When the Body Speaks Before the Mind

Our bodies often know what our minds are not yet ready to say.
Sometimes distress begins as a whisper — a subtle tightness in the chest, a flutter in the stomach, a tension that shows up every evening for no clear reason. If we ignore these early signs, they tend to grow louder. What begins as a whisper can become a shout: chronic fatigue, pain, migraines, digestive issues, or a sense of being hijacked by anxiety.

These physical sensations are not random. They are messengers — expressions of parts of us that have been holding too much for too long. When the body starts to speak, it’s often a sign that something inside needs to be acknowledged, felt, or cared for.

In therapy, I often see how these sensations carry emotional truth before words do. They might hold the fear of a part that feels unsafe, or the exhaustion of one that has been managing and striving for years. When we slow down enough to sit with these sensations — without trying to fix or get rid of them — we create space for these parts to be seen and heard.

This kind of listening is not analytical; it’s relational.
You might begin by placing a hand where you feel the sensation and noticing what’s there. Is it tight, heavy, buzzing, warm?
Then, with curiosity, you can ask inwardly:

“What does this part need me to know?”
“How long has it been feeling this way?”

You may not hear words — sometimes what comes is an image, a wave of emotion, or simply a softening. The goal is not to make the discomfort disappear, but to meet it with attention and compassion. Over time, these moments of connection help the body and the nervous system trust that they no longer have to shout to be heard.

The more we learn to listen to the body’s whispers, the less it needs to cry out for our attention. And in that listening, we begin to build a deeper relationship with ourselves — one where even our discomfort can guide us home.