Somatic Experiencing and the Science Behind Trauma
Like Craniosacral Therapy, Somatic Experiencing is rooted in the premise that we, like animals, are biologically designed to heal.
We are Biologically Designed to Heal
In nature, animals naturally allow their nervous systems to recalibrate and release survival energy after a shock or trauma. After being chased ("flight” response) or attacked (“fight” response), an animal will lie still and give themselves time and space to pause and rest. Then they will look around to see if they are safe; when they see they are safe, they allow their bodies to shake, deactivating the nervous energy in their body before rejoining the herd.
In humans, it doesn’t always work this way, as we no longer live in the wild. Our cognitive and emotional capacities—though a gift in many ways—override the primitive part of our brain that governs survival. On the heels of a traumatic event, our thoughts and emotions distract us from physically deactivating stress.
What Happens When We Override the Biological Process?
If we don’t deactivate the stress of a traumatic event, it remains locked in our body as "freeze" -- the same state of immobility an animal assumes if they cannot fight or run away. In this state, the animal is preparing for one of two things: death or a last-minute escape. The unprocessed survival energy can also be locked in as “fight” energy or “flight” energy.
Though often calm-looking on the outside, unprocessed survival energy is internally comparable to what happens in a car when we step on the brake and the accelerator at the same time -- a huge amount of energy is revving, usually below our conscious awareness, and this often creates panic, anxiety, hypervigilance, chronic pain, sleep disorders, chronic tension, addiction migraines, and/or digestive disorders.
This unprocessed survival energy can be experienced as immobility, high sympathetic charge (too much energy in your body that is hard to tolerate, so you need to move a lot), or functional freeze (the feeling that I am here, but I am not present). And from these various states, symptoms emerge.
How Somatic Experiencing helps reduce stress symptoms
Somatic Experiencing utilizes the language of the primitive brain, sensation, to discharge unprocessed survival energy and allow the nervous system to settle back into its natural state of well-being. After sessions, clients often report feeling more agency, capacity, clarity, coherence, ease, and ability to focus.
Like Craniosacral Therapy, Somatic Experiencing is rooted in the premise that we, like animals, are biologically designed to heal. Finding the right support for yourself is key in this process.