When we go through traumatic or emotional events, the energy from those experiences gets stored in the cells of our body. That is why when you encounter a situation that is similar to those experiences, your body will react in much the same way it did when you first experienced them. An example that many first responders experience is that their nervous system will go on high alert every time they drive by a place where they were involved in a traumatic incident. Or maybe every time your boss raises his voice, you freeze or shut down, because he reminds you of your abusive father.
Here is the good news:
It is possible to release the traumatic energy from your body with Gestalt. We are able to finish the unfinished business from those events, so they don't create a charge in you moving forward. You have the memory, but not the physical and emotional reaction.
If our bodies hold the energy from traumatic events, they also hold the energy of positive and happy experiences. Once we release the negative energies, the positive energies are still in us.
If you would like to dive into this deeper, I recommend a book called The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
