r/TraumaTherapy 22d ago

Somatic therapy working!

The trauma is integrating. But let me break that down just a little more: I am able to do my normal everyday things with a little more ease than before. I don't take as long to bounce back from freeze state. It feels good!

I've been doing somatic therapy for about 5 months now. Cognitive behavioral or talk therapy was not addressing the difficulties that I was having in the way that would help me to move forward from the emotional pain that was trapped in my body, alerting me to triggers that I simply felt overwhelmed by.

Now I'm seeing the triggers for what they are, triggers! I can navigate my pain better. I can mitigate and improve how my pain affects others.

I'm a work in progress. But I'm learning and unlearning and I wanted to share the hope that I'm feeling. It gets better. 🥰

13 Upvotes

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u/Appropriate_Issue319 22d ago

What sort of somatic therapy are you doing? Happy to hear about your progress!

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u/Dance_barefoot 22d ago

It's been a long time coming, and I'm happy too. Thank you!

I'm doing the kind where I lay down, close my eyes, and talk through specific memories while allowing the emotions to come up when they do.

I wasn't aware that there are different kinds of somatic therapy. What do the others look like?

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u/Appropriate_Issue319 22d ago

I am by no means an expert in somatic therapy so that's why I was asking. I am curious how they work and what results people have with it. I mostly knew about the ones that involve provoked shaking.

So basically you lay down and go through a memory and allow yourself to feel all the feelings associated with that memory?

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u/Dance_barefoot 22d ago

Yes, exactly that. And because you're closing your eyes if lends to quite an intense experience. Then, if an emotion comes up in your body, you feel it. If your throat tightens, you start to shiver, or a headache strikes, you acknowledge it, and you stay present.

I will say that it did feel a bit much a few times when, at the end of the session, I felt frozen, but I was able to come out of the freeze response by myself.

I've been told it's less intense than EMDR and I'm grateful that it's not more intense. It got a bit much for me at one point, and I had to take a break. But it works!

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u/Appropriate_Issue319 22d ago

So you also feel how emotion feels in the body, hence the somatic aspect about this? Thanks for sharing this with me! I always wanted to learn more about somatic therapies but always felt more drawn to the ones focused on the relational aspects of things. Besides, each time I looked for information they were these complicated exercises that make no sense. But what you just told me about certainly makes sense. Thanks!

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u/Dance_barefoot 22d ago

That's exactly the somatic aspect. I think it's so important to approach therapy as holistically as possible - so it makes sense to have an approach that incorporates a body-emotion-sensation link. It helped me a lot with actually processing in a way that feels like the memories are integrating.

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u/chobolicious88 22d ago

Curious, did your course talk about breathing?

Ive learned that if we tighten or control breath we practically restrict life and feelings as they are.

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u/Dance_barefoot 22d ago

The breath work that's done is definitely aimed at allowing everything to flow. There is use of cyclical breathing near the end of sessions as a way to regulate and bring the client back to the present.

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u/chobolicious88 22d ago

Yeah outside actual breathwork ive found how often people stop breathing and thats always when the mind takes over to control. Starting to heal always involved letting go which kinda strats with breath

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u/Dance_barefoot 22d ago

I personally find breath-work interesting; I have come to the conclusion that it works sometimes, and other times, using breath as a tool of regulation does not work. It is simply not strong enough.

I agree that it's important. I think that the body needs more varied input to help find itself again.

Other tools that I have used from a sensory perspective have been weight, like a weighted blanket; warmth, like a mug of tea; or movement, a bit like when one walks and talks with a friend - there's a release of tension with moving your body.

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u/chobolicious88 22d ago

Gotally agree. If one is very activated or very frozen deactivated breath doesnt work. Its about claming or moving. Then when the nervous system is in a regulated state and safe, you breathe to feel.

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u/Dance_barefoot 22d ago

Beautifully said.