Somatic Therapy: A Possible Solution To Ingrained Trauma Responses?
Do you still feel stuck after months or years of traditional talk therapy?
A few months ago I was talking to my therapist about a frequent conundrum I found myself in. I would be triggered by something and after a few moments, I could mentally battle myself into a safe and secure headspace. I could bring my awareness to the present moment and mentally rationalize what was happening. But my body, that was a whole different story.
My body would be slowly sinking into trauma responses. I could feel my body shut down as my brain viciously battled to keep us afloat. To no avail, my body would slowly but surely drag my brain down into the deep, dark depths of C-PTSD. Despite my brain’s best effort, my body and nervous system couldn’t attach themselves to the calming signals my brain was sending. The back of my neck would get hot. My stomach crushed by a metal hand. My entire body feeling as if weights had been dropped on it and I was left, concealed in a force field of fear.
When I brought this up to my therapist, she told me about somatic therapy and recommended I seek it out. She explained how so much trauma is stored in the body and (un)fortunately for us intelligent creatures, the body has a wonderful memory.
