Trauma is the root cause of mental and behavioral health challenges for many men in recovery. It affects how you think, feel and function – and it often leaves a mark on the body and mind. Somatic experiencing therapy is an innovative approach that helps people process trauma by reconnecting with their physical sensations and inner resilience.
What Is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic experiencing is a body-based approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine. Unlike traditional talk therapy, which encourages you to discuss your experiences with a trained clinician, SE emphasizes bodily awareness. The central premise is that trauma gets “stuck” in your nervous system, causing ongoing physical and emotional symptoms such as hypervigilance, anxiety, insomnia or chronic pain.
Rather than asking you to relive your trauma, somatic experiencing helps you tune into the bodily sensations associated with things you’ve gone through. Through guided exercises, you gradually learn to release pent-up energy and restore your body’s natural ability to regulate stress.
Why the Body Matters in Trauma Recovery
Traumatic events like childhood abuse, accidents, combat or addiction can cause your nervous system to remain in a constant state of fight, flight or freeze. Even if you’re in a comfortable, threat-free environment, your body may continue reacting as if you’re still in danger.
You might feel:
- Tightness in your chest or throat
- Shallow breathing or rapid heartbeat
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Muscle tension or pain
- Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
Somatic therapy helps you complete your body’s stress cycle and discharge stored survival energy. This technique can be valuable if you avoid unpleasant feelings by dissociating from them because it grounds you and restores your sense of safety.
What Conditions Can Somatic Therapy Help?
Somatic experiencing is especially beneficial for trauma survivors and people with co-occurring conditions. It can support recovery from:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Complex or unresolved grief
- Generalized anxiety or panic attacks
- Depression
- Attachment wounds
- Low self-esteem
- Intimacy and trust issues
Since these concerns frequently overlap with substance use disorders, somatic therapy can be a powerful component of addiction recovery.
Somatic vs. Traditional Talk Therapy
While traditional methods like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy focus on identifying and changing negative thought patterns, they may not fully address the physical imprint of trauma. Somatic therapy complements these techniques by helping you process unresolved emotions through body awareness.
At PACE Recovery, we work closely with clients who struggle to articulate their emotions verbally due to societal pressures or early conditioning. Somatic therapy provides an alternative route to healing by honoring your innate wisdom.
What to Expect During Somatic Experiencing
A typical session might involve:
- Tracking internal sensations such as warmth, tension or tingling
- Exploring your response to specific memories or situations
- Grounding techniques to regulate overwhelming emotions
- Gentle movement or breathwork
- Learning to self-soothe in response to distress
Over time, these techniques build your emotional resilience, reduce triggers and increase your ability to stay present.
Reconnect With Your Body
Substance use disorders frequently develop as misguided survival strategies to cope with profound emotional distress. Somatic experiencing allows you to reconnect with yourself in a more holistic way. It’s an invitation to feel fully alive, grounded and empowered again.
Help is available if emotional pain keeps you stuck in addiction or mental health struggles. Contact us today to learn how our trauma-informed programs can help you achieve lasting recovery.