Somatic Therapy for Anxiety
“To get back to our core self, the wise, creative, steady, compassionate, and connected present-day self, we need to learn to be with our feelings as they happen and to trust that our bodies know what to do with them, as long as our mental and cultural stories do not get in the way.”
- Dr. Hillary McBride
Has your body ever given you a signal that you were anxious long before you had a conscious thought about the source of your worry? Have you ever experienced stress or anxiety that manifested physically through a tightening chest, a headache, or gastrointestinal symptoms? If so, you are already well aware that the mind-body connection runs deep. Nonetheless, most of us tend to focus on our minds when anxiety rises – trying to figure out the source or engaging in problem solving to find relief.
While cognitively understanding and verbalizing our emotional struggles can be useful, it is also limited. To approach our healing holistically, we must bring awareness to our whole selves – including our physical bodies. Somatic therapy is an approach to therapy that focuses on the body and how emotions manifest within the body. In essence, we use body awareness as a primary healing agent. Our bodies store memories from our past and hold great wisdom. Many times, our current selves are completely unaware that our shallow breath or closed throat is connected to events from years past.
As we begin to work somatically, we build awareness of habitual tension or unconscious movement in our bodies. We pay attention to what the body is communicating through a variety of approaches including locating feelings in the body, breathwork, movement, and more. All of this is in service of identifying and processing stored emotions. In doing so, we can create new experiences that may shift our breath patterns, posture, and gestures to move and the anxiety.
Are you curious about taking a more somatic approach to your anxiety?
Next time a wave of anxiety comes along, instead of trying to figure out why you are so anxious or moving into problem solving try:
Taking a moment to notice where you feel the anxiety in your body. It may be in your belly, throat, chest or somewhere else entirely. There is nothing to do, just notice.
Follow your breath. Notice where your breath is in your body, where it’s flowing easily, and where it’s harder to perceive. You don’t need to strive to breathe differently but you may notice that as you become aware of the breath, it often changes and many times deepens.
Move your body through dance, stretching, or whatever else calls to you. Physical movement can be powerful for releasing emotions.
Take a cold shower or take a dip in an ice bath. Strong sensory inputs grab our nervous system’s attention and can move us into more relaxed states.
Touch the Earth – literally, go outside, take your shoes off, spread your toes and connect with Mother Earth. This can be incredibly grounding.
If you would like support or are curious about integrating somatic work into therapy, reach out to learn more.