[rainbow8]

I'm just wondering if anyone does somatic experiencing in therapy. I do, and I'd like to compare notes. Thanks.

[Travelinglady]

I don't think I do, but would you mind sharing how it works? Thanks.

[rainbow8]

Payne, thanks for replying. I wish I knew how SE works! It was "invented" by Peter Levine, who wrote a book called "Waking the Tiger". It was about how animals in the wild react to trauma. They move in certain ways, naturally, to alleviate the trauma. Dr. Levine adapted this to therapy.

My T uses it no matter what I'm talking about. She asks me what I feel in my body when I express an emotion. Usually people feel it in their stomachs, throats, chest, especially when they're anxious. Usually legs are stable, so she does a kind of grounding thing with my legs, asks how they feel? Then she'll have me imagine the lake, or look outside to get calm. Then it's back to how my body feels again. Back and forth.

If I move a certain way, like I dig my hands into the couch, she will have me do that again, very slowly. If I fidget another way, she'll have me do it more. If I want to kick my feet, she says to just "do it". She says SE will get me out of my head (she says I am always too much in my head). I didn't use to like any questions about my body but I'm getting used to it. My T thinks SE will help me a lot, more than the EMDR we used to do.

[Perna]

Good explanation of SE and how it works and how it compares to EMDR, etc.:

Somatic Experiencing

[Willowleaf]

I have body psychotherapy which sounds very similar. My t also says I need to get out of my head, but you seem to be managing much better than I am at present. My t says almost exactly the same of yours but I get very scared very quickly and can end up in a real state so we generally don't get much done. She is always encouraging me to go with any movements my body makes and at present my chest has started this weird spasm thing which I fight against and she encourages me to go with. It happens every time I relax which luckily is rare. Do you ever get scared or feel it is too much?
I'm getting better at answering questions in my body and I'm having a real try not to keep saying I don't know. She says its fine but I feel after 3 years I really ought to try and work out where feelings are.

[rainbow8]

Originally Posted by Willowleaf

I have body psychotherapy which sounds very similar. My t also says I need to get out of my head, but you seem to be managing much better than I am at present. My t says almost exactly the same of yours but I get very scared very quickly and can end up in a real state so we generally don't get much done. She is always encouraging me to go with any movements my body makes and at present my chest has started this weird spasm thing which I fight against and she encourages me to go with. It happens every time I relax which luckily is rare. Do you ever get scared or feel it is too much?
I'm getting better at answering questions in my body and I'm having a real try not to keep saying I don't know. She says its fine but I feel after 3 years I really ought to try and work out where feelings are.

Wow! I'm glad you posted to me, and I'm glad Adel started the group so we can also discuss it there. I wonder if somatic experiencing is just another term for body psychotherapy! It sure sounds like it! Did your T ever mention Peter Levine's book, Waking the Tiger? My T said that he "discovered" SE, and about how animals in the wild move.

Yes, I'm scared of the whole thing! I've seen my T for 3 years too, and I hate those "body" questions. I always used to say "I don't know" too!
I'm self-conscious when my T points out movements that I don't know I'm doing, but I'm getting more used to it. Now I tell HER when I'm digging my hands into the couch.

It's hard when it's not all talk, and my T is watching me so carefully. But I have a close relationship with her and feel safe. She made me feel safe. Do you feel safe with your T? I'm scared of where I am now, though. It's all about shame, s*x (didn't know if was okay to say without a trigger icon), intimacy, and so on. It also seems like a T who does SE/body psychotherapy works closer with clients. I had a lot of regular talk T, but they never got down on the floor with me, or pushed their chair closer or further, or did breathing with me! I want to discuss some of this in Adel's social group too.

[Asiablue]

I think i'll be doing this in my therapy but i'm only 3 sessions in so no real work started. But she has asked where i feel things in my body. It's quite hard for me, i feel like i'm saying the same places all the time... mostly in my solar plexus.

[avlady]

solar plexus, what is that if you don't mind me asking? I also shake my legs, usually when I'm relaxed for some reason, it seems just the opposite would be so, i mean wouldn't it mean I'm nervous?

[Asiablue]

Originally Posted by avlady

solar plexus, what is that if you don't mind me asking? I also shake my legs, usually when I'm relaxed for some reason, it seems just the opposite would be so, i mean wouldn't it mean I'm nervous?

Solar plexus is in the centre of your torso.

[Willowleaf]

Hi, yes it would be wonderful to have somewhere to discuss this as I always feel a bit of a freak with so much touch involved if necessary compared to the general talk sessions. I guess it works for me as I find it very hard to talk. Yes, I do trust t and at the moment my therapy is all about the lack of touch I have had my whole life and my reactions to this and other people. Not got to intimacy yet but fear it will be coming one day as I had extreme reactions to ex.
Like you some sessions are talk, others breathe work or massage etc. I love the fact that I can finally recieve some of the nurturing touch I never had but wonder if this makes my attachment to t stronger. I have been fighting it for years. Other people on here seem equally attached though without touch. What do you think? Do you often have wierd reactions to stuff?
Anyway thanks again for starting this

[rainbow8]

Originally Posted by Willowleaf

Hi, yes it would be wonderful to have somewhere to discuss this as I always feel a bit of a freak with so much touch involved if necessary compared to the general talk sessions. I guess it works for me as I find it very hard to talk. Yes, I do trust t and at the moment my therapy is all about the lack of touch I have had my whole life and my reactions to this and other people. Not got to intimacy yet but fear it will be coming one day as I had extreme reactions to ex.
Like you some sessions are talk, others breathe work or massage etc. I love the fact that I can finally recieve some of the nurturing touch I never had but wonder if this makes my attachment to t stronger. I have been fighting it for years. Other people on here seem equally attached though without touch. What do you think? Do you often have wierd reactions to stuff?
Anyway thanks again for starting this

Yes, Adel's group is going to be good!
My T doesn't want to use touch anymore though the first time we did SE she did. Before that, I used to hold her hand when we did IFS. Unfortunately, or fortunately (I know it's for my own good but hard because it felt so good) the touching kinda gets it too much about my T and not about me so we're doing it without touch. She still gets close to me emotionally and physically--more so than traditionally talk therapy. I think I answered your question about touch. Yes, it makes my attachment to my T stronger, but to confuse you I have to say that I was very attached to two other Ts, and no touch was allowed, ever! Weird reactions to stuff? I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I probably do! PM me if you want to talk about it in more detail since we don't have a forum in the social group yet.

[FinallyAlive]

Hey guys, I’m new here and feel compelled to share my experiences with this therapy as I’m getting stunning results at the moment! Thanks to ranbow8 for staring this thread - it’s really important.

I’ve been doing SE for 2.5 years now. I was lucky enough to find a great therapist here in Barcelona, Spain, following years of therapy and medications. I haven’t had any therapy for 18 months as my therapist retired, but the process continues in it’s natural way and I have a sense it will reach a point of completion in the not too distant future.

I know one of the mechanisms of SE is the rhythmic regulation/disregulation of the autonomic nervous system by the therapist. This seems to gradually bring the system back into a more regulated state over time, whilst somewhat magically releasing stuck emotional energy bit by bit along the way.

One of the things that appears to be happening at the moment in my body is the reconditioning of the vagus nerve(s). This nerve is connected to nearly all the organs of the body including the heart, lungs and digestive system, and is responsible for relaying messages of ‘you’re safe, it’s ok to rest and digest now’ to the organs. The nerve has a tone associated with it and if this is poor it is at least partially responsible for causing all sorts of problems in this area of the body, which consequently can worsen mental health problems.

Somatic experiencing seems to have unlocked this natural healing process, just as Peter Levine claims. At the moment it’s not always comfortable to do it, but given my history I’m not so surprised that it’s like this. The feeling is coming back into the torso, and of course with that are all the painful sensations that I’ve been hiding from for so long that have led to the body to being in this state! My work now is sit down and ‘get out of the way’. This involves learning to tolerate uncomfortable bodily sensations and breaking the connection between these and the mind. They are after all just normal bodily sensations that are there for a reason, but the mind, as we know, likes to make up all sorts of dramatic stories which are not helpful!

The psychological effects of this process are incredible. Mood has gradually lifted, anxiety/fear/anger have dropped massively and I’m able to observe them in the body when they do arise now which lets them pass. Self-esteem has greatly improved, presence/consciousness has increased such that I have a sense of being ‘here’ which really amplifies the experience of life. Brain fog continues to lift so cognitive functioning has improved also.

At the beginning of the process (Oct 2015), for a long time there was a lot of shaking in the hands and limbs. As it has progressed this has moved inwards, such that now I can feel (and therefore allow it) in the solar plexus, which is the core of my emotional stability. As this area settles and calms over time emotional regulation naturally improves so the emotions are more stable, less intense and most importantly I can observe them now. Previously I would get angry in a fraction of second, but now I can usually feel/see this happening. I can then divert my attention to the emotion in the body and hold it, by accepting it, and it will quickly pass. I think this process is now becoming automatic which is how it should work. My body/mind had forgotten how to do this!

Like many here I have a complex history and have tried many different therapies to heal significant depression, anxiety + IBS symptoms from childhood trauma and later addictions. Years of psychotherapy was necessary and helpful, but I can see now that it was only half the story, hence it’s limited success in my case. Medications have had some short terms benefits but in the long term have made everything far worse and horrible withdrawal experiences have destabilised my nervous system massively - but, the Somatic experiencing seems to be reversing that

I hope this is an inspiration to you guys as SE really can work!