trauma-informed

a lived story explaining therapeutic somatic repatterning...

Nervous systems…

Living together…

Inevitably will find opportunities for the old unprocessed stories of danger and pain to emerge, stories of when the nervous system never got to move the body to safety, when it never got to feel the experience of being seen or heard in a way that let the whole system fully release into safety, when it never got to truly resolve and settle.

And these opportunities can create new stories of the old paradigm, history brought into present.

And the spiritbodymind can get more and more tangled. Especially when two nervous systems are both trying to deal with old unprocessed woundings. The nervous system can so easily be made to believe the thing of the past is happening again. It can FEEL like it's happening again. And when this happens patterns will play out because, without other options, this is what the sensory-nervous-motor systems of the body will do: react. When this happens the body can feel simply awful, hopeless, helpless. This kind of situation can bring out all the fight, flight, collapse patterns your nervous system has as the "tools" to try to help you deal with danger and survival. Tangles and snarls.

And i am here to tell you that this kind of situation can also be an opportunity to learn to disentangle. With practice you, fully somatic human being that you are, have more options available to you than you know!!!

You CAN learn to recognize that the current situation is an opportunity to FEEL a vibration of an old unresolved pattern that needs healing.

You can learn to recognize that to FEEL this discomfort safely you MUST ground and orient your sensory nervous system into the actual literal present (NOT the firings of the stories pushing their way into your awareness, stories that explain and justify the refiring of the old familiar patterns of fear, anger, discomfort and the resulting patterned (re)actions).

You CAN learn to listen, feel, hear when these old familiar protective patterns emerge, and to actively engage with your body so that you can safely explore what the patterns need from you TODAY that will allow them to untangle a bit and eventually to transform.

Healing at this deep level IS possible.

I know because I live this in my life. It is a process for sure. I am still learning. I still get caught up in the effects of wounding that happened long ago as if it was happening again today. I struggle with the deep pain that can surface from small misunderstandings and the reactive protective patterns. I can still feel how helpless my mind becomes when this happens and it feels like it's happening once again.

AND

I have also felt the power of the practice I described above. I have felt this practice transform the very tissues of my body and allow me to have more capacity to move and act and be more whole in the present. This practice has helped me from letting that old energy and pain fully lead my mouth and my actions in my present. I have learned that i do have the power to feel and act on my deep desire to actively be more healthy and more sane, even in times of conflict. I have learned that I can be with those parts of me that are crying out or raging for help without being taken over by them. Accessing this capacity takes practice and that practice creates space for change and healing.

I live this practice.

And in my professional life as a somatic movement therapist I support others to do the same. This, for me, is the essence of my understanding of and approach to therapeutic somatic repatterning.
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I feel like I haven’t been able to explain therapeutic somatic repatterning this clearly before outside of a one-on-one session, but a recent situation in my life helped me feel and find these words. Let me know if you have questions, are curious and want to set up a consultation to learn more. Call 573-575-MOVE or email me!


Considerations for a discussion on ANGER

The following discussion questions were created by me for use with the Trauma-Informed Parenting Support (TIPS) Group for which I am a co-facilitator. 

The TIPS group is a support group for parents/guardians who have chosen to interact with their children from a trauma-informed rather than a punitive-based approach and who seek the guidance of professional & peer support in their process.  TIPS is sponsored by HeartSpace Clinic, a not-for-profit clinic directed by my supervisor at Lawrence, Oliver and Associates, which was created for the purpose bringing quality trauma treatment to our community through services provided to individuals, families, and social systems within our community.

I am sharing these discussion questions here on the Living Life Fully blog because these questions underlie much of the perspective I bring to the movement work I offer, and is especially pertinent to the workshops I have been offering related to CONFLICT, RESILIENCE and PEACE.

Questions for a discussion on the Emotion of ANGER

Let’s consider the unique meaning for each of us when we say that we or someone else is Angry?

  1. What do you believe is the purpose of Anger, in general and in this situation?  How does the experience of Anger serve you or the person having the particular experience that resulted in the emotion of Anger?

  2. What pattern of internal body sensations do you experience and identify as being Angry?  These can be physical or metaphorical:  consider body part affected, shape of the sensations, size, temperature, texture, rhythm, pressure, weight, color, tension.

  3. What actions, voice quality or bodily changes in another person must you observe that will cause you to believe they are angry and to trigger a Fight/Fight/Freeze reaction within in you?

  4. Do you experience Fight/Flight/Freeze if someone reports that they are experiencing Anger but you do not observe the actions or bodily changes?

  5. What pattern of internal body sensations do you experience and identify when you observe Anger in another person and you have a Fight/Flight/Freeze reaction?  See suggestions of #2.

  6. What did you learn as a child in your family of origin about Anger?  What have you learned about Anger in your adult relationships?

Anger is a word that we use to describe a set of sensations we experience in response to something in our environment, something we also call an "emotion".  The emotion of anger may be a patterned response, but the sensations and bodily reactions that we experience as Anger are not voluntary.

After reviewing the questions above, ask yourself:  what can I do for myself to give myself space:

1) to notice the reactions I have to observing something I identify as Anger,

2) to give myself the space to identify Fight/Flight/Freeze reactions within myself,

3) to soothe myself so that I can

4)  more consciously be fully present and able to respond to the unspoken communications/ needs/wants of the person with whom I am interacting who is angry?

For further consideration of your relationship with emotion:  How would your answers change to the above questions if we replaced the word “anger” with one of the following words: fear, sadness, embarrassment, confusion, blame, joy, confidence, empowerment, peace?

 

Art source:  https://elisafox.deviantart.com/art/abstract-emotions-1139275