We’re in a great transition time for mental health. It’s gaining more acceptance and recognition within the healthcare and wellness fields. Thanks in part to social media, more importance is being placed on tending to our mental health to ensure we’re the best version of ourselves.
One often overlooked aspect of mental health is the mind and body connection. There’s a great focus on how certain conditions, like PTSD or depression, can affect your emotional state and cognition. But what about how they manifest in physical form?
Somatic release therapy can help bridge that gap.
What Is Somatic Release Therapy?
Somatic release therapy is an approach that makes what’s happening within the body the central focus point. The goal of treatment is to locate physical tension and trauma being stored in the body, and then work to release it.
When we experience trauma, certain memories and emotions can become stuck. These stuck memories hold a place within our physical body and can then go on to cause symptoms and other ailments.
The Somatic Release Foundation
When we think of mental health, we often go right to the mind being affected. It’s in the title after all. But the mind oftentimes isn’t the only thing impacted.
Somatic release therapy branches from the idea of somatic experiencing. There is a connection between your mind and body, and the physical body is also capable of holding on to negative experiences.
Stressors trigger a stress response, sending our bodies into a fight-or-flight mode. Depending on the situation and your personal experience with it, your nervous system can become dysregulated. Typically, your system should return back to a status quo state once the stress has passed. However, it’s possible for your system to remain altered.
Key Principles of Somatic Release Therapy
Understanding Body Awareness
In order for this therapy to be effective, you need to be in touch with your body and what’s going on. Working with somatic release therapy, you’ll be encouraged to improve your bodily awareness. The sensations you feel at certain times matter. Where your tension or pain points are is important. These may be manifestations of trauma.
Accessing Stored Emotions
As you work through therapy sessions, you’ll be accessing and processing emotions that you might not realize you have. They’ve either been suppressed for so long that you forgot about them, or you’ve been actively choosing to avoid them. By doing so, you’ve given them the power to cause physical symptoms, if you will.
Creating a Safe Space
Opening up and becoming vulnerable is hard, especially when it comes to deeply rooted memories and trauma. One key aspect of somatic release therapy is developing a good rapport with your therapist and establishing a safe space to share your thoughts and feelings.
Integration
Once you start opening up and processing through some of these memories, the next step is to work towards a level of integration. You’re essentially putting puzzle pieces together to help bring clarity to the bigger picture. It’s a collaborative effort to see how your trauma and memories are linked to your physiological symptoms.
Benefits of Use
Somatic release therapy isn’t isolated to trauma recovery. This approach has been effective in treating chronic stress, tension, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, panic disorders, certain movement-related conditions, and recovery after injury.
Engaging with somatic release therapy will help strengthen (or create) the connection between your mind and body to promote a greater level of well-being. You’ll gain resiliency for facing future challenges. Working through any past traumas or negative experiences will help you truly heal from them.
Next Step
Somatic release therapy is an alternative and holistic approach to finding healing on your journey. It truly hones in on the intimate yet often overlooked relationship between your mind and body.
Are you considering somatic therapy? To explore our services and start your connection, reach out to us to set up an free consultation today.
