Why I use the Somatic Experiencing Approach as a Tool to Help Support Individuals with Chronic Pain
A few years ago I was experiencing quite strong physical symptoms of anxiety and I was searching for something, anything really, that could help me recover (I talk a little more about my health in this blog). I had tried counselling but it didn’t seem to help much, if anything I felt like my symptoms were just getting worse and I felt frazzled! It was during this time that I was first introduced to the Somatic Experiencing approach - an alternative therapy aimed at relieving physical symptoms of trauma, shock and other stress disorders by regulating an over-active or under-active nervous system (for a more detailed explanation of what Somatic Experiencing is, you can click here).
Despite my initial scepticism (mainly because of its name!), I decided to give it a try and within a few sessions my physical symptoms either significantly reduced or disappeared all together. And like any human out there, when something works and makes you feel a whole lot better, you’re super keen to learn more about it! So I started reading all of the books and articles written by the developer Dr Peter A. Levine and it got me thinking, if the Somatic Experiencing approach had such a profound effect on my physical symptoms, then what effect could it have on someone experiencing persistent physical pain?
I began to delve deeper into the mind-body connection and researched all that I could about the effects of emotional and physical trauma on the body. During this time, I also stumbled across the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study discussing the link between adverse childhood experiences and its effect on our emotional and physical health later in life. It’s a fascinating and insightful study. Although it may not be applicable to everyone, multiple studies (including the ACE study), articles and discussions have concluded that people who experience persistent pain tend to have experienced higher rates of trauma in their lives too.
My physiotherapy brain finally started catching up with all of this new information and so I decided that it would make sense for me to study the effects of trauma, in relation to the physical body, in a more formal capacity. I decided to complete the 3-year training in Somatic Experiencing to coincide with my physiotherapy practice. One of the most significant discoveries that I had during this training was the importance of feeling safe and how we humans thrive in a world that feels safe and secure to us. A feeling that may not be present if we have experienced emotional and/or physical trauma in the past.
The importance of safety resonated with me pretty deeply. For years I had been feeling ‘on edge’ due to past experiences and I knew that this feeling exacerbated my physical symptoms on a daily basis. So I started to help people with chronic pain to create a sense of safety within themselves by utilising gentle Somatic Experiencing techniques. Their muscles soon started to relax, their perceived level of pain lowered significantly and the tension they had been carrying reduced too. It was fascinating to watch these changes and it continues to amaze me how the concept of feeling safe can have such a profound effect on the physical body and levels of pain experienced.
Alongside other modalities that I use, I believe that Somatic Experiencing is a wonderfully gentle approach to help support people to feel this sense of safety in order to thrive and maintain good physical and general health. This approach can also be used for all kinds of issues that may be directly effecting someone’s health. I also believe that it helps create capacity for someone to build on their tolerance to everyday activities, which in turn increases confidence and a sense of empowerment - that can only be a good thing right?!
It is worth bearing in mind that it may not always be the best approach for everyone and not everybody needs Somatic Experiencing techniques to support their recovery but I do believe that it has its place alongside other safe and effective non-intrusive modalities. It’s not a quick-fix approach either and it is best utilised at a slow and manageable pace, but your body and nervous system will thank you for it!
If you would like to know more about the Somatic Experiencing approach and how it could help you or someone you know to find freedom from persistent pain, don’t hesitate to get in touch - as always it will be lovely to hear from you!
As always, stay curious,
Lisa x
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