Why involve the body/somatic work to process emotions?
- Michelle L. Caruso
- Sep 24
- 1 min read
The mind-body connection has been scientifically proven enough to now be common knowledge. One component of this connection that is less acknowledged is how the body activates physiological and energetic defenses to avoid the impact of difficult experiences and their anticipated uncomfortable emotional states. When we don’t express or allow ourselves to feel an emotion, our brain cannot process the situation fully (which may contribute to lingering suffering and symptoms).
For those of us who have experienced compounding traumatic events, our brains and bodies devised quick solutions to stop feeling intense emotions and disconnect from the pain in that moment. Later, after the threat had passed, that unprocessed experience remained stuck in our brains and bodies. Each unexpressed emotion is often held in specific areas of our body, including the heart, gut, and head.
Dr. Raja Selvam, a 30-year Somatic Experiencing (SE) trainer and developer of Integral Somatic Psychology, encourages us to fully embody our emotions to allow ourselves to regulate feelings better and process challenging events. He emphasizes the benefits of developing greater capacity to feel and embody emotions. Dr. Selvam teaches that by learning to experience and fully expand emotions in the body, one can work through automatic physiological defenses designed to prevent us from feeling overwhelming emotions and experience improved well-being.
By developing the ability to feel emotions throughout one's whole body, one can live more fully in the present. When done incrementally, it can also be quite helpful with processing difficult emotions.
If you want to explore emotional embodiment, please reach out. This work can be invigorating!
Take good care,
Michelle
