SOMATIC PROCESSING IN GRIEF HEALING

No one is exempt from grief. Grief can arise due to the death of a loved one, infertility, pregnancy or child loss, traumatic experiences, or any number of other life events. It’s an incredibly painful and deep emotion. One reason that grief is so deep is because it is so visceral. Maybe you feel it more in your stomach, your head, or your shoulders but most people have a deeply physically felt sense of grief. It’s a highly somatic experience to grieve a loss, even a perceived loss.

Did you know that of all the questions people google about grief, the ones that come up the most are about the connection between grief and the body? To name a few, “Can grief make you sick?” “How grief affects the brain?” “Where grief resides?” It’s interesting that even with a quick google search to find answers to our deepest pain, we intuitively know something true about grief in the simplicity of our questions. Grief lives inside of us, on a cellular level. It takes residence in the fibers of our beings.

So, you may ask, what do I do about that? How do I release the impact of grief on my body and brain?

Somatic Movement Therapy

There is a rapidly growing awareness of the impact of somatic movement in our therapeutic processes, particularly around trauma and grief, which often go hand in hand. When you engage in intentional and mindful movement or connection to your body, you unlock a tremendously powerful avenue toward healing. Connecting your emotions to your physical movement and sensations creates new connections in the brain that help move you out of a survival state into a healing flow.

There are endless possibilities for somatic movements that can be healing. Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

• RESTORATIVE YOGA

  • Restorative yoga is very effective in positioning your body for release of emotions. It often feels like being held, which is excellent for a period of grief. You can take a class or use one of these poses. Be prepared for some emotions to rise. It’s ok, they are rising up and out of you which is part of the healing. Let the emotion flow and it will pass.

• MASSAGE

  • Some people find the touch of another person and the pressure of massage to be very soothing to their central nervous systems. Emotion is also known to surface during a massage. Again, let it flow. Don’t hold it in.

• TAPPING

  • EFT Tapping stands for Emotional Freedom Technique and utilizes acupressure points through tapping to soothe emotional and physical pain. You can google guided tapping exercises for grief and start there to see if this technique is helpful to you.

• BREATH WORK

  • Breath work is a powerful resource for many in centering and grounding their bodies when they have been experiencing grief or loss. There are many kinds of breath work. You might try this one or find an alternative technique that feels right to your nervous system and lean into the release that comes from finding your breath, your source of life, in the midst of your grief.

• EXERCISING

  • Movement is almost always a good idea. When you are grieving, you may need a gentler form of movement like stretching, yoga, or a leisure walk. Think of what will feel soothing to your body over activities that require significant strength or endurance. You’re already using a fair amount of emotional strength and endurance. Counter that with soothing, calming movement.

• CARESSING

  • If no one is available to be present with you and you are needing comfort, try making contact with yourself by caressing your arms, face, neck, or legs. Gently guide your fingers over your body. This helps communicate to your body that you are safe and it’s ok to discharge tension that may be stored physically due to emotional stress. Yawning and sighing are clear signals that your nervous system is responding to your touch in a positive way.

Trust That Grief Will heal Over Time

Even with the best of resources to soothe your brain and body during grief, there’s nothing that can fully take away your pain. And that’s ok. It’s part of the human experience to feel our emotions, good or hard. Try to let yourself feel when you need to and trust that you won’t feel grief as intensely as you do in this moment forever. It will come and go like waves. Over time, the waves will spread out and when they do come in, they will rise with less intensity.

In the meantime, if you are in need of personalized support during a particular grief process, I am here to support you. Reach out to schedule a free consultation to see if working together might be a helpful next step for you. You don’t have to go at it alone.