Somatic Integration
Overwhelmed by stress, you’re feeling it in your body.
Unsure how to proceed or what to do – you need relief from the stress you’ve been carrying. Your diet has changed, anxious thoughts disrupt your sleep, your senses are heightened. Now you’re jumping when the doorbell rings, shuttering at a honking car, and feeling physical pain when you hear someone cry.
The change in the last year has you feeling exhausted, anxious, and continually ready for the next ball to drop. You’ve realized you’re close to the end of your rope, and you need help climbing out of the valley.
You’ve been trying different things, doing your best to cope. With constant reminders of your stress through various triggers in your environment, your stress is accumulating. You may feel shut down and numb.
Unchecked stress will change your mind and body.
Discouraged, you believe you’re failing at living a satisfying life. Feeling shut down by your stress, you consider withdrawing more or numbing the pain through a common coping behavior like overeating or drinking. You’re aware these behaviors cause your body to feel worse over time, but you just don’t know how to stop the moving train of short-term comfort.
Prolonged emotional, mental, and spiritual stress can present as physical symptoms. Stress experienced in your body may show up as tension in the shoulders, increased fatigue, or hyperactivity, all of which can be directly related to unprocessed emotions or situations. While you’re wondering why you’ve been having sleep disturbances, food or substance cravings, a foggy mind, or reduced motivation – therapy is here to help.
Sometimes, our accumulated stress makes our brains and bodies do weird things. When feeling overwhelmed, we can be left disconnected, scared, and alone. This loneliness is dangerous because it has the potential to convince us we don’t belong.
So you’ve been on auto-pilot, trying to soothe your discomfort, resorting to various behaviors you’ve learned over time to get by. These automatic behaviors are problematic because they are not helping you get to the root of your stress. Together, we can get you more connected with body awareness and mental skills that lead you to long-term comfort.
The mind and body are interconnected.
They are hardwired to protect us from danger, real and perceived.
Built to interact with each other and the environment, our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs are continually communicating with our bodies. Over time, our bodies may get stuck in a response of running toward stress or freezing because of stress overwhelm.
Your body “remembers” what your mind doesn’t.
Your brain is busy protecting you from painful events and stressful circumstances by focusing on something else. This is a valid way to cope, but over time it can have you feeling empty. You may notice that your body responds in a state of stress, while your mind may be unmoved by a clear trigger. It is important to understand how your body responds to stress to restore your mind and body’s connection.
The body is amazingly intuitive and knows how to meet its needs.
From infancy, our bodies engage certain behaviors in the environment to get particular needs met – like crying when there is a need for comfort, reaching out when hungry, and slowing breathing when at rest. Every day of your life, your needs will continue to present throughout your body.
You need comfort now. You and your loved ones have noticed you’re easily moved to tears one day and emotionally checked out the next. You’re hungry for support to regulate your emotions and support for your body to have the rest it needs.
Together, we can heal your connection between your mind and body, so you have an increased capacity to self-soothe, which begins with a compassionate and understanding relationship.
Somatic integration reconnects mind and body.
While your thoughts may keep you trapped in behaviors you don’t like, your underlying beliefs may be outdated and no longer true. Take a moment to consider how your personal beliefs and behaviors are being carried out in your body today… from the way you move to the way you dress, the way you look at your body.
Somatic integration is complementary to talk therapy. It is a technique employed as you are ready, and it can integrate a range of modalities – psychoeducation, body awareness exercises, breathing, meditation, guided visualization, and movement. The benefits of somatic integration are many, most notably an overall increase in well-being.
My clients choose somatic integration because they are ready for relief from their stress and desire a more loving, trusting relationship with themselves. They are ready to feel freedom from their history being played out over and over.
With safety and compassion, we’ll restore your mind-body relationship.
Establishing a connection…
The first thing we’ll do is get really curious about your stress. What triggers your stress response? Where is it showing up in your body?
Wherever it is, this part of your body is trying to tell you something, and together, we’ll explore what that might be. We will do this at a pace that is safe for you.
I strive to cultivate a therapeutic environment where your needs are consistently heard and honored. It all starts with our relationship.
Using the body as a conduit for healing the mind…
Learning to be present in our bodies takes practice – we practice this presence in therapy with stress-reduction tools to slow breathing and quiet the mind’s chatter. With greater awareness of the body’s needs and increased communication between your mind and body, you can experience stress reduction and increased confidence in your ability to self-regulate.
Helping you do uncomfortable things…
…facing your fears about what may emerge, together – identifying your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. We will establish your “safe space” and use a “container” as needed to place a boundary around what you need a break from processing. Through our partnership and co-regulation, you can find stability and courage to continue healing as you face your discomfort.
Together, we can face it all for your transformation and healing.
Inviting curiosity and introspection…
My trauma-informed approach, built on personal and professional practice with stress and recovery, invites curiosity and introspection at a pace that allows body autonomy. Encouraging your healing journey through your ongoing consent, I will invite you to ask questions and listen for answers in your body. Whenever I notice you drifting from connection with your body, I will gently help you remain oriented to yourself, remaining curious about what is triggering a change in state.
Giving you tools for developing your mind-body connection…
You’ll develop tools for listening to your body, hearing signs of stress, and heeding your body’s calls for rest or stimulation as needed.
These tools – whether implemented through compassionate communication with yourself, commitment to daily gentle movement, or processing stress in your safe space – can restore peace and calm in your body and all areas of your life.
This is about your healing and living authentically!
That’s the outcome when you restore your relationship with your mind and body.
By partnering with a practitioner experienced in somatic integration and trauma treatment, you’re choosing to face your stress and find a sense of belonging as you heal. Kudos to you for your courage.
I’m here to remind you of who you are by helping you turn inward to your mind and body – to help you love and trust yourself… so you can be your best self.
Call me today so we can get started. In a free consultation, we’ll talk about what you need to heal: (720) 593-2280.