• Schedule a FREE Consultation Cool Tools and Resources

    395 Taylor Blvd, Suite 220 | Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
    925-322-1681 | katherine@timetothrivetherapy.com

  • Time to Thrive Therapy

    • Home
    • About Me
    • Services
      • Counseling
        • Counseling for Depression
        • Counseling for Anxiety
        • Counseling for Women
        • Counseling for Teens
        • Counseling for Couples
      • Groups
        • Women’s Divorce Support Circle
        • Teen Life Support Group
        • Kick-Butt Strategies for Handling Life for Teen Young Women
        • Support and Education Group for MFT and LPC Trainees
      • EMDR
      • Neurofeedback
    • Getting Started
      • Fees and Insurance
      • New Client Documents-Adult
      • New Client Documents-Child/Teen
      • New Client Documents for Couples
    • Tools and Resources
      • Tools
      • Resources
      • Videos
    • The Comfy Couch Blog
    • Client Login
    • Contact Me

    Somatic Meditation and Mindfulness for Trauma Treatment

    August 8, 2022

    While most people will experience challenges and hardship in their life, some people experience trauma. We’re beginning to understand trauma better now and have recognized that trauma is actually a physiological process that impacts our psychological and emotional wellbeing. When trauma is suppressed, it often leads to mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and even PTSD.

    While talk therapy can be effective at treating certain emotional and mental health issues, it can actually cause someone with trauma to re-experience their trauma. And when trauma survivors don’t have the emotional resources yet to process the trauma, talking or focusing on the event(s) of the trauma can send them into a state of confusion and hyper-arousal.

    Trauma and the Nervous System

    We have begun to understand that trauma exists in our body’s nervous system. When we experience acute or chronic trauma, our nervous system goes into “fight or flight” mode. To treat trauma, we must do so on a physical level by connecting with our bodies and allowing them to process and neutralize those unexpressed defensive fight or flight reactions.

    If we do not allow our nervous systems to come back to a calm and neutral state, we are kept in a state of high arousal, and eventually, our nervous system becomes overwhelmed and shuts down. This is often when depression and PTSD symptoms present.

    How Somatic Meditation Helps Heal Trauma

    Somatic Meditation and Mindfulness help people suffering from the effects of trauma by getting them to become aware of the trauma in their body, without the need to recall the traumatic event(s). Somatic meditation teaches individuals how to release tension from the body, and therefore helps the nervous system release the trapped defensive energy.

    If you’ve tried talk therapy and are interested in exploring these body-focused exercises, please get in touch with me. I would be very happy to discuss somatic meditation with you further and answer any questions you may have.

    Sources:

    • https://amindfulemergence.com/blog/the-power-of-trauma-informed-somatic-mindfulness-meditation/
    • https://psychcentral.com/lib/somatic-therapy-exercises-for-trauma
    • https://khironclinics.com/blog/how-somatic-meditation-can-be-used-to-treat-survivors-of-trauma/

    Share this:

    • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

    Related

    Filed Under: Trauma

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    ENTER YOUR EMAIL HERE, AND I'LL SEND YOU PERIODIC TIPS, INFORMATION, AND REALLY COOL TOOLS.
    By submitting this form via this web portal, you acknowledge and accept the risks of communicating your health information via this unencrypted email and electronic messaging and wish to continue despite those risks. By clicking "Yes, I want to submit this form" you agree to hold Brighter Vision harmless for unauthorized use, disclosure, or access of your protected health information sent via this electronic means.

    Recent Blogs

    Benefits of Therapy Dogs

    Types of Anxiety Disorders

    What is Gender Dysphoria?

    Recent Videos

    The Teenage Brain

    I Have OCD

    What is Anxiety?

    Katherine Jewett, MA LMFT #83521
    395 Taylor Blvd, Suite 220
    Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

    925-322-1681
    katherine@timetothrivetherapy.com

    Katherine Jewett
    katherine@timetothrivetherapy.com | 925-322-1681

    Follow Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    A Website by Brighter Vision | Privacy Policy