The mind-body connection is more profound than most people would believe. The body and mind’s ability to communicate and store memories are why so many have emotional or physical reactions to situations or people.
Taking care of the mind-body connection becomes vital when coping with past trauma. Somatic therapy guides people to release past trauma from the body and mind.
What Is Somatic Therapy?
The mind-body approach to healing is the foundation of somatic therapy. Memories of traumatic experiences can affect your physical and mental well-being. Because your body holds onto the pain of your traumatic experience, physical symptoms like chronic pain, anxiety, depression, or other bodily sensations can be pervasive. In some cases, your physical and emotional symptoms can increase and feel like they’ll never go away.
While talk therapy is effective in many situations, somatic therapy includes tapping into your body’s intelligence. For example, your therapist can combine traditional talk therapy with movement therapy. You link the body with the mind by engaging your body in treatment. These movements can help change how you think or feel about current situations. Therapists use somatic therapy to ease:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Grief
- Stress
- Abuse
- Trauma
- Addiction
Additionally, the physical symptoms (disturbances in sleep patterns, digestive issues, or pain) resulting from the above emotions are, for some people, alleviated.
How Does the Body-Mind Connection Work?
Take a moment and think about animals. They live in the moment. When they’re facing life-or-death situations, they are capable of noticing and reacting to trauma. Being present in the moment also means they experience and release their feelings.
Somatic therapy aims to put you in touch with the experiences, feelings, and emotions connected to your past issues. For example, have you ever felt dread or wanted to avoid certain places, people, or dates? You may experience increased emotions because those are triggers for past trauma. For instance, when you are approaching an anniversary of a traumatic event (the death of a loved one, assault, or witnessing violence), you may feel physically ill. This is because your body has stored the pain from that event. By engaging your body and mind in therapy, you increase the potential of releasing the pain and shifting your perspective.
What Should I Expect During a Session?
Combining talk therapy with physical forms of treatment can increase awareness of memories. By reviving your past trauma, your therapist can discuss the event and watch how your body responds to the memory. Physical forms of therapy like meditation, yoga, or conscious breathwork reduce or relieve the symptoms. As you progress in your treatment, you will learn to connect physical and emotional responses to situations. Once you make these connections, you can regulate your response by using healthy coping skills.
The mind-body connection affects how people react to or process situations. For example, past traumatic events can leave long-lasting physical or emotional wounds. When this trauma goes unprocessed, it can cause physical symptoms like sleep disturbances, digestive issues, and other bodily discomforts. Fortunately, healing is possible. Somatic therapy reconnects the mind, body, and spirit. Activities like yoga or conscious breathwork are catalysts to your well-being. The Guest House combines traditional talk therapy with somatic therapy so that you can find your way to better mental and physical health. Because our location is away from the pressures of the city, you can immerse yourself in peace and health. We welcome your questions about our programs or our 52-acre estate near Ocala, Florida. To speak with us today, call The Guest House at (855) 483-7800.