Feeling Overwhelmed, Numb or Shutdown – Cultivating Safety in Your Body During Times of Threat – Your Anger, Fear, Stress, Pain, Anxiety & Exhaustion are Trying to Help You – Going Inside & Moving Survival Energy and Feelings Through the Body.

April 5, 2020

Sometimes I wake up & have to remind myself: “There is nothing wrong with me.  I have patterns to unlearn, new behaviors to embody and wounds to heal.  But there is nothing wrong with the core of me and who I am.  I am unlearning generations of harm and remembering love.  It takes time.” ~ Yolo Akili

Right now, I know coping with life can be difficult. 
Now is not the time to ignore yourself – your body and your feelings.
I want to support you to pay specific attention to what you are thinking and what you are feeling in your body right now.

Most of us hold trauma in our bodies, even if we don’t realize it. Luckily, the body has it’s own organic intelligence and knows how to unwind that trauma once the nervous system is healthy. That is the main purpose of Somatic Experiencing (SE) ~ to help your nervous system remember how to regulate itself so that you can live life in a more balanced and alive way.

There are no quick fixes to healing trauma, developmental trauma or post-traumatic stress – we must go slowly, work carefully and work specifically in ways that are helpful for you. Within our current circumstances, we may feel triggered and in emotional or physical pain that won’t ease in any lasting way.

When we experience overwhelming emotions, uncomfortable physical symptoms and when life feels like it is too much, old trauma that may be hidden to us, may rise to the surface, and can be difficult to understand and process.

During this time, many of us can develop a wide range of troubling and confusing feelings and/or symptoms. I support you in listening to and understanding your body, and helping your nervous system move into more regulation, more often. Together we will connect to your body’s inner wisdom and release trapped survival energy so you can connect more fully with your loved ones, feel more resilient emotions, let go of your physical pain, and to feel more grounded and safe.

During difficult circumstances, it is very important to create space for yourself and work deeply in the body – to find support, safety and ground in the body and allow unmet developmental needs to slowly begin to be met. When we do this, we can access the root cause of our stress response and how it manifests in the body.

Difficult times can be even more challenging for those struggling with eating disorders, addictive behaviours, feelings of numbness or shutdown, anger and lashing out, intense feelings of fear, anxiety or panic, and chaotic or fuzzy feelings in the mind and body. I can help.

For lasting healing, change must happen in your body, as well as your mind. Body-focused attention and the act of tending to your own body is like taking care of a plant that needs water, light, and warmth in order to fully flourish. By focusing on what deeply matters to you, you begin to feel lighter, stronger and more resilient.

When we feel angry, frustrated, sad, stressed or exhausted – our body is signalling us that energy within us needs to expressed and moved within us. Often, we cannot do this alone. The terrified and vulnerable parts of us may be taking over more often and we might be getting stuck in feelings of overwhelm, sadness, grief, loss or hopelessness – and you may also be using alcohol, drugs, food, work or exercise in unhealthy ways to help manage your moods.
 
Together, we want to cultivate feelings of safety in your body and mind – so that it feels safe to feel emotions and feelings – with support and some time. We don’t have to feel shame about how we’ve feeling or acting – and we can learn to focus inside of us, so you can really feel what’s happening in your body now and that you are present with those difficult feelings and emotions.
 
During difficult times, we need to befriend and welcome in all the parts of ourselves and everything that we feel. This can be very difficult to do for those who are struggling with eating disorders, addiction, overworking, feelings shutdown, panicked, anxious or depressed.
 
Together, we will practice tolerating vulnerable feelings and sensations – and allow them to be expressed a little at a time.
 
By complementing the body’s natural healing processes, Integrative Somatic Nervous System Therapeutic Healing Work, done in-person and online, is also a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster your immune system and is effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction, including:
 

-Chronic Pain
-Migraine Headaches
-Motor-Coordination Impairments
-Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries
-Chronic Emotional Concerns such as: Anxiety, Depression and Panic
-Chronic Stress and Tension
-Fibromyalgia and other Connective-Tissue Disorders
-Digestive Concerns and Disorders
-Neurovascular or Immune Disorders
-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
-Post-Surgical Dysfunction
-Chronic Fatigue and Sleeplessness
-Relationship Struggles

Every day your body endures stresses and strains and your body absorbs them. Unfortunately, these changes often cause body tissues to tighten and distort our system. These distortions can then cause tension to form around the brain and spinal cord resulting in restrictions. This can create a barrier to the healthy performance of the autonomic nervous system, and potentially every other system it interacts with.

What you can expect during your Online Integrative Somatic Nervous System Therapeutic Healing sessions together:
 
1) Time and space that is for you – to slow down – away from racing thoughts, body pain, symptoms, anxiety or fear.

2) From the comfort of your home – you can choose to be seated in a comfortable soft chair or have your session lying in your bed – with blankets and pillows – with your eyes closed to focus on the deep feelings and sensations found in your body during a session.

3) You will pay attention to your body – notice where your energy flows, along with your emotions, sensations, sound, movement and the power of somatic co-regulation.

4) Process long-held trauma patterns held in the nervous system – working with the difficult or intolerable feelings and noticing them moment by moment.

5) By doing this type of body-focused work, we are creating new pathways in your nervous system – slowly and over time – to begin to respond with new awareness and possibility – in new ways to racing thoughts, anxiety, panic, body pain and difficult emotions.

6) Cultivating body-focused resilience allows us to feel more ease in our nervous system – less reactive, stressed, fearful and anxious – now and always, in our body, mind and heart.
 
If you feel overwhelmed – pause, take a break and practice one of these calming techniques. We must practice them daily – to create new pathways in the nervous system:

– Interlace your hands behind your head and rest them on the curved part at the back of your head. Allow your eyes to move to the right and focus on something there for 3 or 4 minutes – set a timer – then allow your eyes to move to the left and focus on something there for 3 or 4 minutes – set a timer – notice how you feel. Rest.

– Breathe from your diaphragm. This stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system because it slows down your breathing. If you put your hand on your stomach and it rises up and down slightly as you breathe, you know you’re diaphragm breathing. (This is why it’s sometimes called abdominal breathing.)
 
Some important self-care considerations for you during this time:

1) Feel into your body every day – move and stretch and get out of your thoughts and begin to notice your body from the inside.
2) Create a structured schedule for work, meals, socializing with others online and feeling your feelings.
3) Create some time for movement, laughter, fun, creativity, meaningful conversations and reading.
4) Limit your news consumption to 15-20 minutes per day – both online and/or TV.
5) Get some fresh air daily – walk or cycle in your neighbourhood.
 
This is not the time to ignore yourself. Allow yourself to feel support and some relief from the sense of threat that is currently in our awareness now.

Even if you are self-isolating at home, you don’t have to go it alone. Allow yourself to be supported at this time. I’m here with you.
 
The provincial government has deemed psychotherapy as an essential service, and to that end, I’m offering in-person sessions for those who aren’t able to work online – and who don’t have symptoms and have not traveled within the last 14 days. I am also offering online sessions for those who feel more comfortable doing so.

Get in touch – and let’s talk about your experience now and how I can support you – and I will answer any questions you may have about working together.

with love from my heart, Kim xoxoxo
[email protected] / www.s3p.d51.myftpupload.com

Whole Body Health & Well-Being from the Inside Out.
Deep healing at the level of the nervous system enables you to explore and expand your inner landscape where self – confidence and inner agency reside. When you heal your nervous system, you can more readily access deeper ways of knowing and being that include intuition, imagination, sensuality, and the subtle body of emotions. Get in touch to learn more about working with me – [email protected]

What to Expect During a Session

For true emotional and physical healing, I know that we can’t leave our body and how it feels and responds, out of the process. Each person needs something very specific in their healing journey, which is why it is so important to have a customized approach with sessions that are specifically tailored for you – a combination of emotionally-focused psychotherapy and body-focused Co-Regulating Touch work for trauma.
 
Your body doesn’t have energy – it is energy. When we allow traumatic stress that is contained in our nervous system to begin to move through our system – flow begins to happen in our body and we feel more energetic, grounded, healthy and alive.
 
For those who would like to focus on a body-focused, somatic approach, we begin by talking about your background, symptoms and history. We do this online and or in-person by sitting in chairs across from each other or you lie on your back on a table. When you are sitting in a chair, we can do some talk therapy, and you may also be asked if you are open to closing your eyes and noticing your feelings, emotions and body sensations that are happening for you in each moment.
 
For those who would like to do Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork – sessions consist of lying on a table with eyes closed – and I offer touch on several areas of the body: the head, stress organs, the belly, and joints in the body.
 
Sessions are done fully clothed. Each session is one-hour, unless we are doing an extended session – and is unique depending on what you are experiencing on that day and would like to focus on during a session – we want to tune in and understand what’s really going on in your body – beyond pathology and diagnoses – to allow your body to move into a flow state, rather than to remain stuck in a stress response state – during the session and in the hours and days afterwards.
 
3-Month Online Offering – Cultivate Your Somatic Aliveness – access deeply held emotional, physical and relational concerns and focus deeply on you during this program. Starting with a one-hour introductory session, then a 1.5 hour family systems trauma session –  A total of 6 one-hour sessions, on Zoom, one 1.5 hour family trauma healing session, and homework to help access internal transformation from anxiety, depression, panic, trauma, stress, eating disorders, relational struggles, chronic illness or health concerns – get in touch to learn more – [email protected] 
 
Other Offerings – Family Systems Imprint – 90-minute Session – an in-person or virtual online Zoom session – an opportunity to get to the roots of intergenerational trauma patterns & begin a path towards relational & relationship healing. 
 
Uncover your family dynamics and trauma history – this is an opportunity to strengthen your internal relationship with your mother, father and extended family – in ways that contribute to healing – get in touch to schedule an online or in-person session – [email protected] / www.s3p.d51.myftpupload.com
 
Sessions for Individuals & Couples – an invitation for you – to feel present in your body, to unwind patterns of anxiety, depression, anger, hopelessness, chronic stress & pain, trauma, regulate your nervous system, to cultivate trust in your moment-to-moment experience, your naturally wise heart, and your capacity to connect to yourself, those you love and the love that surrounds us.
 
Somatic Body Learning & Practice and Somatic Experiencing Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork sessions are available for you now. Waking you up to Somatic Resilience & Regulation – the innate wisdom of your body, healing inherited trauma patterns, feeling yourself below the level of thought, and accessing your full beingness in flowing, fluid motion. 

Get in touch to learn more about Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork for Trauma, Family Systems Imprint Sessions & Individual Body-Focused Therapy Sessions – The Anxiety, Stress & Trauma Restorative Clinic – in-person, online or a mix of one or more of these sessions – and to set up a time to work together:   [email protected]
 
The Anxiety, Stress & Trauma Restorative Clinic:
Creating Well-Being Through Nervous System Regulation.
Heal Relational Trauma – Break the Cycle of Inherited Family Trauma.
Nurturing Connection, Restoration & Building Resilience.
Easing the Body ~ Calming the Mind ~ Opening the Heart.
Somatic Experiencing ~ Somatic Practices ~ Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork for Trauma ~ Movement Practices ~ Whole Body Systems Approach for Healing Inflammation.

Somatic work can be done effectively online, as well as in person – online sessions are available for those who travel regularly, have a busy schedule, live far away from the office, or prefer to work from your own home – [email protected]
 
Working together enables everyone who is willing to do the work an opportunity to decrease feelings of anxiety, pain, depression, chronic stress, pain or illness – as well decrease the chatter in the mind, and ground your mind and body with the depth of the intelligence found in the body. Experience lasting somatic transformation and feelings of calm, peace and wholeness – within your own body and within your relationships.
 
www.s3p.d51.myftpupload.com / [email protected]
 
Working deeply at the roots in the body – within the nervous system and stress organs – to cultivate and sustain embodied health and well-being for everyone who chooses to take part.

“The mind and body are not separate units, but one integrated system. How we act and what we think, eat, and feel are all related to our health.” ~ Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles 
 

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Testimonial 1

When I came to you I felt confused, disconnected and broken. Now, I'm on my way to feeling whole. Thank you.
Kim Cochrane
2016-10-06T10:59:12-04:00
When I came to you I felt confused, disconnected and broken. Now, I'm on my way to feeling whole. Thank you.

Testimonial 2

I’m so glad I’m giving myself space to explore what’s happening in my life and to understand my feelings.
Kim Cochrane
2016-10-06T10:59:51-04:00
I’m so glad I’m giving myself space to explore what’s happening in my life and to understand my feelings.

Testimonial 3

I've wanted to do this for a while and I'm so glad I did - I trust myself more now, I feel more calm and open - working together has changed the course of my life.

Kim Cochrane
2016-10-06T11:00:16-04:00
I've wanted to do this for a while and I'm so glad I did - I trust myself more now, I feel more calm and open - working together has changed the course of my life.
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Kim Cochrane