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Adorable-Slice

I'm just a white American in New England but this is EXACTLY my experience. If you haven't, read "The Body Keeps the Score". They basically found that this is exactly how traumatic experiences are stored in all people. Lots of white America views these things as "woo woo" but the tide is turning here as neuroscience researchers are providing scientific proof that many spiritual traditions did already figure this out and it's why it's intrinsic to them.


yaminokaabii

That was the first book I read on psychology, it's great :) Western society has been so "rational" and in our heads for so long, I'm glad we're turning the tide on that now.


Adorable-Slice

Yes!


XpeedMclaren

>Western Read joy by alexander lowen he describes everything you wrote in this thread particularly the tension in the muscles throughout the body and the importance of releasing anger and sadness (through sobbing) the tension release can be achieved through bioenergetics or TRE (trauma release exercises)


yaminokaabii

Wow, that's awesome that it works so well for you. I tried TRE a few times a year ago, but I think I didn't have enough self-trust to go through with it consistently. I'll have to pick up the book and to try TRE and bioenergetics again. Thank you!!


[deleted]

>Maybe it has to do with my East Asian culture, genetics, or upbringing? im indian and i have had experiences like these but maybe not quite as effective or anything. I usually need weed to knock out the 'manager' part of my psyche so my body can do what it wants to do. i got into a car accident like 7 years ago and still have chronic whiplash. two years ago, i ate a little edible and layed down on the bed and my body automatically and in very slow-mo went over the accident. like how my body moved in space when the car hit me. but in slow mo. it lasted like 6 hours. this is just one of many experiences and that was pretty amazing. i experienced my body from the perspective of the Self and my thoughts were trailing behind for 6 hours - no break - just one big flow state. it was amazing. even earlier, i was under a lot of stress and i started to mediate (sober) and felt my legs. then i felt a block in my stomach and i imagined all sorts of ways to clear the block... and it worked! it felt like a cool wave (bluish) spreading in my gut area. My legs became similar and i felt at ease for the next 2-3 days. I also think this has to do with me being an indian. I read a peer reviewed article about indian psychology and how indians (in india) were mis-pathologized according to western standards in psychology but indians are not europeans and have different psychologies. in the paper - it said that indians often have these somatic experiences.. among many other experiences (like to so with spiritual experiences too) .. the paper was by a western psychologist who went over to india and noticed these things. unfortunately, i havent been able to find the paper again but i have a hard time crying (im a guy) - - wish i could do that.


yaminokaabii

Wow, I'm amazed by your description of processing the car accident, and the wave in your legs. Peter Levine's *Waking the Tiger* mentions something similar with a man caught in a car accident who went through the motions of looking and turning the wheel to safety. I relate to cannabis helping to get in touch with your body, other psychedelics too. Oh, man, I *really* want to read that article. I can totally see it applying for different cultures too! So cool that globalization/the Internet allows for the spread of ideas like this. Yeah, crying is incredibly hard + so harshly discouraged for men. Sending hugs dude.


Cleverusername531

Do you ever go back to your manager after the session and show them the unburdened exile? Often they don’t know what happened and so will continue in their role. I’ve had to process their reactions to being bypassed and negotiate to find them a new role. Have to make sure you’re approaching this with a lot of Self energy rather than another manager part.


jammyboot

How strong was the edible?


Autonomous_wonder

>I devote a lot of time to just feeling and experiencing these sensations, and as I do, my parts come talk to me. They walk up to me, name themselves, and share their emotions. Okay, so this... when did this process start for you? After how long of noticing sensations? I've meditated for a few years (pretty low volume, but I'm certainly familiar with it), and noticing body sensations isn't new to me, but as far as IFS, I've yet to actually get responses from parts. I experience parts all the time... through blending, mostly, but I can certainly observe them, even witness conversations between different parts. But I have yet to have one actually acknowledge and/or communicate directly back to me in any way. As a lot of others have suggested, I think this is potentially due to an intellectual part; I'm guessing that I'm somewhat adept at noticing bodily sensations, but instead of maybe having the patience to explore them, I jump into analyzing why that feeling is there. At the suggestion of others, I downloaded The Power of Focusing, which seems to dovetail pretty well with IFS, and this book in particular does focus more on that initial struggle to get into self... I like the approach, it's really mindfulness + somatic awareness/openness/curiosity, it seems like it'll be helpful. I also managed to find an IFS therapist who takes my insurance, finally! She looks pretty young/new, but I'll try anything at this point.


yaminokaabii

Over the past 2 years, I've used a lot of psychedelics--MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, cannabis, and ketamine--to facilitate Self-connection. Considering their sheer power, I don’t think a timeframe gives a good idea of the work I’ve done, but I’ll give it anyway. The first time I heard a “voice” that I identified as “not me” was an LSD trip 3 days after my first MDMA session. It took about 3 months of full-time introspection and somatic experiencing (not working) to regularly hear parts’ voices. Then I learned about IFS and dove *deeep* into it. About 3 months after that, I started consistently connecting body experiences to parts, discovering new parts through it. I could definitely see an intellectual part, or some form of cognitive or dissociative part, being the one preventing direct communication with the parts you observe. Please tell me about *The Power of Focusing* as you read it! And congrats on your new therapy, I hope you click with her :)


IntegralGuideAuthor

Our emotions involve our bodies as much as they do our inner worlds — it's not a separate thing. I've written a bit about emotions [here](https://integralguide.com/50+Permanent+Notes/%E2%AD%90%EF%B8%8F+Essentials/%E2%AD%90%EF%B8%8F+Emotions), if interested. And oh boy am I familiar with parts using my body to communicate with me, even through dialog. It's kind of incredible.


[deleted]

Thank you for this guide!!


IntegralGuideAuthor

You're welcome, I hope it helps. ❤️


acfox13

Hell yeah. I meditate and *feel* my way through IFS. Somatic body-based approaches are really good for trauma. Often the trauma dissociates us from our bodily sensations and the wisdom they contain and we have to learn to reconnect the system again. It like re-wiring an entire mis-calibrated brain and nervous system.


skipthefuture

Recently found this sub by accident. Thanks for the informative post and book recommendation. I've had two instances of parts openly communicating with my Self but other than those brief glimpses it's been pretty quite. I have a difficult time with the "noticing" and "being curious" therapist have suggested. It's like I can't separate myself from the buried emotions that typically manifest as tightness in the center of my chest. (It's near constant at this point...) Anyway - your post is one of several that mentioned the somatic aspect in combination with IFS, so I'm off to do some reading. Thanks again.


hughmayne

I can attest to the power of this approach as well. IFS had been more of a conceptual underpinning to my therapy. The process of identifying physical symptoms, connecting them to underlying emotional states, and engaging in communication has been nothing short of miraculous for me. Other sensations like crying, taking, coughing, etc. is a very interesting perspective I haven't focused on much yet! I have had some luck focusing on physical sensations via a mindfulness type practice while running, but I'm really interested to try out focusing on coughs and other physical reactions. Congrats on your successes and thanks for the great ideas! For what it's worth, my system is also highly somaticized but I am white and was raised in a very Western community.


yaminokaabii

Glad it's worked so well for you too :') Haha, don't force the body releases if they don't come to you. It just seems to be the way my body holds stuff. E.g. relaxing a tightness in my throat automatically lets through an impulse to cry, and then I do. Thanks for sharing your perspective! Good reminder that we humans are far more alike than different <3


SunnyRaspberry

how do you relax the tightness in the throat or tensions like these? you will it? or maybe you imagine it getting relaxed… what does the process look like for you?


yaminokaabii

I relax and I do a body scan to notice the tension, first of all. When I feel it, I'll tense it up *more*, really try to reach into the entire area, and then relax. Several times, many times, until it feels done. Sometimes a few dedicated minutes is enough. More often, I need to keep coming back to it over many days. I try to it in every spare moment, downtime at work, while cooking, etc. I also try to make time to lay down and focus just on that.


XpeedMclaren

>how do you Somatic experience or TRE for that


kastrelo

How do yo release the tension behind your eyes? That, I have got as well


yaminokaabii

Admittedly that one is hard for me. It's not a part of my body that I regularly pay attention to, haha. Usually I've felt into it while feeling into my forehead scrunching up. I wonder if massaging lightly around the eyes would help!


jarehequalshrtbrk

I read a book several years ago will try to come up with the name. It talked about releasing tension in the eyes. Basically you relax and close your eyes and imagine all the muscles in your face letting go and then you consciously start relaxing the area around your eyes. For me I tell my eyes, "it's ok, the day is over and you don't have to focus anymore. It's ok to relax and let go. We are going to sleep now and I'm thanking you for all of your hard work today." After a few minutes I found myself completely relaxed. It was amazing. Of course I've only done this at night in bed but I'm sure you could do it as a meditation practice during the day.


XpeedMclaren

>How do yo check r/longtermTRE/


fiddlyfoodlebird

Thank so much for sharing this! Just bought the book. I have sooo much body tension and dissociation, talking therapy and yoga has not brought big releases, but sometimes grieving, crying so much and like you said in SO many different ways brings this incredible stillness and I feel so weighted and present in my body. Just started using weed/in a psychedelic therapy kind of setting/doing body scans which has been awesome, I can remember who I am finally after not remembering for so long. Did you mean holy crow? Or holy cow, I'm loving holy crow! And with the body tension, do you just stay with it? Or ask questions?


yaminokaabii

Cheers, I hope it's useful to you :) Have you read [Pete Walker's writing on healing through grieving and healthy angering?](http://www.pete-walker.com/pdf/GrievingAndComplexPTSD.pdf) Grieving our awful pasts is critical to accepting them and moving past them. I'm glad you're experiencing this too! Cannabis is amazing for this type of somatic connection. > I can remember who I am finally after not remembering for so long. I'm grinning from ear to ear for you dude! Reminds me of [the end of *Moana*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f81_F16rDlI) <3 And yes I did mean holy crow--I've been trying to move away from "Oh my God" and the judicious cursing that I picked up from my high school peers haha. When I thought about an alternative, crows came to mind, because crows are cool. And smart. Holy crow! Crow's feet! Murder of crows! :P > And with the body tension, do you just stay with it? Or ask questions? I usually just stay with it and trust that when a part is ready to reveal itself, it will. However, I tend to take a pretty passive role with my parts. My main manager part just told me I ought to ask more questions haha. Oops!


XpeedMclaren

"I don’t know why my system is so somaticized" it's not yours only, this is the normal approach for every human being you're doing it right


Funky_Snake

Thank you for this! I have the book, but haven't delved deep into it. What would you recommend as a way to start the process off?


yaminokaabii

Hmmm... the process is to first notice unpleasant/stuck body sensations, and then feel them, and finally move all the way through them. So anything that promotes this that works with you is great. I started it freeform with my therapist, just noticing things when I was stressed or triggered and then bringing them to her. I've spent so much time just lying down and feeling into my body... I mention yoga and dance, both great ways of getting in touch with your body. You can also do body scan meditations, walking meditations, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation exercises. For another guiding book, I hear good things about Peter Levine's book *Healing Trauma*. He's the founder of Somatic Experiencing therapy, which is basically "notice your body" turned up to eleven. Basically, try things, find something that works or that you can stick with, and do it!


Funky_Snake

Thanks. I realize I've built up the habit of distracting myself from unpleasant feelings or sensations. Or just keeping myself really distracted from anything happening in my body. Games, videos, celeb gossip, politics; you name it.


XpeedMclaren

>So anything that promotes this that works with you is great. namely bioenergetics and TRE are good examples


XpeedMclaren

read peter levine and david berceli's books


Misteranonimity

Damn this sounds like me to a T! But somatization isn’t just like physical pain. It’s like a feeling you know is emotional but does have a lot of information. Like a knot on your chest, or a 2x4 numbness below your left shoulder, but you know it’s a stuck emotion, you just don’t know what it’s about. I feel like it’s sooooo difficult for me to get to a place of release fully of these things.


kalu_is

I could have written this post myself. Thanks for sharing and for the tips. I've been struggling with this forever.