How Somatic Experiencing (SE) Resolves Chronic Tension and Stress
If you’ve been grappling with chronic tension and pain, and despite trying various approaches, you find no lasting relief, the root issue may not be purely physical. It might be rooted in accumulated stress and unresolved events from your past.
Delving into the realm of your nervous system could be the key to releasing this tension. I’ll illustrate this with an example in a sec.
First, let's understand that when something triggers stress, or your fight-or-flight reaction, that is your nervous system in action.
But if, for some reason, you can't physically act upon that fight-or-flight impulse, the energy remains trapped within you as an incomplete impulse.
Over time, that incomplete impulse can manifest as chronic body tension, lingering aches, or mysterious pains.
While practices like chiropractic/acupuncture, talk therapy, or dietary adjustments are beneficial, they don’t provide the specific kind of process that is necessary for these past events to work their way out of your nervous system.
I had a very successful long-term acupuncture practice, so I intimately know both the benefits and limits of that and other alternative therapies.
About five years ago, while looking for new ways to effectively remove the obstacles to fulfillment in life, I started working regularly with a coach who incorporated Somatic Experiencing (SE) and that's part of why I'm here doing this now.
Anyway, SE is a trauma healing modality that is an appropriate choice when you need to release and resolve these kinds of stored and incomplete activations that I referred to above.
It not only helps in resolving past issues, but it also equips you with a path of resilience in dealing with stressors in the future.
I’ll provide a very simplistic example of how I use SE shortly, just to give a sense of the work, although I want to mention first that it can be way more nuanced, complex and layered than this.
Like, we might be working with an accident or injury, an overwhelming time when you had to deal with everything all by yourself, or another type of painful event— physically, emotionally, mentally or otherwise.
So for the simple example, let’s say you're experiencing a tight jaw and high stress levels, and it’s impacting your sleep, mood, and energy. You've tried numerous things to help, but nothing seems to bring lasting relief.
Imagine being guided to a place of calm, curious and centered willingness to explore.
And from that place, you feel an intense impulse to crack your neck.
(You know, you see people habitually cracking joints, or bouncing their leg all the time… these are accumulated energies looking for release.)
But instead of cracking your neck like you habitually do... I guide you to slow way down and actually FEEL THE IMPULSE to crack it.
Maybe we also play with moving your head in and out of the direction of the cracking, but very, very slowly…
By doing this, you don’t feel the immediate sense of relief when the joint pops, but more feelings and sensations arise and actually intensify!
And even though it’s a bit uncomfortable for a short time, your presence and experiencing of these sensations is exactly what is needed for them to peak and then shift into a state of discharge and release.
Then you begin to feel a wave of warm energy floating down from the back of your neck into and out of your arms, wrists, hands and fingers. Your cheeks get rosy, you feel warm and sweat a little. Maybe also a cry, or a laugh, or a series of yawns… all signs of a true release from your nervous system.
Please note that this example doesn't include the layers of memories or other feelings like fear, that can be also present, but they do get addressed as well.
SE is a process that follows your body’s amazing ability to heal at it's own pace, where nothing is forced or sought out.
It's like stepping outside of the "story" you might want to tell about your tension, or the quick fix movements that don’t actually help… and instead is a turning inward to the body's sensations so they can do what they need to, in order to resolve and complete.
That’s why it’s important to do this with someone who can guide your process and direct you to continually return to and resource from the calm, centered place within— rather than getting sucked into a negative vortex of the mind.
That vortex is very compelling, tricky, and not very helpful.
Working with coaches or therapists who are not skilled in trauma healing (or even minimally trauma-informed) can result in getting more upset from trying things that don’t actually help, while thinking they should help so something must be wrong with you (shame). They can also invite you to relive past events without a safe and effective way to release the energy, deepening the hold it all has on you.
Choose wisely.
SE is a primary tool I incorporate into my healing and growth sessions with clients, because this kind of process can liberate a tremendous amount of stuck energy, which can then be channeled into the experiences that you want to have, that bring you joy, expression and fulfillment.
While I don't guarantee complete relief from pain for reasons too numerous to state here, relieving the accumulated stress and completing unresolved past events in the way I described in this post shifts you into a state of healing and restoration—a priceless gift for your day-to-day life.
You might even find this work surpasses your hopes and expectations, creating space for you grow in ways you currently don’t have the capacity for.
If you're intrigued by having coaching sessions that incorporate somatic healing, I offer an Initial 3 Session package for you to experience what it’s like and to begin reaping its benefits, without a big commitment.
Although I will say that most of my clients who begin this way find it so impactful that they continue to work with me after the first set of sessions for an on-going period of time, because they can easily see measurable changes in their life, and it’s simply so supportive.
Reach out via email if you'd like to explore this further.
