Learning to listen instead of fight what your body is saying
When the Body Speaks Its Own Language
We often think of communication as something that happens in words — what we say, what we hear, what we think. But our body speaks too, in a language that isn’t always easy to translate. It hums, tightens, aches, flutters, freezes. Sometimes it whispers; sometimes it shouts.
When we don’t understand that language, it can feel like the body is working against us. But often, it’s simply trying to be heard.
The body doesn’t hold grudges — it holds information.
At a glance
- The body speaks through sensation — tension, fatigue, restlessness, or pain — when words aren’t enough.
- These signals aren’t malfunctions; they’re messages asking for attention, not fear.
- When ignored, they grow louder. When understood, they soften and guide healing.
- Therapy helps translate the body’s language — turning symptoms into insight and awareness into choice.
The Body Remembers What Words Forget
Our bodies carry stories long after our minds have moved on. A racing heart that appears out of nowhere, a knot in the stomach before an email, a sudden tiredness in the middle of a conversation — these sensations don’t come from nowhere.
They can be echoes of earlier experiences, traces of times when we didn’t feel safe, seen, or in control. Psychologists sometimes call this somatic memory — the way the body stores emotional experiences that weren’t fully processed.
It isn’t mystical or abstract — it’s biology. When we face threat or stress, our nervous system mobilises to protect us. If that energy has nowhere to go, it gets filed away. Later, the body replays it through sensation.
Lost in Translation
The problem is that we’re rarely taught how to read those signals. We treat them as malfunctions rather than messages.
When we ignore the body’s cues, we often end up fighting ourselves — pushing through tension, numbing discomfort, dismissing fatigue. Yet the more we silence it, the louder it becomes.
The body doesn’t hold grudges, but it does hold information. And if it can’t express it one way, it finds another. Therapy helps translate that information — turning symptoms into signals, and signals into understanding.
The Nervous System’s Voice
Think of your body as a finely tuned alarm system. The sympathetic nervous system speeds you up when it senses danger; the parasympathetic slows you down when it’s safe. When life has involved long periods of stress, those systems can get stuck — the alarm keeps ringing long after the fire is out.
That’s why therapy often focuses on regulation: helping the body find its way back to balance. Simple grounding, breathwork, or mindful noticing can help you reconnect with physical cues safely, without being overwhelmed by them.
The Whistling Kettle
Imagine a kettle on the hob. As the water heats, it starts to whistle — an unmistakable sound demanding attention. If you don’t know what it means, it’s just noise. But once you understand it, you can respond appropriately: turn off the heat, pour the tea, adjust the setting.
Our bodies work the same way. Anxiety, tension, fatigue — they’re not the problem themselves, but signals that something beneath the surface needs care.
Once you know what they mean, you can work with your body instead of against it. That shift — from fear to understanding — is what allows healing to unfold.
Once you understand what your body is saying, you can respond with care instead of fear.
The whistling kettle i use as a metaphor for suicidal tendencies, it’s a sound we hear, which prompts action – but when we realise it’s a way our body is saying something needs to change, rather then this is the end, it’s just because we’re not turned into listening into it properly.
When the Message Lingers
Sometimes, even after insight arrives, the sensation stays. The body doesn’t rush. It has its own rhythm of release, especially after years of holding tension.
That’s why patience matters. Understanding the message is only the first step; the rest is allowing time and gentleness for the system to reset. In therapy, this can mean learning to tolerate sensations that once felt unbearable, or discovering how to anchor yourself when the body starts to speak loudly.
Over time, those signals begin to integrate — not erased, but understood.
Making Peace with the Messenger
The body isn’t betraying you; it’s been protecting you. Every clench, flutter, and ache is an attempt to keep you safe.
Once you stop treating those sensations as enemies, they become allies. Instead of “What’s wrong with me?”, the question becomes “What’s my body trying to show me?”
That’s the essence of somatic awareness — partnership instead of resistance.
Therapy as Translation
In therapy, this work isn’t about diagnosis; it’s about dialogue. Clients often say, “I feel it in my chest, but I don’t know why.” Together, therapist and client explore the story that lives beneath the sensation — sometimes linking to memory, sometimes to emotion, sometimes simply to the pace of life itself.
With empathy, safety, and curiosity, that exploration becomes translation. What once felt chaotic starts to make sense. The body’s signals become part of the conversation, not an interruption of it.
And that’s where healing happens — not by silencing the body, but by learning to listen.
Your body speaks its own language. It remembers, alerts, protects, and communicates — even when you wish it wouldn’t.
Learning to listen isn’t weakness; it’s wisdom. Once you understand what your body is saying, you can respond with compassion instead of frustration. And in that translation, you begin to feel not just better — but whole.
