduce fear and creates space for curiosity. This shift from judgment to observation softens the emotional intensity and helps ground you in your body.

The next step is identifying what past experience taught your nervous system to react so quickly. This does not require reliving trauma or analyzing every detail from your history. It simply means recognizing the general themes your body learned to fear. For example, if you once felt unsafe when others were angry, your body may now react strongly to conflict even when the situation is mild. When you understand this connection, your reaction begins to make sense. You stop seeing yourself as irrational and start understanding yourself as adaptive.

Once you have identified the connection between past and present, grounding becomes a powerful tool. Grounding techniques remind your body that the current moment is different from the original experience. You can use breathwork, physical contact such as placing a hand over your heart, or sensory awareness by noticing textures, sounds, or colors in your environment. These practices signal safety to the nervous system. When your body receives that signal, your mind becomes clearer and your thoughts become more manageable.

Over time, grounding helps retrain the nervous system. Each time you notice the activation and respond with calm, you teach your body that it does not need to sound the alarm so quickly. This learning happens gradually but creates significant changes in how you handle stress. Instead of reacting with fear, you begin responding with awareness. Instead of feeling out of control, you feel more capable of influencing your internal experience. This is how nervous system healing unfolds.

As you continue practicing these steps, you build a new relationship with your anxiety. You begin to see it not as something to fight but as a signal that your body is asking for support. This perspective brings more compassion into your healing process and reduces shame. The more you understand your nervous system, the more empowered you feel to work with it rather than against it. This creates a foundation for long term emotional resilience and steadiness.

About the Author

Esther Adams, Psy.D., MSW, is a trauma informed psychotherapist recognized for her integrative approach that blends psychology, spirituality, and somatic healing. Through her practice, Strides to Solutions, she provides EMDR therapy, resilience coaching, and innovative animal assisted interventions including equine and canine supported therapy. As a certified EMDR therapist, published scholar, educator, and advocate for holistic mental health care, Dr. Adams helps clients navigate trauma, anxiety, and life transitions with compassion and practical tools, guiding them toward grounded resilience and meaningful change.