Depression and Anxiety: Why You Feel It in Your Body and How Somatic Therapy Helps You Heal

Depression and anxiety are often spoken about as mental health conditions. Yet if you live with them, you know this is only part of the story.

They are felt in the body.

As a Somatic Therapist, Sound Therapist and Integrative Dietitian working with clients across Melbourne, I see daily how depression and anxiety show up physically long before they are understood emotionally or cognitively.

Low mood, heaviness, shutdown, anxiety, restlessness, tension, fatigue and numbness are not thoughts.
They are nervous system states.

Depression and Anxiety Are Nervous System Experiences

Depression and anxiety sit on the same nervous system spectrum.

• Anxiety reflects a system stuck in mobilisation.
• Depression reflects a system that has collapsed or shut down after prolonged stress.

Both are protective responses of the body.

You may experience this as:

• Tight chest or pressure
• Heavy limbs or exhaustion
• Shallow or restricted breathing
• Gut symptoms and appetite changes
• Brain fog or slowed thinking
• Emotional numbness or overwhelm
• Poor sleep or early waking

These are not random symptoms. They are signals from your nervous system.

Why You Cannot Think Your Way Out of Depression or Anxiety

Insight does not automatically create regulation.

Many people understand their story, patterns and triggers, yet their body remains dysregulated. This happens because the nervous system does not respond to logic. It responds to safety.

When the body does not feel safe, it stays in survival mode.

Somatic therapy works because it communicates with the nervous system directly.

What Somatic Therapy Is and Why It Works

Somatic therapy is a body based approach that supports healing by working with sensation, movement, breath and nervous system regulation.

Instead of analysing symptoms, we gently explore how your body holds depression or anxiety and what it needs to settle.

In my work, somatic therapy focuses on:

• Restoring safety in the body
• Supporting nervous system flexibility
• Increasing capacity to feel without overwhelm
• Reconnecting awareness to physical sensation
• Rebuilding energy and vitality over time

Healing happens when the body learns that it no longer needs to stay in protection.

How Depression Lives in the Body

Depression often reflects a nervous system that has moved into conservation mode.

This can feel like:

• Heaviness
• Low motivation
• Emotional flatness
• Slowed digestion
• Chronic fatigue
• Withdrawal from connection

Somatic therapy gently brings movement, sensation and energy back online without forcing or pushing.

Small shifts create safety. Safety allows vitality to return.

How Anxiety Lives in the Body

Anxiety reflects a nervous system that is constantly scanning for threat.

This can feel like:

• Restlessness
• Tension
• Racing thoughts
• Digestive upset
• Shallow breathing
• Inability to fully relax

Somatic therapy helps the body complete stress responses and return to regulation rather than staying locked in alert.

The Role of Sound Therapy in Depression and Anxiety

Sound therapy works directly with the nervous system through vibration and frequency.

It supports:

• Downshifting arousal
• Emotional processing without overthinking
• Regulation of breath and heart rate
• Improved sleep quality
• A felt sense of safety and grounding

Sound bypasses the thinking mind and meets the body where it is.

The Importance of Nutrition in Nervous System Healing

As an Integrative Dietitian, I always assess the biological contributors to depression and anxiety.

Common factors include:

• Blood sugar instability
• Low protein intake
• Mineral deficiencies
• Gut inflammation
• Hormonal shifts
• Chronic stress depletion

Without adequate nourishment, the nervous system struggles to regulate.

Nutrition supports the physiological foundation that therapy builds upon.

Why a Body Based Approach Creates Lasting Change

Depression and anxiety are not signs of weakness. They are adaptive responses to stress, trauma and overwhelm.

When therapy works with the body rather than trying to override it, change becomes sustainable.

Somatic therapy allows healing to occur at the level where depression and anxiety actually live.

The nervous system.

What to Expect in Somatic Therapy Sessions

Sessions are personalised, paced and responsive to your system.

They may include:

• Nervous system education
• Somatic awareness and tracking
• Breath and grounding practices
• Gentle movement
• Sound therapy
• Nutritional guidance where appropriate
• Integration and reflection

There is no forcing and no pressure to perform.

We work with what your body is ready to process.

Depression and Anxiety Therapy in Melbourne

If you are looking for depression and anxiety support in Melbourne that honours your whole system, somatic therapy offers a deeply effective pathway.

When the body feels safe, energy returns.
When energy returns, clarity and connection follow.

Ready to Begin your journey back to Yourself?

If you feel ready to work with your body and nervous system in a supportive and grounded way, I invite you to book a somatic therapy session.

Book your somatic therapy session here :)

Sending love,
Anca Vereen

Somatic Therapist, Sound Therapist, Integrative Dietitian