This isn’t metaphorical. When your nervous system detects threat, stress, or overwhelm, your body prepares for action — tighten, brace, hold, contain. If that action doesn’t complete (movement, discharge, expression), the tension often stays. Not as a memory you think about, but as posture, tightness, restlessness, fatigue, or numbness. This is why some men feel “fine” mentally but can’t relax physically. So here’s the question — no analysis needed: When you slow down, where does your body still feel like it’s holding something? Neck. Jaw. Chest. Gut. Hips. Legs. Or nowhere at all. You don’t have to explain it. You don’t have to make meaning of it. Noticing is the work. Awareness in the body is where emotional regulation actually begins.

Take a moment and answer this only for yourself Right now, I’m mostly operating from: A) Tension B) Numbness C) Control D) Calm E) I’m not sure F) Something else No story required. No fixing required. Awareness comes before change — always. If you want to respond, one letter is enough but you can share more if you feel the need. If not, just notice what came up. That’s the work.