#bodymind

Traditional psychology got a lot wrong. It told you to talk about your trauma.

To analyse it. To make sense of it with words. But your trauma doesn’t live in your thoughts. It lives in your nervous system.

Helen Frankenthaler :: Tutti Fruitti, 1966

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In painting, as in any art, we can escape the prison of our minds and connect with what transcends ordinary perceptions. And just as a body of water stays still while a wave-form moves through it, consciousness remains stable despite the constant motion and flow of our thoughts.

—Fredericka Foster, “Spotlight On: Fredericka Foster”

Anthony Goldsmith

Fear, trauma, stress, grief, anger, worry, the body often carries emotional load through different systems and patterns of tension.

• Kidneys + nervous system → fear and survival responses.

• Heart + nervous system → emotional stress and trauma patterns.

• Adrenals → chronic stress, hypervigilance, overwhelm.

• Brain + heart connection → stress regulation and nervous system load.

• Lungs + breathing patterns → sadness, grief, emotional holding.

• Liver + body tension → anger, frustration, irritability.

• Gallbladder → resentment, stored emotional tension.

• Stomach, pancreas + spleen → worry, overthinking, digestive stress.

Anthony Goldsmith

The nervous system was never designed for constant masking.

What we hold to be a self-evident truth was not always so. There was a time when the self was not understood and experienced as though it were ensconced within the blood-brain barrier. For instance, the Hebrew word sarefet means both “diaphragm” and “thought”; similarly, the ancient Greek word phren means both “diaphragm” and “mind.” Those examples indicate that the mind and its thinking were experienced in the diaphragm. - Philip Shepherd, New Self, New World

Anthony Goldsmith

The thinking

Growing up in decaying body

I clung to the illusion of a mind

I always thought

At least I’ll be smart

How unwise

Because she never belonged to me

Not really

The Thinking

She belonged to my body

And to no-one at all

How stupid to shove all my self into specters

Of an intelligence eugenicists built

I’ve create this life around an absence

And I’ve committed myself to this tower

And its ivory exterior shines

Stairs never meant to be climbed

For a moment I believed it was kind

Language doesn’t live in one part of the brain. Speaking, understanding, reading, and writing rely on multiple interconnected regions working together, including Broca’s area for speech output and Wernicke’s area for language comprehension.

When these networks are disrupted, most commonly after a stroke or traumatic brain injury, communication can change in very specific ways, a condition known as aphasia.

Some people may have effortful, limited speech with relatively good understanding (Broca’s aphasia), others may speak fluently but struggle to comprehend language (Wernicke’s aphasia), while in more severe cases both expression and understanding are significantly affected (global aphasia).

Understanding what’s happening in the brain helps support communication with greater clarity, compassion, and purpose.

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A powerful way to help language pathways is through cross modal activation, which gently links movement, sound, and meaning. Begin with slow cross body movements, such as marching on the spot while tapping the opposite knee, to engage both sides of the brain. While moving, softly hum or repeat a single vowel sound to activate auditory and speech networks without pressure. Then pause, look at a nearby everyday object, and communicate its purpose using gestures rather than words, allowing meaning to form without forcing language. Finally, say the word aloud once or twice with a calm breath in between. This approach works because language is built through movement, sound, vision, and connection, helping the brain access communication pathways more safely and effectively, without correction or demand.