When our body experiences trauma, it protects us by entering survival mode, and firing the “fight or flight” response in our nervous system. This response is now called the “fight, flight, freeze, or fawn” response, with an expanded selection of survival methods. With this understanding of the human nervous system, we  find that survival is a complex process and hardwired into us. 

In a traumatic experience, the nervous system keeps you alive and gets you to safety. Once the trauma is over, ideally, the nervous system would relax and function adaptively and appropriately. Many people experience post-traumatic stress, and continue to feel harmful effects on their body and life. This is seen in acute, chronic, and complex cases of traumatic experiences.

Common Symptoms:

• flashbacks, intrusive thoughts

• hypervigilance, anxiety

• feeling numb, disconnected from bodily sensations

Somatic Experiencing may be helpful for you, as an alternative to traditional talk therapy. This body oriented approach aims to process trauma, release tension, and reconnect to bodily sensations. 

Common exercises in Somatic Experiencing: assessing your window of tolerance, titration, pendulation, resourcing, exploring inner sensations, self soothing, breath work.