What Animals Get Right About Trauma (And How Humans Can Heal)
Think about the most impactful National Geographic videos you’ve watched. I’ll assume at least one memorable moment involved an encounter between animals - Something intense, maybe even life or death. And you might remember what often happens after; One of the animals shakes its whole body, almost like it’s discharging the tension from the moment, before it moves on and returns to its life.
Now consider this: We are mammals too. And yet, we don’t always allow ourselves to do what comes naturally.
When we experience something traumatic, whether it’s a single event or an ongoing environment, our bodies take on an enormous amount of tension. It builds in the moment, and instead of being released, it often stays. The animal world shows us something different. There is a physiological process meant to move that energy through.
Animals instinctively know how to “shake off” the stress of a traumatic event. They don’t sit there and internalize it the same way humans do. They don’t replay it, analyze it, or carry it as a narrative. Their bodies complete the response, and then they move on. However, humans tend to do the opposite - We hold stress and trauma in our thoughts and within our bodies.
This is a brilliant example of how the nervous system works: Video: Impala Escapes Death and Shakes Off Stress
In the wild, when an animal is under threat, its nervous system can drop into a freeze or shutdown state: The parasympathetic system slows breathing, heart rate decreases, and sometimes it can even look like the animal is dead to anything passing by. It’s a survival response.
And then, when the threat is gone, the system shifts. The sympathetic nervous system activates, mobilizing the body. And this is where you’ll often see that shaking, that release, before the animal goes back to its environment. That’s a healthy nervous system completing a full stress cycle.
Now, humans are built with the exact same system. But we’ve been conditioned by society to interrupt it.
Trauma is not just something we think about. It is something our bodies hold.
Clinicians like Peter A. Levine, the founder of Somatic Experiencing, emphasized that animals in the wild naturally discharge stress through physical responses like shaking or trembling after a threat has passed. Humans often override or suppress those same responses. Instead, we are taught to push through and stay composed. To be “resilient” in the most self-help book kind of way.
So what happens when, after years of cognitive processing in a therapist’s office, you come to the realization that something still feels unresolved? That your body is still reacting to certain tones, environments, and reminders, almost like it never got the message that the threat is over?
That is not failure. That is your nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do.
With somatic therapy techniques and mindful processing, this is something we begin to work with directly, not just intellectually, but physically and emotionally.
First, we identify.
We name the experiences, the patterns, the triggers. We start to understand not just what happened, but how it continues to live in the body. Alongside that, we often uncover core beliefs, sometimes rooted in shame, that became attached to those experiences. These beliefs are not just logical thoughts. They are wired deeper, in the primitive, reptilian brain.
Next, we resource.
This means identifying what helps you feel supported, internally or externally. That might be a person, a memory, a grounding sensation, or even a higher power. These resources matter because they allow you to approach trauma processing without becoming overwhelmed and exiting your window of tolerance. You are not just re-entering difficult experiences; You are doing so with support, intention, and choice.
Then, we begin to feel the shift.
Not in a way where the trauma disappears, but your relationship to it changes. With consistent processing, you may begin to feel physically lighter, cognitively clearer, emotionally more centered. The grip loosens… The charge decreases... The sense that it controls you starts to fade.
Trauma does not define you. And it does not have to dictate how you move forward.
In my work with clients, I often utilize Brainspotting as a pathway toward that kind of resolution. My training mentor often says, “Let’s slay shame!” And there is a lot of truth in that. How can we fully resolve trauma if we continue to carry the same core beliefs that were formed within it?
Brainspotting allows us to access memories and stored experiences in a way that does not require heavy verbal processing. Scientifically, it engages specific neural pathways linked to where trauma is stored in the brain, helping the nervous system complete processing that was interrupted. Very little talking is needed. It is a more mindful, internally focused experience where the body can process what it has not had the chance to process before. This impact can be profound.
Trauma also looks different for everyone. Which means healing will too.
There is no single right way to process. No rigid timeline. No standard you have to meet.
The beauty of trauma work is in its flexibility. Its flow. Its ability to evolve with you.
When we slow down enough to actually sit with ourselves and notice what is happening internally instead of pushing past it, we give our bodies something they may not have had before.
Space.
And in that space, the body can begin to do what it was always meant to do.
Process. Release. Move forward.
Mindful Shaking
If you’re noticing this in yourself, here’s something small you can try in just a few minutes:
Start by standing in a way that feels comfortable. Let your feet feel planted. Take a slow breath in through your nose, and a longer breath out through your mouth. Do that a few times, without forcing anything.
Bring your attention to your body. Notice where you feel tension. Notice where things feel more neutral.
When you feel ready, gently begin to shake out your hands. Your arms. Maybe your shoulders. Let it be loose, not forced. If it feels okay, begin to allow that movement to flow into your legs. A light bounce, a subtle shake.
Keep taking deep inhales and exhales as it feels good for your body.
You might feel a little silly. You might feel nothing. You might feel a release. All of that is okay.
After a minute or two, begin to slow the movement down and let your body come back to stillness.
Gently pause and notice what feels different.
If this resonates, I invite you to learn more about Brainspotting! If you’re in Oregon and would like to schedule a consult, I would love to connect - There is plenty opportunity to explore and release what your body has been storing!
