Ghouls, Ghosts, and Trapped Energy: The Somatics and Psychology of Unprocessed Experiences
Against a black background two translucent white figures that have a sheet over them making them appear as ghosts.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! So the blog posts for this month will all be inspired by Halloween or use Halloween themes to make an analogy. There are no frights in these posts. Only treats that will hopefully be helpful and inspiring.
October is the season of haunted houses, ghost stories, and things that go bump in the night. We adorn porches with pumpkins, skeletons, and maybe even creaking chains for good measure and gather around firepits to tell tales of specters that refuse to rest. So many fun Halloween traditions that many of us enjoy each year!
It’s easy to treat ghosts as fun fall fiction. But if you look at human behavior through a somatic lens, most of us are walking around being "haunted" every single day—not by supernatural spirits, but by the unprocessed energy and experiences of our own past. Science moment coming your way to help set the stage for what is to come. Our bodily experiences like touch, pain, or inner body signals are profoundly emotional and activate brain networks that moderate our perceptions and higher order processing (Gentsch & Kuehn, 2022). Key take away from this piece of information - bodily experiences are like a filter through which we see the world. Keep this in mind as we add on another layer into the conversation. Body memory, whether implicit or explicit, is the sum of all past bodily experiences including tactile, motor, proprioceptive, painful, and interoceptive experiences along with their attached emotions that are kept in our memories and influence our behaviors (Gentsch & Kuehn, 2022). The next key take away is that body memories can be implicit and explicit. When body memories are implicit that are not as easily accessible to our ability to consciously reflect, may be challenging to verbalize in our day-to-day living or even during major life events, which also means they can impact our bodily states at any moment, particularly during emotional experiences (Gentsch & Kuehn, 2022).
Let’s talk about psychology for a quick moment after or dive into science. When people hold unprocessed energy and memories we hear the terms trapped emotion, stuck memory, or unprocessed trauma if there is trauma present. From the somatic lens, we can add the terms survival energy or body memory. And, boo! We are back to what we discussed above about body memory. For the rest of the post, we will refer to body memory as somatic ghosts to go along with the theme of Halloween and to reflect how body memories, especially implicit ones, can show up without us knowing.
When we leave a past trauma, athletic injury, or embarrassing failure buried in the dark, it doesn't vanish. It simply haunts your present performance from the shadows.
What Is a "Somatic Ghost"?
Have you ever had a reaction to a situation that felt completely disproportionate to what was actually happening?
A mild critique from a boss or coach that sends your heart racing as if you are in physical danger.
An unexpected panic spike right before stepping onto a field, stage, or court, even though you’ve practiced a thousand times.
A sudden, overwhelming urge to shut down or run away during a difficult conversation with a loved one.
Those moments are examples of somatic ghosts.
When you experience an event that overwhelms your nervous system’s capacity to cope, your body stores the unfinished energy—the fight, flight, or freeze response that never got to complete its cycle.
Years later, when a current situation vaguely resembles that past moment, your implicit memory fires. Your nervous system pulls the old file, perceives a threat, and releases adrenaline. You aren't reacting to what is happening now; you are reacting to the ghost of what happened then.
Why "Thinking Positive" Doesn't Work with Ghosts
Many forms of traditional psychotherapy work often rely on heavy cognitive analysis—talking through your past, writing about your childhood, or trying to logically reason with our fears. While mental clarity is valuable, it often leaves the body behind. And based on what we talked about above, that may not be such a wise idea. With that said, there is still value in traditional psychotherapy branches that use cognitive interventions.
We can intellectually understand why we have a fear of public speaking, athletic failure, or many other experiences in our lives, yet our palms may still sweat, our chests still constrict, or our stomach does back flips when the moment arrives. That's because we cannot completely talk a nervous system out of a threat response. We need to account for the body’s role due to the bidirectional relationship between the mind and body.
To clear a somatic ghost, we need to invite the body into the process. We have to shine a gentle light into the dark corners of your physical physiology and help that trapped energy complete its cycle so it can finally rest.
3 Somatic Steps to Engage Your Trapped Energy
Moving trapped energy doesn't have to be terrifying. Using somatic awareness, you can safely process stored stress without getting overwhelmed by it. Please note: The somatic concepts, exercises, and insights shared in this post are intended for educational purposes and personal self-exploration only. They do not constitute therapy or medical advice. Please listen to your body and consult with a licensed mental health professional or medical practitioner for individualized support.
1. Spot the "Haunting" in Real Time
Instead of trying to figure out the deep root cause right away, focus on the physical symptoms. Where does the ghost show up in your body?
Notice: Is it a tight knot in your stomach? A clenched jaw? A sudden shallow breath?
The Shift: Name the physical sensation without judgment. Instead of thinking, "I’m panicking," try telling yourself: "My nervous system is generating heat and tension in my chest right now." Separation creates safety.
2. Allow the Physical Discharge
Trapped energy is simply dynamic physical energy that gets frozen mid-process. To help it move, your body needs permission to complete the movement. While you may not know exactly how to complete the movement, which can take a professional’s help, you can give your body some help.
If you feel fight/flight energy (restlessness, racing heart): Let your body move. Shake your hands out, go for a quick dynamic walk, or press your hands firmly against a wall to discharge the muscular tension.
If you feel freeze energy (numbness, heaviness, collapse): Wrap a heavy blanket around yourself, feel the warmth of your hands on your arms, and gently rock side-to-side to bring micro-movement back into your system.
A somatic-based therapist will know how to actually help sequence out a movement tag to help complete the process the body needs.
3. Orient to Present Safety
Ghosts thrive in the dark of past memories. To diminish their power, you must anchor your body firmly in the now. Keep this phrase in mind: Change happens in the present moment!
Look around the room and name three solid objects you see.
Feel the weight of your feet pressing into the floor.
Remind your body out loud: "That was then; this is now. I am in a different body, in a different year, and I am safe in this room."
No one has to live at the mercy of old triggers, unhelpful protective patterns, or hidden fears.
This October, as you see the spooky decorations around your neighborhood, let them serve as a gentle reminder: the things lurking in your psyche and body can begin to lose their power when you bring them into the light of somatic awareness. When you gently remind your body that the past is over, the ghosts quiet down, leaving you free to inhabit your full presence, power, and performance today.
take action today moment:
Take a moment to process what you get read. So often we are told that “it is all in our head.” But, our bodies do have a role in our healing. Then take some time to notice during your day-to-day life how your body responds. Does it “over react” during certain events and you don’t understand why? Begin with awareness and then give some of the above steps a try!
Learn More About Somatic therapy:
A Guide to Somatic Therapy: What Are the Signs Your Body Is Releasing Trauma?
Dance / Movement Therapy (DMT): Benefits and Barriers
What is Dance/Movement Therapy?
References
Gentsch, A., & Kuehn, E. (2022). Clinical manifestations of body memories: The impact of past bodily experiences on mental health. Brain Sciences, 12(5), 594. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050594