Trauma can have a lasting impact on people’s lives. There are many sources that could have caused trauma to take hold of your daily thoughts and feelings. For those that are suffering from the effects of trauma, getting through each day can be a struggle.
Healing after trauma is possible, and many people are able to learn to manage their trauma experiences through a variety of techniques and strategies, and one of these is the use of somatic therapy. This work can be used alongside other forms of traditional therapy and can provide the tools that many people need to help them to move past a traumatic experience to enjoy life again. One of the chief appeals of somatic therapy is that it can be done anywhere and can be used whenever trauma rears its head.
If you are ready to learn some more about the somatic trauma therapy techniques that could be used with the aim of helping you to recover from trauma, you need to read on.
Somatic Therapy Techniques to Help With Trauma Recovery
Grounding
This is one of the most effective ways to handle trauma and to take control of your emotions. Grounding can provide an almost meditative experience that helps many people to pull their thoughts away from memories and emotions that are not needed in the present moment. There are a few ways that you can access grounding therapy, and many of them are open to you both at work and at home.
One technique is to run water over your hands. You should start with cold water and think about how the temperature of the water feels as it slides over your hands. Switch to warm water and focus on this change. Be present in your body and think mostly about what you are feeling. Another way that you can tap into grounding is to move in any way that feels comfortable to you. Focus only on your body and how it feels as it is moving through space.
Some people also head out into the yard with their shoes off and just feel the ground itself beneath their feet. These kinds of techniques make it easy to connect with the present moment and to tell your brain that the fear it is feeling can be overcome.
Visualisation
Visualisation helps to teach your brain not to tap into traumatic memories when triggered. You can use this technique to make a safe space inside your brain that you can send your thoughts to when you are feeling fear, worry, or anxiety. This safe space might include colours, smells, or emotions that make you feel safe and secure.
Some patients have the best luck when they imagine that they are being embraced by a loved one or that they are walking in a quiet place all alone. Visualisation is a powerful tool to help redirect your brain’s energy toward helpful and healthy feelings and emotions, and it can break the cycle of triggered thoughts and feelings that are unhealthy.
Visualisation works best when you train your brain to recognize this safe space while it is feeling peaceful and safe. The feeling of peace and safety that you have used to generate the space inside your mind will be more strongly bonded to your visualisation practice when you are under stress. This is a very useful means of tapping into somatic therapy that works well for moments where trauma sneaks up on you all of a sudden.
Regulation of the Nervous System
The fear response that is triggered by remembered trauma is often rooted in a central nervous system reaction to stress. You can help to break this cycle by controlling your nervous system’s reaction to triggers. Hugging yourself may help to change your nervous system’s response to stimuli and can make your body realise that it is safe and secure in the present moment.
You can also cup your hand and tap your body all over. This causes a reaction in the nervous system that is a lot like grounding, and it can tell your brain that your boundaries are safe and that there is no threat to you at the present moment. Trauma causes both physical and emotional reactions, and sometimes getting the physical reaction under control can make the emotional and mental part of the experience easier to grapple with.
The Bottom Line
When combined with more traditional forms of treatment and intervention, somatic therapy can be a useful tool in your arsenal for coping with trauma.