Somatic Experiencing

“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.” – Peter A. Levine Ph.D

Our brain and body are designed to prioritise survival. When we experience threatening events, our brain adapts by developing protective strategies that are intended to defend us should a similar danger arise in the future.

When an event occurs that is too intense for our brain to process and integrate effectively, it triggers a fight-or-flight response so intense that we are unable to turn it off once the threat is over. We become stuck in an activated state with our sympathetic nervous system locked “on”, disrupting our frame of mind and our psychological, emotional, and physical stability. Unable to transition into relaxation mode and fully process the response to the event, we become traumatised.

The intensity of the shock shuts down the thinking part of our brain, and being too much for our brain to deal with, it keeps our body frozen in the past, in the moment of the event. Instead of fluctuating between natural waves of activation and calm, our brain and nervous system are instead switched to a constant state of high alert, always scanning for danger.

Since our brain did not get to place the event in the past where it belonged, stored tension patterns remain stuck in the body and are easily activated. Our body, experiencing a state of dis-ease, begins to produce (chronic) symptoms such as rapid heart rate, agitation, numbness, confusion, and digestive problems; difficulty concentrating; sleep disturbance, and unpredictable outbursts of emotion that can leave us feeling engulfed in shame, disturbed, anxious, fearful, sad, and depleted.

With trauma recovery, slower is faster.

Somatic Experiencing® supports you to connect to your body awareness in a gentle way and release high levels of energy arousal, facilitating the resolution of trauma-related body responses. As you learn how to regulate and retrain your nervous system and rework emotional and psychological responses, you will gain confidence, resilience, and a sense of empowerment to successfully navigate life.

“By enlisting the wisdom of the living, sensing body, and engaging our innate capacity to self-regulate high states of arousal and intense emotions, trauma can be transformed and healed.”

– Peter A. Levine Ph.D

You may be experiencing
  • Chronic activation – feeling anxious, easily overwhelmed, a sense of alarm and danger
  • Difficulty managing your emotions
  • A tendency to flee and withdraw or react under stress
  • Feelings of vulnerability and exhaustion
  • Confusion and trouble remembering
  • Feeling misunderstood
  • Sense of loneliness and isolation
  • Health issues, symptoms, and strong physical sensations without knowing why or where they came from
  • Feeling shut down, numb (shock), empty or dead inside
  • Feel disconnected from your power – difficulty setting boundaries and asking for what you need or feeling an inability to assert and protect yourself
  • Difficulty relaxing or taking action
Benefits:
  • Gain an understanding of the stress response and how trauma affects the brain
  • Feel more at home on the inside as you connect to your body awareness
  • Develop the ability to regulate difficult emotions and calm the nervous system gently and skillfully
  • Learn techniques to support you in dissolving blockages, releasing deeply stored tension, and integrating certain life experiences that may otherwise keep you stuck
  • Strengthen trust in yourself and feel more empowered in your decisions and actions
  • Develop confidence in setting personal boundaries regarding what is true and not true for you
  • Become less defined by your history and have greater choice about your future freedom, as you integrate the lessons learned
  • Build new neural pathways for long lasting change

To arrange a free 15-minute consultation, to book a session directly or to ask questions

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