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Psychologist and educator Annie Brook explains how the nervous system stores trauma, and what we can do to release those chemicals and emotions and ground back into our bodies.
Explore pre-cognitive memories and how to metabolize emotional distress.
About Annie
Annie Brook is a psychologist, educator, and author whose work focuses on trauma healing, birth imprint therapy, and applied neuroplasticity. Through The Brook Institute she teaches practical body mind tools that help therapists, parents, and individuals heal early developmental trauma and build healthier relationships. For more information visit https://anniebrook.com.
Beyond the Mind: Reclaiming Your Somatic Sovereignty with Annie Brook
The disconnect between mind and body was the heart of my recent conversation with Annie Brook on Just Like Nana. Annie is a psychologist, educator, and author with decades of experience helping people move through deep-seated trauma—not just through the mind, but through the body.
The Trap of Thinking
So many of us are trapped in a loop of intellectualization. We try to solve our trauma with our brains. We think if we can just understand it well enough, it will go away. But as Annie explained, trauma doesn’t live in our thoughts; it lives in our nervous system.
The mind can analyze the past, but it cannot release the energy that is still stored in your muscles, your fascia, your organs, and your cells. To truly heal, we have to move into what Annie calls the felt sense. We have to learn to be present with the physical sensations of our distress without rushing in to fix them.
The Blueprint of the Womb: Pre-Cognitive Memories
One of the most profound parts of our conversation touched on pre-cognitive memory. These are the memories formed before we have language—experiences from the womb, the birth process, and our earliest days of infancy.
Before we could say I’m scared or I’m safe, our bodies were already creating a blueprint of the world. If there was distress in the womb—perhaps from the ancestral trauma our mothers were carrying or a difficult birth—our nervous systems stored this stress.
Annie shared that many of the adult reactions we can’t explain—that sudden sense of dread or a chronic feeling of shutting down—actually stem from these early imprints. Because they happened before we had words, we can’t talk our way out of them. We have to use sensory feedback and movement to let the body know that the birth is over, the danger has passed, and we are finally safe.
Understanding the Freeze: When We Check Out
Annie discussed the freeze response. Dissociation isn’t a failure; it’s a brilliant survival mechanism. When a situation feels too big to handle, we check out to protect the psyche. However, when we get stuck in that freeze state, we lose our connection to our magic and our history. Annie’s work focuses on safely metabolizing that frozen energy.
Becoming a Compassionate Witness
When our bodies react with anxiety or shutdown, our first instinct is often self-attack. We think, Why am I doing this again? Or I should be over this by now. But self-attack is just another form of stress for the nervous system.
Annie encourages us to replace that judgment with curiosity. Instead of asking What is wrong with me?, we can ask, What is my body feeling right now? When we can witness our own physical sensations with compassion—noticing the tightness in the chest or the heaviness in the limbs without trying to change them—we create the internal safety necessary for the body to finally let go.
A Journey of Somatic Sovereignty
Healing ancestral and developmental trauma is not about reaching a perfect destination. It’s about reclaiming your somatic sovereignty—your right to be fully present and alive in your own body.
If this conversation with Annie spoke to you, please share it with a friend or family member who might be tired of talking and ready to start feeling.
You are the healer your family line has been waiting for. Stay curious, and stay in your body.
Resources Mentioned
- Annie’s PDF Library: https://www.anniebrook.com/pdf-library
- Annie’s “Blink Blink” video: https://www.instagram.com/p/C35qUqMOZ7T/
- Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert, PhD
- There’s No Such Thing As a Dragon by Jack Kent
Connect with Annie Brook
Instagram: @anniebrooktherapy
Website: https://www.anniebrook.com
Connect with the Show
- Website: justlikenana.com
- Share Your Story: If you have a family story or trauma you’re exploring, reach out via our website for a chance to be interviewed.