How To Regulate Your Nervous System For Stress, Anxiety, And Trauma | Peter Levine
Apr 29, 2024
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In this conversation, Peter Levine, the creator of somatic experiencing and a leader in trauma therapy, shares insights from his decades-long work in the field. He delves into how our bodies can help heal trauma, contrasting somatic therapy with traditional talk therapy. Levine discusses practical techniques to regulate the nervous system and emphasizes the importance of bodily awareness. He also touches on the role of positive memories in cultivating resilience and the need to embrace mortality to live joyfully.
Somatic Experiencing helps regulate the nervous system and heal trauma through connecting with bodily sensations.
Engaging in somatic experiencing practices can enrich lives by addressing ancient wounds and everyday challenges.
Somatic Experiencing involves gentle approaches to trauma through titration, fostering inner peace and contributing to societal healing.
Deep dives
Understanding Somatic Experiencing Therapy
Somatic Experiencing (S.E.) is a therapeutic approach created by Peter A. Levine, designed to regulate the nervous system to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and trauma. It involves learning how to connect with bodily sensations to unlock and release trauma stored in the body. By focusing on regulation through somatic experiences, individuals can address deep-seated issues and improve mental and physical well-being.
The Body's Role in Healing Trauma
Trauma is considered a disorder of disembodiment or dissociation in which painful experiences fragment within the body. Somatic Experiencing techniques like breathing, vocalizing, and working with body postures help individuals connect with areas of tension and release trapped trauma. This process allows for a movement through physical sensations and emotions related to trauma, enabling individuals to feel more alive, connected, and present in the present moment.
Implications for Personal and Global Healing
Engaging in somatic experiencing practices such as body awareness and interception can enrich individuals' lives by addressing ancient wounds, whether rooted in major trauma or everyday challenges. As individuals heal and connect with their bodies, they can become agents of healing in their communities and the world at large. By fostering inner peace and resolving personal traumas, individuals can contribute to fostering peace and understanding on a broader societal level.
Healing Trauma Through Titration and Pendulation
In somatic experiencing therapy, trauma is approached gently through titration and pendulation. Unlike exposure therapy, which can be re-traumatizing, somatic experiencing involves gradually touching into sensations, alternating between contraction and expansion. By navigating fear with a skilled therapist, individuals can move towards greater connection and healing. For example, a childhood memory of feeling cared for and loved provided strength amidst violent traumas, demonstrating the importance of even small moments of love in healing.
Exploring Imaginative Healing and Facing Mortality
Engaging in imaginative healing practices, like revisiting moments of love and connection, can offer fortification during difficult times. The interview delves into personal experiences of encountering imaginary figures, such as a vision of Albert Einstein, highlighting the significance of active imagination in healing processes. Additionally, the conversation touches on facing mortality and the unknown beyond death, emphasizing the importance of curiosity, trust, and leaving a positive impact on the world as ways to navigate this profound mystery.
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The creator of somatic experiencing shows Dan how to heal trauma through the body.
Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., has spent the past 50 years developing Somatic Experiencing. He holds a doctorate in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. His work has been taught to over 30,000 therapists in over 42 countries. He is the author of the new book, An Autobiography of Trauma.
Content warning: This episode includes discussions of rape and violence.
In this episode we talk about:
How to do somatic experiencing. You’ll see Dan play the role of guinea pig + make weird sounds
The difference between somatic experiencing and talk therapy
Somatic experiencing practices we can implement into our lives
Why some people feel horror/terror at the thought of re-occupying the body and how to overcome those fears
What the research says – and how these practices around body awareness have gone from the fringes to entering the scientific mainstream
And how to move through ancient wounds – and enrich our lives (whether we have trauma or not)