Understanding the profound connection between emotions and memory recall is essential to effective therapy and personal growth. Emotions—those primal, automatic responses—serve as intuitive signals that alert us to what matters deeply within us. Feelings, on the other hand, are the stories, beliefs, and narratives we consciously craft about those visceral signals—labels like “I am anxious,” “I am loved,” or “I am unworthy”—shaped by our memories, perceptions, and stories over time.
In the context of therapy, the ability to access and understand the interplay between emotions and memories allows for powerful healing. Neuroscientific research reveals that emotions and memories are stored in interconnected brain regions, particularly the amygdala and hippocampus. The amygdala, responsible for visceral emotional reactions such as fear or joy, tags memories with emotional significance, facilitating the reactivation of those responses during recall. When we revisit a past event—whether through therapy or introspection—the brain reactivates those visceral, emotional responses, bringing them into the present.
The Neurobiology of Emotions and Memory Recall
When you recall an emotionally charged memory, your brain reconstructs both the memory itself and the visceral emotional response associated with it. The hippocampus retrieves contextual details, while the amygdala re-engages visceral responses—such as a racing heart during a traumatic memory or a warm feeling during moments of love. This process allows us to re-experience emotions in ways that are often felt intensely because they are reactivated at a visceral level, even if the memory itself is not happening in real-time.
This neurobiological process illustrates that emotions are stored as part of our memories—like embedded signals—waiting to be reawakened. These visceral signals influence perceptions, beliefs, and reactions, both past and present, contributing to our emotional and mental health.
The Power of Memory and Emotions in Therapeutic Healing
In therapy, deliberate access to visceral emotions during memory recall helps process unresolved trauma, grief, or shame. When clients vividly re-experience visceral responses—such as fear, anger, or sadness—they are given an opportunity to understand, in a safe context, the stories and beliefs that sustained those reactions. This process allows for re-parenting or reframing old narratives, fostering healing and growth.
For example, recollecting feelings of abandonment may evoke strong visceral signals of loneliness and fear. Recognizing these visceral reactions enables the therapist and client to explore the stories fueling those emotions—stories of unworthiness or betrayal—and modify them for healthier self-perception.
Learning from Actors: Accessing and Regulating Visceral Responses
Actors are the consummate masters of visceral expression. Their craft demonstrates that visceral responses—raw, physical reactions—are accessible and manageable through focused awareness and physical regulation.
- Access and Authenticity: Actors use sense memory and emotional recall to vividly re-experience feelings—grief, rage, or tenderness—making their performances authentic. This shows that visceral responses are stored and accessible for conscious regulation.
- Physical Regulation: Actors control their breathing, posture, and gestures to regulate visceral energy, enabling them to sustain or soften emotions as the scene demands.
- Narrative Crafting: Actors build stories around visceral responses—seeing pain as growth or anger as justice—that shape feelings and influence their physical responses.
- Presence and Discipline: Actors stay present with visceral responses, managing their intensity through breathwork and physical awareness—principles that can be applied in personal practice and therapy.
From actors, we learn that visceral responses can be intentionally accessed and regulated—turning raw emotion into tools for healing and growth.
Applying These Lessons to Personal Therapy
We can incorporate actor techniques into therapy and self-awareness practices:
- Access visceral responses: Use imagery, visualization, or body awareness exercises to vividly access visceral feelings tied to stored memories.
- Label visceral signals: Recognize the physical signals of visceral reactions—tightness, trembling, shallow breathing—and label them to create psychological distance.
- Reframe narratives: Recognize that feelings are stories; challenge narratives rooted in shame, fear, or self-blame, and craft healthier stories about those visceral responses.
- Physical regulation: Employ grounding techniques—deep breathing, movement, touch—to regulate visceral energy—calming anxiety or anger.
- Experience and process: Welcome visceral reactions as meaningful signals rather than suppressing or avoiding them—then reflect, reframe, or express creatively.
The Power of Visceral and Narrative Integration
Authentic healing involves recognizing that visceral responses are accessible signals of the subconscious—stories that have been stored and reinforced over time. When we consciously access visceral reactions and craft empowering stories around them, we facilitate healing and change.
Actors exemplify that visceral responses and stories are powerful tools for transformation. Their craft shows us that:
- Visceral signals are accessible and can be deliberately accessed through visualization and physical awareness.
- Storytelling influences feelings, shaping perceptions about ourselves and our past experiences.
- Regulating visceral responses—through breath, movement, and mindfulness—allows us to transform raw emotion into a source of strength and insight.
By learning to access visceral signals—such as tension, trembling, or a racing heart—and to craft empowering narratives around those signals, we can rewrite old stories of pain, shame, or fear. This process transforms emotional pain into self-awareness, resilience, and growth.
The Journey of Emotional and Memory Integration in Healing
The science and craft of actors demonstrate that visceral responses are not just primal reactions but accessible and manageable signals—resources for healing. Their discipline reveals that:
- Visceral responses are natural, instinctive signals that can be consciously accessed with practice.
- Stories about those visceral responses—our feelings—shape our perceptions and beliefs, either reinforcing old wounds or fostering new growth.
- Regulation techniques such as mindfulness, breathing, and physical awareness empower us to process, transform, and integrate visceral signals and narratives.
Applying these principles in therapy or personal practice involves cultivating awareness, acceptance, and deliberate storytelling to facilitate emotional healing and growth.
Final Reflection: Living with Visceral Truth and Narrative Power
The science of emotions and memory reveals an essential truth: visceral responses—our primal signals—are the gateway to self-awareness and transformation. When we learn to access and regulate visceral signals consciously, and craft stories of growth around them, we unlock a powerful resource for healing.
Actors show us that emotional responses are accessible and controllable tools—resources for healing, creativity, and authentic living. Their craft demonstrates that visceral energy, when guided with awareness, can fuel lasting change. By embracing visceral signals and transforming stories of pain into narratives of resilience, we foster emotional mastery.
Ultimately, our visceral responses and stories shape who we are and who we become. When we listen deeply to our visceral signals, acknowledge their messages, and craft narratives rooted in compassion and strength, we participate in a process of continual healing and self-discovery. We turn raw emotion into sources of insight, resilience, and authentic growth—living in alignment with our deepest truths and highest potential.
In this way, mastering the interplay between visceral signals and narrative stories is not only the path to emotional wholeness but also the gateway to a richer, more authentic, and more resilient life.
Copyright 2025, All Rights Reserved Simon-Elliott Blake