I had been seeing “Jennifer” for two years and on a few occasions, she would be concerned with pain in a specific area of her lower spine. She had injured her back 4 years ago under the guidance of a yoga practitioner. A few weeks ago she again experienced this discomfort. I asked her to bring her attention to the spot, to breathe into it and to just say out loud and without thinking, the feelings that this area evoke.
She expressed some of her feelings but then, after a long silence, she said she realized that she had never forgiven the person that she associated with the injury. Not only did this area sustain physical trauma during the injury but it has also been holding onto blame.
During a distressing event, the nervous system goes into survival mode, activating the sympathetic nervous system to release stress hormones and to prepare the body for fight or flight. Once the event or trigger is over, the body relaxes and hormone levels return to normal. On the other hand, when recurring distressing emotions or thoughts provoke the sympathetic system, stress hormones are released constantly and over a longer time, increasing blood pressure and blood sugar, which can in turn reduce the immune system’s ability to heal. Physical symptoms such as pain and discomfort emerge due to dysfunction within the nervous system. The body is still physically holding on to the emotional distress and it may show up as physical pain.
Even after the event has passed, the brain and nervous system can continue to associate certain situations, emotions or thoughts with danger. Those experiences or thoughts may automatically trigger physical reactions before the thinking part of the brain has fully processed what’s happening.
If the body is “stuck” in a defensive state as a result of a prolonged stress, it can impact you physically. Communication between the brain and the body is hindered when the body is unable to effectively transition from stressful sympathetic activity to a more relaxed parasympathetic activity.
At BodyMind Wellness Studio, NeuroStructural Optimization addresses the nervous system to allow the body to better communicate with the brain. When the body is better able to interpret and adapt to their current circumstance, a greater sense of awareness is attained.
“Freeing yourself from the hold of an emotion opens you up to the present and all the happy and fulfilling experiences that come with it.” Dr Julie Doobay
Copyright Dr. Julie Doobay 2026
