Why Talk Therapy Alone Often Falls Short for Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression

As a  Somatic Therapist, Sound Therapist, and Dietitian, many of the people who come to see me say the same thing.
They understand their story. They can explain what happened. They know why they feel the way they do.
Yet their body is still tense, anxious, shut down, exhausted, or emotionally flat.

This is where talk therapy alone often reaches its limits.

Trauma, anxiety, and depression live in the nervous system

Trauma, anxiety, and depression are not thinking problems. They are nervous system states.

• Trauma reflects a body that learned to survive overwhelming or unresolved experiences.
• Anxiety reflects a nervous system stuck in ongoing activation.
• Depression often reflects a system that has collapsed into shutdown after prolonged stress.

These patterns are stored in the body through muscle tension, breath restriction, hormonal shifts, immune changes, digestion issues, sleep disruption, and altered brain chemistry. Talking can bring insight, but insight does not automatically regulate the nervous system.

You can understand everything and still feel stuck.

Why insight alone does not create change

Talk therapy works primarily through the thinking brain. It helps you name experiences, make sense of them, and reframe beliefs. This can be helpful, but it assumes the body is already regulated enough to integrate what is being discussed.

For many people with trauma, anxiety, or depression, the nervous system is not in that state.

When the body is in survival mode, it does not respond to logic, reassurance, or positive thinking. It responds to cues of safety or threat. If safety is not present at a physiological level, symptoms persist regardless of insight.

This is why people often say:

• I know it is not rational but my body reacts anyway
• I understand my trauma but I still feel on edge
• I can talk about it but nothing shifts
• I feel worse after sessions

When talk therapy can increase overwhelm

For sensitive or traumatised nervous systems, talking can sometimes increase activation. Revisiting experiences verbally can trigger the same physiological stress response that originally formed the pattern.

This does not mean talk therapy is wrong. It means it is incomplete when used on its own for nervous system based conditions.

Without supporting the body, therapy can feel effortful, draining, or repetitive.

How a somatic approach changes the outcome

Somatic therapy works directly with the body and nervous system where trauma, anxiety, and depression are held.

Rather than analysing or retelling events, somatic approaches support the nervous system to settle, reorganise, and regain flexibility. When the body feels safe enough, thoughts, emotions, and behaviours shift naturally.

In my work, I use body based methods that support regulation first. As regulation increases, clarity, emotional range, and resilience return without forcing change.

This is where talk therapy becomes effective again. Not as the driver, but as an integrative tool layered on top of a regulated system.

Supporting healing at the root

True healing happens when the body is included.

This means:

• Supporting nervous system regulation
• Restoring physiological safety
• Addressing nutritional and metabolic stressors
• Working with sensation, breath, and internal awareness
• Allowing emotions to move without overwhelm

When the body shifts out of survival mode, anxiety settles, depressive states lift, and trauma responses soften. Not because they were talked away, but because the system no longer needs them.

A somatic and holistic approach to trauma, anxiety, and depression therapy

Talk therapy can be valuable. But for many people, it is not enough on its own.

If you have tried talking and still feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected, it may be time to work with your body rather than against it.

A somatic and integrative approach supports healing from the inside out, where lasting change actually occurs.

If you are ready to explore trauma therapy, anxiety treatment, or depression therapy that works with your nervous system and whole physiology, you are welcome to reach out at www.bmelifestyle.com and book your first somatic therapy session.

Your body already knows how to heal when it is given the right conditions.

Sending love,
Anca Vereen
Somatic Therapist, Sound Therapist, Integrative Dietitian