The Body Stores, The Mind Un-Remembers
Do we ever forget the trauma that happens to us? Do we ever truly overlook negative experiences? Unfortunately, not. After working with clients throughout Boulder and Denver Counties and folks who come from other states, I have learned that while the mind may attempt to “disremember,” it never quite does.
The emotions and other effects of negative experiences, even the seemingly minor ones or those we think “got over,” can get stuffed and stored in the body and show up in other forms like anxiety, depression, tension, stress, feeling numb or stuck, frequent back or neck pain, headaches, stomach aches, occasional constipation, teeth grinding or clenching, and other problems.
Many clients reveal that their “undefined” anxiety or stress from psychological trauma has not been greatly reduced or eliminated despite years or even decades of somewhat comforting talk therapy. They came out of the experience feeling “intellectually better,” but they still feel anxious and still experience chronic aches and pains and fatigue. Also, they often say that their experience of living, their ability or tolerance to connect with others, and their effectiveness out in the world hasn’t increased a great deal.
In short, methods that rely mainly on or access only the cognitive and intellectual are often not enough.
About Somatic Therapy
I am a somatic therapist and a certified Rosen Method Bodywork practitioner. The international Rosen Institute has certified more than 1,500 Rosen Method practitioners throughout the world, and for more than 35-years, Rosen Method has been a quiet, gold standard approach for relaxation, personal growth, deeper connections, and overall life enhancement.
At its simplest, somatic therapy in general, and Rosen Method in particular, are gentle, compassionate, non-judgmental and safe. These approaches welcome and attend to both mind and body, thoughts and feelings, hopes, fears, yearnings, intimacy and relationship challenges, and all of the other experiences that make us human. That said, my work is not a form of, or a substitute for, medical or mental health diagnosis, care, and treatment.
Many clients are referred to me by their health care providers, and many of my clients are therapists themselves. I urge any potential client–whether they honor me with their trust and decide to experience the work I do, or not– to avoid working with any therapist who stresses or demands that their clients avoid well-established medical or mental health therapies.
Somatic therapy is compatible with and a valuable complement to all health and wellness approaches. Somatic therapy in general, and Rosen Method in particular, supports and encourages clients in pursuing their traditional and alternative healthcare and treatment programs and especially those that have offered them comfort and have provided them relief and the results they desire.
That all said, I do believe that we humans can tend to intellectualize or over-intellectualize, and we often medicate or try to distract ourselves in other ways to help us forget. In taking this approach, we often succeed in pushing the negative further down, only to have it surface in other ways.
At the end of the day, our bodies can only stuff so much for so long, and going through life “stressed out,” “numbed out,” or “feeling stuck” isn’t really living. Somatic therapy can be the gentle gateway to another experience–one that is actually easier and far more fulfilling.
To heal from anxiety
Somatic therapy believes that psychological trauma hides in the body, and that the body needs to be involved in the healing.
Psychological trauma hides within us, and marks itself on us. These patterns are often why humans carry around tension, stress and anxiety. Somatic therapy, and the Rosen Method in particular, helps to relax and release those old and often no longer necessary patterns of defense and protection and “holding ourselves together” that drain our energy and cause us pain. Somatic therapy can help reduce or eliminate the overactive state that can produce constant anxiety, depression, stress, fatigue, pain, and other chronic physical and emotional complaints that take the joy out of living..
Somatic therapy and Rosen Method are gentle, respectful, and safe, and the results are quick and lasting because we are re-educating the brain and body about where and how they hold tension and how that habitual “holding” can be released. Clients talk about the relief they feel when the anxiety begins to fade, how their body pain diminishes, how much space they now feel, how easy and free their breathing becomes, and how they are finally able to enjoy relaxation and greater peace of mind and body. The reduction of anxiety and stress and the increased desire to participate in life and engage in relationships can be quite dramatic.
How do we know if somatic therapy is right for us? As a somatic therapist who works with clients along the Front Range in Denver and Boulder Counties, I strongly encourage dialog. There is never a charge for a consultation, there is especially no judgment, and never any pressure.
My practice is based on strict professionalism as well as compassion. The choice to embark on any kind of therapy or wellness practice should not be done begrudgingly, but with confidence and a full appreciation for the process.
Todd R. Schwartz is a somatic, whole person therapist and Rosen Method Bodywork practitioner with offices in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. Todd serves Denver, Thornton, Boulder, Longmont, Louisville, Fort Collins, and surrounding areas. To reach Todd, please call him at 303-704-8331.
My somatic work is neither a form of, nor a substitute for, competent medical and mental health diagnosis, care and treatment.
Copyright © Todd R. Schwartz, 2024.