When talk therapy isn't enough

I’ve spent my share of time in talk therapy, and I learned some fabulous things from it. I made connections that really re-framed things about my pattern and relationships, and those have affected my life for the better. But often, I would get to a point where there was something missing. I would talk about the same issues, recognize the same patterns, understand the trauma that initiated the pattern, but somehow, things would not change.

What I finally grew to understand is that I needed the body to be involved. Our trauma can be understood by the brain, but it must be processed and released through the body, because that is where we store it.

“But Odelia,” you might say, “the brain is part of the body.”

Yes of course, and practices like EMDR work with the brain on a more physical level, rather than simply putting thoughts together. And when I say “body, the brain is part of it. But it is not the whole picture.

Here is an example:

I had a friend (let’s call her Beth) who had a flinching response to being touched on the head. Anyone who went to casually play with her hair, or brush a leaf off that had landed on her head was in for a violent response. She’d cut her own hair since she was a teenager and wouldn’t wear hats.

She shared with me that her father used to knock a magazine on the top of her head as a punishment. She knew this to be the root. She’d spent years in therapy processing the trauma mentally. She’d come to a place of forgiveness and acceptance towards her father, yet the physical response would not disappear. Because it needed to be addressed through movement, eventually even touch, in order to actually clear her system. Luckily, she did find Somatic therapy and processed this trauma through her body and now, she is the proud owner of an untriggered head…

If you have issues that you feel are not resolving or healing in traditional talk therapy, please consider Somatic Therapy.

If you’d like to learn more about it, click HERE to book a free 20 minute consultation.

Now for some food for thought on the effect breathing has on the body.

Noticing the effect of the breath on the body can be deeply grounding. It’s a helpful way to pay attention to our bodies. But what does it mean to feel the breath move through your body? And why is it so effective to tune into this process?

Consider for a moment the miraculous autonomic process of breathing. Your rib cage grows and shrinks. Your diaphragm depresses and expands. Your organs also shift and adapt as you breathe. The spine elongates on the inhale and shortens on the exhale. This affects the pelvis, which affects the legs and arms. Everything in our body changes with each inhale or exhale. 

Take a moment now to take a few breaths. With each breath, try to notice each of the ways your body changes. This is a way to notice the skeleton, muscle, bone, fascia, skin, organs, and lungs all in one ongoing, autonomic action.

What do you notice when you tune into your breathing in this way?