On physical level, a person’s Body Armor usually expresses itself in relation to muscles, connective tissue, organs, and certain breathing, holding, and postural patterns.
It can materialize itself as tensions, knots, coldness, hardness, tightness, extreme sensitivity, dryness, contractions, adhesions, numbness, dissociation, disconnectedness, restrictions, constrictions, and/or misalignment.
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We should keep in mind that any given emotion can be armored by any body part. The location of armoring depends very much on the disposition of an individual, and the type and circumstances of past traumatic experience(s) or current repressed emotions.
In a very general sense, we could say that emotional, muscular, or body armoring is caused by the inability to express (act on) or digest (process) emotions during deeply emotional or traumatic experiences. This experience may be a one-time happening (for instance, a car accident) or one that stretches itself over a longer time (for instance, child maltreatment or relationship troubles).
This inability to express or digest emotions may result in a set of rather typical emotions that are being “locked away” on the somatic level, which are primarily frustration (helplessness), suspicion (distrust), sadness and grief, guilt, shame, humiliation, anger, rage, fear, anxiety, and/or panic.
It’s also important not to forget that the Character Armor (which represents the character traits of a person on the outside) expresses itself differently.
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To give an example: suspicion and fear of other people that’s being armored in a certain body part may express itself as haughtiness and arrogance in a person (the Character Armor), simply to keep distance of other people and not to get into intimate contact because of fear of getting emotionally hurt by them.
At any rate, here further below we look at various body parts in relation to negative emotions that may be held or armored. This is just a rough generalization, and certainly not an exhaustive list; as already said, repressed or suppressed emotions can “hide themselves” in any body part.
In addition, armoring is usually not isolated. For instance, a specific repressed emotion that results in a certain armor-region often involves several body parts that are armored together as a kind of “unit.” Think of groupings such as chest, upper back, shoulder and neck armoring, or abdominal and lower back armoring, or genital, hip, and pelvic armoring.
Abdomen
The abdominal region can hold fear (of being attacked), vulnerability, anxiety, panic, grief, depression, and worry, not being able to digest or process emotions, and trust issues.
You can read more about the abdominal area and diaphragm in our article Abdominal and Diaphragmatic De-Armoring.
Anus
The anus may hold fear, guilt, rejection, shame, rage, and humiliation. Armoring is generally related to having had negative genital or sexual experiences.
More info about armoring of the anal area can be read in our article about Anal De-Armoring.
Back and Spine
The back and spine may hold anxiety, worry, fear, general stress, depression, guilt, shame, low self-esteem, and feeling unbalanced, overloaded, abandoned, or betrayed. Read more about the back and spinal area in our article Back and Spinal De-Armoring.
Buttocks
The buttocks may hold anger, rage, and frustration.
Chest
The chest is associated with grief, heartbreak, longing, rage, sadness, or difficulty and fear of letting go. Armoring is often expressed as not being able to “get things off your chest.” More about the chest area in our article that covers Chest De-Armoring.
Diaphragm
The diaphragm may hold anger, general fear or fear of being attacked, and feelings of being suffocated (restricted) or helplessness. Read more about the diaphragm in our article Abdominal and Diaphragmatic De-Armoring.
Eyes
Armoring of the eyes is said to be associated with not wanting to “see” things or the truth, fear (protection against a frightening world), difficulty focusing and concentrating, and being overwhelmed by what shows “outside there.”
Learn more about this in our article Facial and Head De-Armoring.
Gallbladder
The gallbladder may hold anger, fear, and frustration.
Head and Face
The head is associated with fear of being hit (physically and emotionally), and being overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings. Read more about this in our article Facial and Head De-Armoring.
Heart
The heart may hold sadness, fear, anxiety, and thoughtfulness.
Jaw
The jaw may hold anger, shame, frustration, and is associated with difficulty expressing oneself. Read more about it in our article about Jaw De-Armoring.
Kidneys and Bladder
The kidneys and bladder may hold fear and anxiety.
Legs
The legs may hold anxiety, fear, vulnerability, and can be associated with feeling unbalanced.
Liver
The liver may hold anger, fear, and frustration.
Lungs
The lungs may hold sadness and anxiety.
Neck
The neck is associated with fear of change, fear of intimacy, feeling suffocated or restricted, disgust, self-pity, self-expression, helplessness, longing, and rage. Read more about it in our article Neck De-Armoring.
Pelvic Region and Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor can hold sexual frustration, anxiety, rage, shame, and guilt, and is associated with feeling unbalanced and disconnected. Armoring is generally related to having had negative genital or sexual experiences.
Read more about the pelvic floor in our article Pelvic Floor De-Armoring.
Penis and Testicles
The penis and testicles are associated with shame, guilt, rage, feeling ridiculed, rejection, low self-esteem, self-identity issues, emotional issues around masculinity (manhood), virility, and fertility, and overall stress and anxiety.
Armoring is generally related to having had negative genital or sexual experiences. Read more about De-Armoring the penis and testicles in our article Penis and Testicles De-Armoring.
Prostate
The male prostate is associated with low self-esteem and self-identity issues. Armoring is generally related to having had negative genital or sexual experiences. Read more about it in our article Prostate De-Armoring.
Shoulders
The shoulders can hold general anxiety and stress, anger, grief, and sadness, or someone is carrying too much emotional weight, feels overburdened, or has difficulty letting go. More about the shoulders in our article Shoulder De-Armoring.
Spleen
The spleen can hold thoughtfulness and worry.
Throat and Mouth
The throat may hold frustration, helplessness, disgust, and is associated with not being able to express oneself, speak out, or take responsibility for one’s life. Learn more about it in our article Throat De-Armoring.
Uterus
The uterus (womb) is associated with low self-esteem, self-identity issues, and emotional issues around femininity (womanhood), fertility, and childbirth. Armoring is generally related to having had negative genital or sexual experiences. Read more about the uterus in our article Vaginal De-Armoring.
Vagina and Vulva
The vagina and vulva may hold shame, guilt, rejection, rage, low self-esteem, and humiliation. Armoring is generally related to having had negative genital or sexual experiences. Read more about this in our article Vaginal De-Armoring.
