We often think life is “mind over matter,” that what one thinks can impact physical reality, or at least one’s perception of it. This is perhaps how people who experience constant, debilitating physical pain learn to cope. However, life is not so clear-cut. It seems that the body has a memory of its own, and its memories influence psychological well-being. Traumatic experiences may be tucked out of the mind’s eye in various parts of the body. When memories are evoked, the body responds; for example, one might feel nauseous, or a tightening of muscles in the chest, and so on.

Additionally, any part of the body that has experienced trauma also carries a memory of it. Take, for example, the condition of vaginismus, a painful and prolonged contraction or spasm of the vagina. Generally, it is a spasm of the muscles of the floor of the pelvis. It causes pain with penetration, often making intercourse impossible. One blogger I know well struggles with this. Kat’s frustration was eloquently described in a post titled All the King’s Horses:

I keep thinking about the tests I had each year at Children’s Hospital where I was held down and a catheter was inserted into my urethra. My mom says that now they have different size tubes for different ages (what a novel idea!), but when I was three they only had a one-size-fits-all tube. I liken the experience to rape. Sanctioned rape by white-robed doctors you’re supposed to trust. It makes me very angry to think what they put me and so many other young girls through. I’ve gotta think there’s a better way. My mom says the tubes caused scarring in me, but the scarring was more than physical. She thinks it’s a combination of the constant urinary tract infections I had that were mis-diagnosed and the regular catheter tests that engrained this physical pattern into my body. My mom says it can be un-learned. A new script has to be written. I think this physical therapist will be able to help me. But what I expressed to my mom tonight, is what my biggest fear really is…which is that I’m just broken, plain and simple, and there’s no fixing me.

Trauma stored in the body is treatable, though it may take a combination of various therapies. A quick surf via Google led me to a number of sites focused on physcial trauma in childhood and its psychological effects. A few that caught my eye:

• Does circumcision cause psychological damage?
• Sidran Institute
• National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Dave Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pages
• EMDR Institute

These links provide a wealth of articles and resources.