Why Does My Body Hold Onto Stress? Understanding How Your Nervous System Stores & Releases Tension
Have you ever wondered why stress lingers in your body long after a stressful event has passed?
Stress isn’t just something we feel—it’s something we carry. Every experience, every challenge, and every moment of overwhelm leaves an imprint, not just on the mind, but deep within the nervous system. The body holds onto stress in ways we often don’t recognize, shaping the way we move, breathe, think, and even interact with the world.
Why do I still feel tense, even when I try to relax?
Whether you're a child developing key neural pathways or an adult navigating the demands of daily life, your nervous system is always adapting. It learns what is safe and what is dangerous. It wires patterns that help us survive. But when stress becomes overwhelming—whether through birth trauma, childhood adversity, or chronic stress in adulthood—those adaptations can get hardwired into our nervous system, leading to tension, pain, fatigue, emotional dysregulation, and even chronic illness.
How did this happen? What shapes my nervous system responses?
From the moment of conception, the nervous system is rapidly forming, unconsciously processing every input, experience, and stressor to shape its response to the world. This development happens in phases, and critical periods of neurological growth can be impacted by stress at different times:
🧠 Birth - 2 Years: The Brainstem & Survival Wiring
The nervous system is prioritizing survival—breathing, digestion, regulation.
Stressors: Birth trauma, maternal stress, NICU stays, poor attachment.
Impact: Hyperactive or sluggish nervous system, colic, digestive issues, sleep difficulties.
🧠 2 - 5 Years: Limbic System & Emotional Regulation
Developing emotional processing, attachment, and early social skills.
Stressors: Lack of connection, major life transitions, excessive screen time.
Impact: Increased fight-or-flight response, sensory sensitivities, emotional instability.
🧠 5 - 10 Years: Prefrontal Cortex & Executive Function
Higher cognitive function, impulse control, focus, and adaptability develop.
Stressors: Chronic pressure, excessive stimulation, lack of unstructured play.
Impact: Poor focus, difficulty self-regulating emotions, motor coordination struggles.
🔄 Adulthood: Chronic Stress & Adaptation
The nervous system still responds to stress, but long-term stored tension contributes to chronic pain, poor posture, reduced range of motion and flexibility, fatigue, anxiety, poor digestion, and hormonal imbalances.
Repetitive patterns of stored stress can result in persistent subluxation patterns, reinforcing fight-or-flight responses and preventing full nervous system adaptability.
The 3 T’s: How Stress Interferes with Nervous System Function
In chiropractic care, we recognize that stress isn’t just emotional—it affects the body physically and chemically as well. The Three T’s—Thoughts (Emotional Stress), Trauma (Physical Stress), and Toxins (Chemical Stress)—are the primary sources of nervous system interference and subluxation.
🔹 Thoughts (Emotional Stress) – We live in a fast-paced, overstimulated world where fear, worry, and anxiety are constant. Technology overload, social pressure, financial stress, and lack of downtime all create chronic nervous system activation, keeping the body stuck in fight-or-flight mode.
🔹 Trauma (Physical Stress) – Birth interventions, falls, repetitive motion injuries, poor posture, and even prolonged sitting alter proprioception and increase nervous system tension. Many people assume trauma only refers to major accidents, but microtraumas—such as daily posture habits and uncorrected movement dysfunctions—can have long-lasting effects on motor tone and nervous system balance.
🔹 Toxins (Chemical Stress) – Modern diets and environments are filled with processed foods, artificial additives, inflammatory substances, and environmental pollutants. These disrupt gut-brain communication, immune function, and nervous system adaptability, reinforcing stored stress and inflammation in the body.
Can my body actually unlearn stress patterns?
The good news? The nervous system is adaptable. It can heal, rewire, and release stored stress—if given the right input. Understanding how stress is stored in the body and how chiropractic care helps regulate and reset the nervous system is the first step in creating a healthier, more resilient body and mind.
The Story of Stress: How the Brain and Body Respond
How do I stop my body from holding onto stress?
Over time, these stressors reinforce stored tension, keeping the body stuck in survival mode. Without addressing the nervous system directly, stress patterns become deeply ingrained.
Why does my body react to stress before I even realize it?
The nervous system is constantly scanning the environment, looking for cues of safety or danger. This process, known as neuroception, happens below conscious awareness and determines whether we remain calm and engaged—or shift into survival mode.
When we encounter stress, the brain rapidly decides:
🔹 Fight or Flight (Sympathetic Response) – If the brain perceives a threat, it prepares the body for action by increasing heart rate, muscle tension, and alertness. This response is essential for protection, quick thinking, and survival, but when overactive, it can lead to chronic tension, anxiety, and inflammation.
🔹 Freeze (Dorsal Vagal Shutdown) – If the stress is overwhelming and inescapable, the nervous system may shut down, leading to withdrawal, disconnection, and fatigue. This is often seen in individuals with chronic exhaustion, low motivation, and difficulty engaging with others.
🔹 Balance (Ventral Vagal Regulation) – When the nervous system perceives safety, it remains regulated, allowing for social engagement, learning, and healthy movement patterns. A balanced nervous system means resilience to stress, emotional regulation, and adaptability.
Why can’t I just think my way out of stress?
The nervous system operates on subconscious patterns. If stress becomes chronic or overwhelming, the nervous system can get stuck in survival mode. This alters everything from muscle tone and coordination to digestion, immune function, and mental health.
Chiropractic care helps break this cycle by resetting the brain-body connection—not by forcing relaxation, but by helping the nervous system recognize safety and shift toward adaptability.
How Chiropractic Helps Release Stored Stress & Reset the Nervous System
What does an adjustment actually do for my nervous system?
When stress gets stored in the nervous system, the body needs a reset mechanism—a way to shift out of survival mode and rewire for balance. Chiropractic care does this by removing interference in the nervous system, helping the brain and body communicate effectively again.
🔹 Adjustments Signal Safety to the Brain – Gentle, specific adjustments activate proprioceptors in the spine, which send signals to the brain that help shift the body out of survival mode.
🔹 Vagus Nerve Activation & Regulation – Chiropractic care enhances vagal tone, improving digestion, sleep, immune function, and emotional regulation.
🔹 Prefrontal Cortex Stimulation & Neuroplasticity – Dr. Heidi Haavik’s research has shown that chiropractic adjustments stimulate the prefrontal cortex, supporting emotional resilience, learning, and adaptability.
🔹 Releasing Stored Tension & Improving Tone – Adjustments help balance muscle tone, coordination, and motor reflexes, allowing the body to move with ease instead of restriction.
How long does it take to reset the nervous system?
Healing takes time and repetition. The nervous system learns through patterned input, which is why consistent adjustments over time help retrain the brain-body connection for long-term change.
Breaking the Cycle of Stored Stress & Creating a Resilient Nervous System
Is it possible to rewire my nervous system for resilience?
Yes! Whether you’re an adult with chronic tension or a parent noticing stress patterns in your child, the key to long-term wellness is releasing stored stress and restoring balance to the nervous system.
Chiropractic care plays a pivotal role in breaking the cycle of somatic stress storage, helping the nervous system shift from survival to adaptability and growth. When the body is free of stored tension, it can move, breathe, and function at its full potential.
📅 Schedule an evaluation today to see how we can support your nervous system in releasing stored stress and restoring balance.
