Somatic Experiencing

[lina82]

I have tried somatic experiencing this autumn (about ten times) and have been dealing with some traumas in a body-mind-way. It has actually helped me quite much. I had a terrible fatigue (or more a kind of collapse that hindered me from even walking 20 m), anxiety and sleeping problems and all of that has really got better. But the pain remains - at least for now (but it's also more limited now - earlier it was in my whole body).

Does anyone here have any experiences of SE? I have realized that my big issue really is separation anxiety and I hope I could work with SE to give my inner child more peace so that I wouldn't need to experience the feeling of panic and stress (and pain).

 

[Anne Walker]

Hi. I saw a Somatic Experiencing therapist most of this year until she moved away this Fall. Yesterday I had my first appointment with another Somatic Experiencing therapist. The work I did with the other therapist helped me tremendously. I was in chronic pain, primarily in my right shoulder, neck and head. We worked a lot on how to feel the parts of my body that were not in pain. It was very slow and tedious work but eventually I could switch my focus away from the pain and to parts of my body that felt good. I think this was part of what helped me get unstuck with the chronic pain. I am still dealing with a lot of anxiety and I am hoping my continued work with a Somatic Experiencing therapist will help me with that. I noticed that this new therapist had a massage table and talked about getting me on the table eventually. I wonder what we are going to do on the table?! She also gave me an intake packet that is about 50 pages! So every therapist is different and it is a journey. But so far, I like the Somatic Experiencing therapy the best of all the therapies I have tried(I don't want to sound crazy but I have tried a lot!)

 

[Ellen]

Wondering if anyone has read this book by Peter Levine, the originator of Somatic Experiencing? I'm thinking about getting it.

Freedom from Pain by Peter Levine and Maggie Phillips

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/16040766...UTF8&colid=R2ZMU76BL5EX&coliid=I3JQHQ3BVV1402

 

[lina82]

I have it. I really liked it and the exercises the come with it on a cd. I can recommend it!

 

[chickenbone]

I read both of Peter Levine's books and somatic experiencing helped me tremendously in my recovery. What this approach taught me was to embrace my pain rather than try to flee from it. When you try to escape your pain, you create fear and it often gets only worse. In fact, I believe that trying to escape TMS pain is actually a form of repression. You are doing the very thing, repressing, that caused the pain in the first place. I did many exercises where I would take my mind deeply into my body to meditate on the pain, explore it, and find out what it wanted. It is amazing how your pain will speak to you if you listen to it. This way, you accept it as part of you and eventually you "work it out" psychologically.