"I know logically that I'm safe now. But my body doesn't believe it."

Elena had experienced a serious car accident two years earlier. Physically, she'd recovered. Mentally, she understood the crash was over, that most driving is safe, that statistically another accident was unlikely.

Yet her body told a different story. Every time she got in a car, her heart raced, her hands trembled, her breathing became shallow. The logical understanding that she was safe had no effect on the physical panic.

"Talking about it helps somewhat," she said, "but the terror is in my body. Words don't seem to reach it."

This is what Somatic Experiencing (SE) addresses: trauma that's stored not just in memories and thoughts, but in the nervous system and body—manifesting as physical sensations, tension, and dysregulation that talk therapy alone may not resolve.

TL;DR: Key Takeaways

Somatic Experiencing is a body-oriented therapy for healing trauma and PTSD
Trauma gets "stuck" in the nervous system when fight/flight responses don't complete
SE helps discharge incomplete survival responses through gentle body awareness
Works with sensations, not just thoughts and emotions
Particularly effective for PTSD, complex trauma, and nervous system dysregulation
Based on observing how animals naturally release trauma
Emphasises building capacity gradually—not forcing or flooding

Understanding Trauma and the Body

Traditional talk therapy assumes trauma healing happens through processing memories and changing thoughts. Somatic approaches recognise that trauma lives in the body and nervous system as much as in the mind.

How Trauma Gets Stored

When faced with threat, your nervous system automatically activates survival responses:

Fight: Confronting the threat Flight: Escaping the threat Freeze: Immobilizing when fighting or fleeing aren't possible

These are involuntary, brainstem-level responses that happen before conscious thought.

In animals, after a threat passes, they physically discharge the activation—they shake, tremble, complete the interrupted movements. This allows the nervous system to return to baseline.

Humans, however, often don't complete these responses. We:

Suppress physical responses (social expectations, "don't make a scene")
Dissociate during trauma
Experience situations where discharge wasn't safe
Use cognitive strategies to "manage" without physical release

The result: incomplete survival responses remain in the nervous system, creating:

Hypervigilance (stuck in sympathetic activation)
Dissociation (stuck in dorsal vagal shutdown)
Physical tension and pain
Difficulty feeling safe even when objectively safe
Heightened startle response
Emotional dysregulation

The Polyvagal Theory Connection

Somatic Experiencing draws on Polyvagal Theory, which describes three neural circuits:

Ventral Vagal (Social Engagement): Safety, connection, calm state. The goal state.

Sympathetic (Mobilization): Fight-or-flight activation. Necessary for responding to danger but problematic when chronic.

Dorsal Vagal (Immobilization): Freeze, shutdown, collapse. Protective in extreme threat but debilitating when stuck here.

Trauma can dysregulate these systems—leaving you chronically activated (sympathetic) or shut down (dorsal vagal) with difficulty accessing the safe, social state (ventral vagal).

SE helps restore flexibility between these states.

What Somatic Experiencing Is

Developed by Dr Peter Levine in the 1970s, SE is a naturalistic, body-oriented approach to healing trauma.

Core Principles

1. Trauma is about stuck energy, not the event itself

The problem isn't what happened but that survival responses didn't complete. Two people can experience the same event—one develops PTSD, the other doesn't, depending on how their nervous system processed it.

2. The body knows how to heal

Just as your body knows how to heal a cut, it knows how to release trauma—if given the right conditions.

3. Work slowly and gently

SE avoids flooding or forcing. Healing happens through titration (small doses) and pendulation (moving between comfort and activation).

4. Track sensations, not just emotions

Emotions are important, but somatic work focuses on physical sensations—the language of the nervous system.

5. Build capacity before discharge

You need resources (sense of safety, groundedness) before releasing trauma. Otherwise, discharge can re-traumatize.

How Somatic Experiencing Works

SE sessions look different from traditional talk therapy:

1. Resourcing

Before working with trauma, SE builds resources:

Internal resources: Memories of safety, competence, connection
External resources: People, places, objects that feel supportive
Sensory resources: Noticing what feels good or neutral in your body right now

Resources provide anchors when trauma material surfaces.

2. Tracking Sensations

The therapist helps you notice and describe body sensations:

Temperature (warm, cold, hot)
Texture (smooth, rough, tingly)
Movement (pulsing, flowing, vibrating)
Tension (tight, clenched, soft)
Weight (heavy, light, spacious)

This develops "interoception"—awareness of internal body state.

3. Titration

Working in small doses. Rather than diving into the worst trauma, SE touches it briefly, then returns to resources.

Example: "Notice the tightness in your chest when thinking about the accident. Now bring attention to your feet on the floor. What do you notice there?"

Small amounts of activation are manageable and allow integration. Too much overwhelms.

4. Pendulation

Natural oscillation between activation and settling, between trauma material and resources.

Like a pendulum swinging—but each swing through the trauma material discharges a bit more, until activation reduces.

5. Discharge

When the body is ready, incomplete survival responses complete:

Trembling or shaking
Temperature changes
Deep breaths or yawns
Spontaneous movements
Tears or emotional release
Tingling or energy sensations

These indicate the nervous system releasing stored activation. They're welcomed, not suppressed.

6. Integration

After discharge, time is given for integration—allowing the nervous system to reorganise at a new baseline of greater calm and capacity.

Somatic Techniques

Felt Sense

Noticing the overall bodily sense of an experience—how it "feels" in your body before words describe it.

Practice: Bring to mind a slightly stressful situation. Before thinking about it, notice what happens in your body. Where do you feel it? What's the quality?

Grounding

Connecting with the earth and physical support:

Feeling your feet on the floor
Noticing your sits bones on the chair
Pressing hands into thighs
Orienting to the room (looking around, noticing details)

Grounding counters dissociation and provides safety.

Orienting

Animals constantly orient—scanning the environment for threats and resources. Trauma can lock attention inward or on the threat.

Orienting involves slowly looking around the room, noticing colours, textures, objects—reminding the nervous system "I'm here now, not there then."

Boundary Work

Sensing your physical and energetic boundaries:

How much space feels comfortable between you and another?
What's "yours" vs "theirs"?
Practicing saying no or pushing away

Trauma often involves boundary violations. Restoring boundaries restores safety.

Completing Incomplete Responses

Gently exploring what your body wanted to do but couldn't during trauma:

"If your legs could have run, which direction?"
"If your arms could push away, what movement wants to happen?"
Allowing tiny, slow movements that complete the impulse

This isn't re-enacting trauma but completing the defensive response that was thwarted.

Tracking Activation and Settling

Noticing autonomic nervous system shifts:

Signs of activation (sympathetic):

Increased heart rate
Rapid breathing
Tense muscles
Heat, flushing
Mental speeding up

Signs of settling (ventral vagal):

Deeper breathing
Muscle softening
Warmth spreading
Sense of spaciousness
Mental quieting

Learning to track these builds nervous system awareness and regulation.

What SE Can Help With

Somatic Experiencing is particularly effective for:

PTSD: When flashbacks, hypervigilance, and avoidance are body-based, not just cognitive

Complex trauma: Developmental trauma from childhood that created chronic nervous system dysregulation

Shock trauma: Single-incident trauma (accidents, assault, natural disasters)

Medical trauma: Trauma from procedures, surgeries, or illness

Chronic pain: When pain has trauma origins or is maintained by nervous system dysregulation

Anxiety and panic: When anxiety is somatically-driven, living in the body

Dissociation: Helping reconnect with body and present moment

Attachment wounds: Early relational trauma that disrupted nervous system co-regulation

How Long Does It Take?

This varies widely:

Single-incident trauma: Sometimes significant improvement in 6-12 sessions
Complex developmental trauma: Often 1-2+ years
Chronic conditions: Ongoing work with gradual improvement

SE isn't a quick fix but can create profound shifts when other approaches haven't worked.

Somatic Experiencing vs Other Approaches

SE vs EMDR

Both are trauma therapies, but different mechanisms:

EMDR: Uses bilateral stimulation while thinking about trauma
SE: Uses body sensations and incomplete responses to discharge trauma

Some people benefit from one more than the other; some use both.

SE vs Talk Therapy

Talk therapy processes trauma cognitively. SE works pre-verbally, with the nervous system directly. Both can be valuable, often used together.

SE vs Yoga/Body Work

Yoga and bodywork can support trauma healing but aren't designed specifically for trauma processing. SE is trauma-specific, guiding nervous system completion of survival responses.

Self-Practice: Somatic Awareness

While full SE requires a trained practitioner, you can develop body awareness:

Body scan: Daily practice noticing sensations throughout your body without judgment

Grounding: Regular grounding exercises—feet on floor, noticing support

Tracking: Notice when you feel activated vs settled. What body sensations accompany each?

Pendulation: When stressed, consciously shift attention between the stress and something neutral/pleasant in your body

Resource building: Notice moments of ease, safety, pleasure—let yourself linger in those sensations

Finding an SE Practitioner

Look for:

SE-trained therapists (listed on Somatic Experiencing International website)
Appropriate qualifications (psychotherapist, counsellor, clinical psychologist)
Trauma-informed approach
Good fit (trust your felt sense of safety with them)

SE is gentle, but you still need to feel safe with the practitioner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to talk about my trauma?

Not necessarily. SE can work with body sensations without detailed narrative. Many clients process trauma without ever describing what happened in detail.

What if I don't feel anything in my body?

Disconnection from body is common, especially with trauma. SE gently builds capacity to feel sensations—starting with whatever you can notice, however small.

Is shaking and trembling necessary?

Discharge can happen in many forms—not everyone shakes. Some people experience warmth, tingling, yawning, deep breaths, or subtle shifts. There's no "correct" way to discharge.

Can SE bring up difficult emotions?

It can, though the approach is gentle. The pace is controlled to avoid overwhelming. If emotions surface, they're met with support and resources.

How is this different from just "getting in touch with your feelings"?

SE works with the autonomic nervous system—involuntary responses—not just emotions. It's about nervous system regulation, not just emotional expression.

Moving Forward

Elena, from the beginning, found that talking about the accident helped her understand her reactions but didn't stop her body's panic. Through Somatic Experiencing, she learned to:

Notice the first signs of activation (chest tightness, breathing changes)
Ground herself before it escalated
Complete the defensive responses her body wanted but couldn't do during the crash
Gradually build capacity to be in cars without panic

"My body is finally catching up to what my mind already knew—that I'm safe now," she reflected. "The panic isn't gone completely, but it's so much smaller. And when it comes, I have tools."

If you've experienced trauma that lives in your body—if you're safe now but don't feel safe, if your nervous system is stuck in high alert or shut down—somatic approaches may offer what talk therapy alone hasn't.

The body remembers, yes. But the body also heals—when given the conditions to complete what was interrupted.

Ready to Explore Somatic Healing?

While we don't exclusively practice Somatic Experiencing, our integrative counselling approach incorporates body-based awareness and trauma-informed care. We can help you develop connection with body sensations and refer to specialist SE practitioners when appropriate.

Sessions are available in person in Fulham (SW6) or online across the UK. Book a free 15-minute consultation to discuss your needs.

For specialist SE practitioners:

Somatic Experiencing International: Directory at traumahealing.org
UK Association for Humanistic Psychology Practitioners: Lists body psychotherapists

If you're struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, please contact Samaritans immediately on 116 123, available 24/7.

Somatic Experiencing: Healing Trauma Through the Body