How Words Release What the Body Holds and the Healing Power of Writing Through Trauma
Liz Tsekouras is a successful education and careers coach with a background in Sociology and Psychology. Her specialism is in neurodiverse coaching, where she provides tailored guidance to clients to improve their academic/career performance, confidence, and wellbeing.
Many people trying to “move on” from difficult experiences focus on mindset. They tell themselves to think differently, stay positive, or let it go. But here’s the reality, if an experience hasn’t been processed, it doesn’t just disappear. It gets stored.
There are experiences we don’t just remember, we carry them in our body! They show up in the tightness in your chest, the tension in your shoulders, and the way your nervous system seems to stay on high alert long after something has ended. Even when life moves on, something in the body can feel unfinished.
I came to understand this not through theory, but through experience. After navigating a period of repeated personal betrayals, I found that what lingered wasn’t just the memory of what happened, it was how deeply it stayed within me. It wasn’t only emotional. It felt physical. As though parts of the experience had nowhere to go. What began to shift that for me was something deceptively simple, writing.
Why trauma doesn’t just “stay in the mind”
In trauma psychology, there’s a growing understanding that difficult experiences are not processed purely cognitively. They are also held somatically, within the body and nervous system.
When experiences are overwhelming, confusing, or emotionally charged, the brain doesn’t always integrate them into a clear narrative. Instead, they can remain fragmented, felt as sensations, emotional spikes, or recurring thought patterns. This helps explain why “moving on” isn’t as straightforward as deciding to let something go.
Writing as a bridge between body and mind
This is where expressive writing becomes powerful. Research, including the work of James Pennebaker, has shown that writing about emotional experiences can support both psychological and physical well-being. But the mechanism isn’t just about “venting.”
Writing helps organize what feels chaotic. It takes something internal, often stored as sensation or fragmented memory, and gives it structure, language, and meaning. In doing so, it allows the brain to begin integrating the experience rather than continually reliving it. Not erased, but no longer held in the same way.
But this isn’t about journaling for the sake of it. It’s about creating structure where there was none. When you write, you take something internal, often stored as tension, confusion, or emotional charge, and translate it into language. That process helps the brain organize and integrate the experience. In simple terms, you move it from something you’re carrying to something you can understand.
A client reality (and my own experience)
In my work, I often see people trying to process deep experiences purely through thinking or talking in circles. It doesn’t land because the experience hasn’t been fully expressed.
I’ve seen this in my own life as well. After a period of repeated personal betrayals, I realized that what was affecting me most wasn’t just what had happened, it was what I hadn’t fully processed. Writing became a turning point. Not because it changed the past, but because it allowed me to stop holding it in the same way.
How to use writing as a tool for processing
If you’re curious about using writing in this way, it doesn’t need to be complicated. What matters most is honesty and consistency, not perfection. Here are a few simple approaches:
Timed, unfiltered writing: Set a timer for 10–15 minutes and write continuously about what you’re feeling. Don’t edit or structure, just let it come out.
Focus on the feeling, not just the event: Instead of retelling what happened, explore, "What did this feel like in my body? What am I still holding onto?"
Write what you haven’t said: This could be a letter you never send or words you didn’t get to express at the time.
Notice patterns over time: As you write regularly, you may begin to see shifts, in language, tone, or emotional intensity.
A note on safety and support
This work can bring things up. That’s part of the process, but it’s also why support matters. Writing is a powerful tool, but it’s not a replacement for professional help when something feels overwhelming. Use it alongside support, not instead of it.
Giving experience somewhere to go
We often think healing requires forgetting or moving on. But sometimes, what’s needed is expression. When experiences remain unspoken, they can continue to live in the body, unprocessed and unresolved. Writing offers them somewhere to go. A way to move from being held internally to being understood, integrated, and, over time, released.
What we put into words doesn’t disappear. But it no longer has to stay trapped inside us. And that’s where real change begins.
Read more from Elizabeth Tsekouras
Elizabeth Tsekouras, Education and Career Coach
Liz Tsekouras is a dedicated coach and specialist neurodiverse educator who draws on over a decade of experience to help individuals build confidence, strengthen their learning skills, and navigate challenges with clarity and purpose. She provides personalised coaching that empowers clients to harness their abilities, develop effective strategies, and achieve meaningful academic, professional, and personal growth.
