Somatic Therapy Benefits: An Alternative Approach to Talk Therapy

By April Lyons MA, LPC

Somatic therapy benefits are real.

Life is hard at times. And when it gets particularly difficult it can become too much for our nervous systems to handle, especially if we can’t resolve what’s happened to us. For some, this leads to a total inability to cope. But most of us simply experience a decline in emotional or physical release, satisfaction, or resilience.

The quality of life declines and you need your equilibrium restored. But what kind of help is most effective? Must you spend hours of time with a therapist going over the painful circumstances that threw your mind and body into such upset?

Thankfully, no. There’s more than one way to heal. Somatic therapy is an excellent alternative to traditional talk therapy. Somatic therapy benefits are increasingly well-known and praised among therapists and researchers. As so much as, those practitioners acknowledge the powerful connection between the body and the brain. Both the body and the mind rely on that connection to heal. Words may or may not play a role. Somatic therapy methods gently transform difficult experiences. That way, they may be processed and resolved in the body and mind without rehashing the events. 

Let’s consider several somatic therapy benefits in detail.

Reframe the pain

Putting your trauma in a new, body-centered framework can completely change the way you understand and cope with your perceptions and experiences. For example, seeing your chronic illness, pain or tension as stuck, unresolved responses to the past or anxiety about the future can be very helpful and insightful. In addition, you’ll likely find that you feel more in control of your body and willing to take steps to reclaim its ideal functioning.

Reduce discomfort, strain, and anxiety

Somatic therapy improves physical as well as emotional expression. As your work progresses you’ll see that somatic therapy benefits the body’s ability to process feelings. As well as, restore normal fight and flight responses in a complete way. You’ll feel and notice sensations fully, with nothing stuck or stifled.

Discomfort and physical tension will fade as you broaden your sense of self-awareness, feel more able to trust your perceptions, and capably identify healthy and unhealthy sensations. In essence, you’ll feel more comfortable in your own skin and anxiety tied to the past or trauma will dissipate.

Increase stress tolerance and resilience

Somatic therapy benefits the mind in that it helps recognize what is safe and what isn’t. Allowing you to increase the ability to remain present, as sensations pass through. Also, you become open to exploring those sensations. Avoidance and judgment are not in the way. As a result, you become more adaptable to stresses and uncertainty, trusting your body to manage it well.

Enhance calm and ability to self-soothe

Somatic symptoms, again, indicate unresolved energy “stuck” in the body. As you notice the symptoms and sensations, you can also tap into your natural self-protective energy. Increased awareness allows for knowing that actual danger is done and promotes the ability to breathe, think, visualize, etc to allow the energy to move

Boost positivity, clarity, and confidence

A sense of your own power may have been lost to the pain of your experiences. Luckily, intentionally releasing the tensions inside your body can restore hope that you can control your life. As well as, enter healthy relationships. Allowing the future to open up as you recognize the power of your breath and bodywork. Your physical presence and its capabilities feel less at the mercy of life. Your body is an active agent of the goals you set and the changes you want to make.

Finally...

Sometimes our bodies just don’t have the time or ability to finish a response to a frightening or unexpected experience. The energy that wasn't released doesn’t have to live inside and constantly upset you. You don’t have to revisit the upset repeatedly to get it out. Somatic therapy benefits are clear and the advantage of its techniques are increasing. The link between what we experience mentally and absorb physically is powerful.You can function well… with as few words as you like. Let me help. Contact me soon to find relief.

If you are, considering somatic therapy, please contact me for a free consultation.

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