Protocol Library
Protocol Series 1 · #06
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The Body Keeps
the Score (TL;DR)
What trauma researchers learned, in one page
the body remembers what the mind tries to forget. stress and trauma live in tissue, not just thought.
The Protocol · 5 steps
1
Stress is stored physically
the body holds tension, bracing, and old alarm long after the event is over. it's in the muscle, not the memory.
2
You can't talk it all out
insight alone doesn't release what the body holds. healing has to include the body, not just the story.
3
Regulation comes first
you can't process anything while activated. safety in the body is the prerequisite for everything else.
4
Safety is relational
we heal in connection. a calm, trusted presence does what solo effort can't.
5
Practices rewire
breath, movement, and gentle attention, repeated, slowly teach the body it's safe now.
Run it: scan your body head to toe. find one spot that's braced. breathe into it and let it soften 10%.
“the body keeps the score. so include the body.”
— Bessel van der Kolk
TL;DR stored in the body → talk isn't enough → regulate first → heal in connection → practice rewires
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