List of Physical Sensations
Body Terrain
A Sensation Vocabulary for Veterans
The goal here is to find words for what our body was carrying during the intense moments in our lives.
Most of us learned to pay attention outward. This is the same skill, turned inward. Reading the body the way we'd read a map of terrain. A way to develop situational awareness of our inner world.
The first list, WHERE IS MY SYSTEM RIGHT NOW, helps us name the overall state our system is in.
The second, WHERE DO I FEEL IT, takes us through the body location by location to find what's alive in each part.
Use either one while writing to find words for what the body was carrying in those past moments.
Where Is My System Right Now?
Find the overall feeling my system is in. Then find the word.
Shutdown
Activated
Grounded
Alive
Shutdown
Shutdown
System went offline. Flatness. Nothing to feel means nothing can hurt.
numb hollow empty foggy flat
floating spacey wooden dull closed
heavy blank dark far-away underwater
muffled distant detached sealed still
cold gone
breathing: barely there
Frozen
Body stopped taking orders. Nothing to fight, nowhere to run. Just locked.
frozen stuck rigid locked braced
armored paralyzed seized clamped stiff
dense heavy cold blocked suffocated
held knees-gone legs-giving cemented stone
breathing: held, suspended
Activated
Contracted
Defenses up. Everything tightening. Holding on.
tight tense constricted knotted bunched
clenched gripping squeezing pressing crushing
breathless sharp piercing raw sore
bruised tender wound-up pulled-in jaw-locked
back-of-neck-tight chest-caving
breathing: short, tight, high in the chest
Burning
Heat, pressure, intensity running through. Engine's running hot.
hot burning flushed sweating scalding
pounding pulsing throbbing quaking quivering
surging rushing achy inflamed racing
feverish face-hot pressure-building tunnel-vision
stomach-heaving
breathing: rapid, forceful, hot
Shaky
The body letting something go. Shaking means something is moving. This is the system working.
shaking trembling shuddering quivering twitchy
fluttery vibrating shivering wobbly unsteady
weak releasing rippling knees-trembling legs-shaking
eyes-watering whole-body-shaking
breathing: catching, irregular, stuttering
Wired
System's on high alert. Coiled. Scanning. Ready to react.
wired amped coiled jittery restless
charged electric prickly buzzy tingling
humming on-edge jumpy taut strung-tight
skin-crawling dry-mouth pressure-behind-eyes hair-up
breathing: quick, shallow, can't slow it down
Running on Empty
Still pushing. Nothing left in the tank. System's been running too long on too little.
drained depleted spent worn leaden
heavy flat hollow foggy numb
aching boneless sluggish dragging weighted
thick-limbed slow eyes-heavy face-numb
static skull-pressure low background buzz
breathing: sighing, effortful, shallow
Grounded
Settling
Coming back to baseline. System standing down. Finding ground.
grounded steady solid settled rooted
stable planted anchored calm relaxed
releasing unwinding loose cool easy
softening shoulders-dropping weight-releasing landing
breathing: slowing, deepening, releasing
Open
Body's opening up. Softening. Making room. Breathing easier.
open light clear flowing airy
soft fluid spreading radiating warm
rising spacious chest-opening yielding effortless
unheld face-softening throat-opening
breathing: easy, fuller, natural
Alive
Alive
Lights on, somebody's home, and they're glad to be here.
alive awake energized stirring glowing
vibrant full present connected whole
vulnerable warmth-rising chest-full heart-open
weightless breath-catching unbound expanding-outward
tears-welling effervescent light-limbed wide-open
tingling-all-over tender-open
breathing: deep, unrestricted, spontaneous
In a perfect world, we would've been taught at a young age how to name what goes on inside our body. The same way we were taught to read terrain or give a clear report in the military, we could've been given a language for our inner world.
Nobody handed us that. You're not behind for not having it. It was never given to you. These words are here to start filling that gap.
Where Do I Feel It?
Sometimes it's hard to tell what we're feeling. The signal is there but we can't quite name it. This list can help with that.
When I'm writing, if I know a certain part of my body was activated during a moment in my story, I start with that location and use the words there to find what it was doing.
Either list works on its own.
Head
Pressure, clarity, fog, alertness
foggy buzzy pressure dizzy
light heavy pounding spacey
clear fuzzy spinning sharp
swimming blank
Jaw / Face
Where clenching, flushing, and unsaid words show up
clenched tight locked hot
flushed tingling numb burning
rigid grinding trembling soft
heavy prickling
Throat
Where the things I haven't said get stuck
lump choked tight closed
swollen constricted dry raw
thick blocked open aching
scratchy strangled
Shoulders / Neck
Where I carry what I'm bracing against
knotted tight heavy braced
armored hunched rigid burning
aching dropped loose weighted
locked tender
Chest / Heart
Where the big stuff lives: grief, love, fear, relief
tight heavy gripping aching
hollow pounding racing pressure
collapsing expanding open warm
cracking tender full sharp
light raw sore burning
Gut / Belly
Where instinct and dread and knowing live
churning sinking dropping knotted
hollow clenched gnawing nauseous
queasy tight heavy warm
settled flipping pit butterflies
cold full soft solid
Arms / Hands
Where impulse lives: reach, push, grip, strike, hold
tingling numb shaking clenched
restless electric buzzy heavy
weak strong reaching gripping
cold sweaty trembling alive
Legs / Feet
Where the body decides: run, freeze, stand, or ground
shaky weak wobbly heavy
restless jittery grounded rooted
solid numb frozen ready-to-run
planted tingling bouncing stable
Whole Body
When it's everywhere, not just one spot
wired amped exhausted drained
surging collapsing floating heavy
light numb vibrating on-edge
coiled braced relaxed unwinding
alive awake settled present
connected foggy restless calm