Trauma Makes Somatic Excersizes Impossible?

[CiaraL]

Second post, not a member yet.
I'm 19. As a child and younger teenager I was regularly emotionally and often physically abused. It also sometimes took the form of sexual abuse/harassment. Nothing extreme every happened me but these things build up especially since they happened for such a prolonged period of time.

Hence, I have c-trauma. I don't cry, I shake and stutter. I've nearly fainted in therapy and once I actually did.

He says I could really benefit from somatic excersizes and I think he's right. The problem is, I feel really inhibited trying them. I think this strongly links back to the things I went through as a kid. Particularly The constant comments and insults I had about my looks and body. As well as that, the physical and few sexual harassments Ive had probably factor too.

Id say my therapist is possibly a bit confused as to why I am resisting somatic therapy considering how driven I am in all other aspects of therapy. Of course, as per my last thread, I won't be seeing him for a month: but when I come back I really want to make the next step forward for recovery.

 

[Em C.]

As a child and younger teenager I was regularly emotionally and often physically abused.

Hi Ciara I'm Emma! I'm the same. Is there any way you can guide yourself into it in baby steps? It would only be one on one right? Thinking that if your therapist makes any of the comments you've experienced you can fire and sue him/her may help. Have you told your therapist about your reasoning? Not sure how the guest thing works but feel free to PM me :) I'm 20 so I know how it is being this age and trying to deal

 

[Friday]

I suspect that's the whole point of SE... That it's difficult... Or it wouldn't be necessary or useful. Right?

 

[Chava]

Talk to your therapist about it and what parts feel difficult. Complex trauma sufferer here, too, and with a little initial awkwardness, a somatic focus is actually more helpful to me than talk therapy. It means I do have to work carefully at being connected vs disconnected to my body and I think that is a big deal in trauma recovery. I can't feel safe in my own skin without some of these newer tools. I actually feel really really lost and unsupported in talk therapy because my major traumas were very early and half or unconscious. I don't have anything to "say"...it's all just stuck in my body. I've only been able to cry in somatic type therapy and that took months, but it felt okay and normal then. That all being said, it probably helps that I trust my therapist with this. Maybe I wouldn't trust a different person or someone who tried to rush it or just slap it on as an extra tool. I don't know. But for me the somatic approach is absolutely essential. I won't go back to regular sit-in-a-chair-and-talk-about-stuff therapy.

My therapist does Somatic Experiencing and has some other body-focused therapy credentials. So early on I did a little research about this approach in connection to trauma. I think even in standard talk therapy, some of the better trauma therapists make good use of "grounding" skills that relate to somatic sense and feeling present within our bodies. But you could research "somatic therapy for trauma" or something similar in google if interested. And for sure bring your concerns and questions about somatic work to your therapist, including what he's talking about or more specifically how you can work on that in your therapy.

Give it a shot. If the exercises are truly impossible, let your therapist know so he can try a different approach or back up. Like I said, it shouldn't feel horrible or overwhelming. And I say this as having been a pained, self-injuring, suicidal, numbed-out, drunk, anorexic...totally disembodied. On my own this sort of practice would have been overwhelming. But I really value developing a healthy connection to my body, so a therapist that is trained to work with that has really helped me trust the process and be able to stay a little more connected on my own too.

 

[WillyKat]

I'm a firm believer in the healing power of exercise, specifically outdoor activities as far away from "civilization" as possible. I'm writing a book that includes a whole chapter and then some on it. Some people like Yoga, I prefer wilderness, but I don't really think that matters so much.


Here's a book recommendation: Emerson, David and Elizabeth Hopper 2011 Overcoming Trauma through Yoga.

There's a fair amount of research indicating that a lot of the trauma gets "stored" in the body. There's also research that focussing on the physical body, including basic health, helps heal from PTSD.

And just now, I found this: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/heart-benefits-of-yoga/

 

[KwanYingirl]

I supplement talk therapy with yoga and reiki. I'll be adding an additional yoga session in January. My therapist encouraged me to work on my bodies reaction to trauma. The body stores memory and I have had great benefit from these practices. It has had a spiritual effect on me too. I am considering somatic experiencing because folks on the forum have had good things to say about it. You are brave to be facing your trauma at a young age! Best wishes and I'm sure you will benefit from the support here.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I completely agree with @FridayJones. Therapy isn't supposed to be a walk in the park. However, if it gets to the point of being retraumatizing, then I'd say that therapy probably isn't right for you and perhaps you should go another route. Pushing ourselves.....good. Becoming retraumatized.....bad.

 

[Justmehere]

He says I could really benefit from somatic excersizes and I think he's right. The problem is, I feel really inhibited trying them. I think this strongly links back to the things I went through as a kid. Particularly The constant comments and insults I had about my looks and body. As well as that, the physical and few sexual harassments Ive had probably factor too.

I can relate to some of what you have written. I have been through complex trauma and even during the trauma my bodily reactions were made fun of.

For me, in the beginning, feeling things in my body or doing body based exercises - well, it was pretty frightening to even think about doing. It was really hard and stirred up a lot of shame for me.

But I gave it a go anyhow.

It taken a long time and a lot of work to deal with this - but it has been SO helpful. It's been very worth it. Before I dived into deep somatic work, I did lots of little steps. I learned to be very mindful of my body, to not judge it so much, and I took adult beginning dance classes at a rec center and found a therapy center that did horseback riding lessons for people with PTSD (very rare). I did it with the singular goal of getting back into my body again and feeling more comfortable with it. I'm not saying you should go out and take dance lessons, but maybe yoga or something else would be a good step to try over the next month.

It's taken me time to wrestle through the shame and old trauma based messages, but I now do primarily somatic therapy. Best therapy I have tried. It's not for everyone, but it is worth trying and it is possible to do even with the kind of trauma you have been through.

Some somatic work can feel good. Somatic work to process trauma almost never feels good in the moment. For me, the relief afterwards is profound though, and worth it.

You seem eager to take the next step in your recovery - and this is a great step to consider. I hope you go for it and give it a try, and if fears come up, keep talking to your therapist about those fears - it is as much a part of the process as anything else.

 

[sun seeker]

I suspect that's the whole point of SE... That it's difficult...

Difficult, yes, but not to the point of being retraumatizing. There is a kind of therapy that focuses on pure catharsis, which in some cases can do more harm than good. A good therapist working with SE will know how to help you go into your trauma gradually and teach you ways to stay safe during the process. It's important before you even start to establish a safe place to come back to, whether it's a happy memory or fantasy or a feeling in some part of your body. During the process when you start getting overwhelmed, you can come back to this place of safety and ground before venturing out again. Has your therapist talked about that at all?

I highly recommend you read Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller, or at least watch his interview on youtube (search under the title of the book and you'll find it). He developed an approach called the Neuroaffective Relational Model, which has some things in common with SE but takes the science several steps further. There are certain situations in which he cautions against using SE without adaptations, but I can't remember now what exactly they were. I feel a bit like a broken record with all the times I recommend this book, but I figure probably a few new people look at the posts each time.:-)

 

[blue moon]

well, the body holds trauma memories and uncomfortable sensations, especially when you are in the trauma zone.Therefore, a lot of people with PTSD have a natural fear of focusing on their body. Peter Levine talks about this in his book. He says the way to counter this is to start to slowly focus on the body using the support of the therapist and find good sensations and feel the body in small amounts and it will help to lose that initial fear of exploring the body.