How Somatic Therapy Changed My Life: 4 Personal Lessons from a Therapist
Listen, let’s be honest, the phrase “research is me-search” exists for a reason. I came into somatic therapy as a therapist because I was looking for ways to feel better as a person in my own therapy journey, and just so happened to stumble upon somebody who did Somatic Experiencing, and I’m so glad I did.
Licensed Therapist Stevie Olson-Spiegel is certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and an Intuitive Eating Counselor.
Here are some ways that I have seen change in myself as a person because of the somatic work I have done personally, which gives me a fresh perspective and loads of empathy for my clients:
I Stopped Assuming the Worst — Managing Panic with Somatic Awareness
What I mean by this, is that I don’t assume that just because I feel a particular symptom that it means it’s going to get worse. As a person who has struggled with panic attacks my entire life, I am used to feeling one tiny symptom (for example, a small wave of dizziness or a moment of increased heart rate) and assume that it will turn into something horrible.
Is this to say that I don’t have panic attacks anymore? Absolutely not. However, I truly believe that because of the somatic work I have done personally, that I have saved myself from spiraling into many of them.
What Is Overcoupling and How Does It Fuel Anxiety?
In Somatic Experiencing, there is this term called “overcoupling.” Overcoupling, essentially, is the overlinking of stimuli to our nervous systems. It explains why veterans who have been in active combat can become fearful on the Fourth of July – the fireworks mimic the sounds of shots, which creates difficulty for the nervous system in that it cannot separate one from the other. This is what happens with many people who have panic, migraine, depression, and so on – one small feeling can lead to an assumption that a bad thing is going to happen, which can increase the likelihood that it happens. This is what I have learned to uncouple for myself and it can be a huge part of healing for others as well.
Learn More About Somatic Experiencing >
I Learned to Notice Safety and Joy in My Body
Listen, as a therapist, we can sometimes fall into the trap of only seeing the “issues” or “problems” and honing in on those. It’s not that we don’t see the whole person, but we feel obligated to help our clients which means helping them to resolve what is bothering them. It can become a negative trap if you’re not careful, and somatic work absolutely helped me with that.
The Healing Vortex and Trauma Vortex Explained
In Somatic Experiencing, there is this concept called the healing vortex and the trauma vortex, both of which have their own sort of gravitational pull. In order to do the difficult work of helping to resolve trauma, it is important that there is a good reserve of internal resourcing (or ways that we feel good, safe, or vitality in the body and mind) to support the work.
This translates to not only me noticing when something feels great and noticing how that resonates in my body, but also to how often I bring attention to that for my clients in our sessions together. Feeling good and safe in the body is an essential part of the work!
I Deepened My Intuitive Eating Practice Through Interoception
After becoming a certified Intuitive Eating counselor, I thought I had it all figured out. I felt like I had been eating intuitively for a while and was now fully ready to work on this with my clients. Was I wrong? Not necessarily, but after fully understanding how our bodies carry emotions, I definitely found more ways that I could be eating intuitively.
Emotional Eating vs. Body-Based Eating
What do I mean by this? Well, I thought I had the “coping with your emotions with kindness” concept fully “conquered” (for lack of a better word). I thought I was just allowing myself to eat what I wanted without judgment, but didn’t fully connect that I was eating to disassociate. The craving was there not because I actually wanted the food, but because I was overwhelmed. It wasn’t until I was able to fully utilize good interoceptive awareness skills that I even picked up on this.
Is that to say I catch it all of the time? Absolutely not, but we don’t have to. We just have to pay attention to the body’s signals so that we can understand what we actually need. This is why professionally I love to pair Intuitive Eating with Somatic Experiencing.
I Recognized the Cost of Chronic Stress Early On
When practicing Somatic Experiencing, I used to override my body’s signals in pursuit of productivity. I could feel my heart racing, my jaw tensing, and even felt dizzy but wouldn’t stop my task until I was done. I had the tendency to overschedule myself so that I could get the client at the last minute.
I realized how sick this was making me. It was bad for my mental and physical health, but something in me told me to ignore it and keep going. That is until I started doing somatic therapy. Seeing real time in session how this was impacting my body and my mind was shocking to me, and helped me to see that I wasn’t doing myself or anybody else any good.
What the ACEs Study Teaches Us About Stress and Somatic Health
There is a lot of science that proves that chronic stress is bad for the body. One of these is the ACEs study which found that people who have experienced chronic stress or trauma in their early life have negative health outcomes. Therefore, stress became something that I no longer wore as a badge of honor and something that I took seriously.
This is the work that I do with my clients now – we learn how stress is directly impacting them, and work with the physiology to release these chronic stress and tension patterns. Not only do they feel better physically, but emotionally and energetically as well.
Preparing for Your First Somatic or Intuitive Eating Session
Ready to start Somatic Experiencing and begin to heal from your trauma? Here are some questions you might ask yourself before your first session with a therapist:
Questions to Reflect On Before Starting Therapy
How is this stress negatively impacting me today, and what might it look like to live without it?
What is preventing me from listening to my body’s signals?
How has intuitive eating felt difficult for me so that my therapist can meet me there?
How would I want to feel instead of how I feel now?
Ready for therapy? Reach out to myself (Stevie) or Lauren so we can get you connected!
Frequently Asked Questions About Somatic Therapy
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Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to healing trauma and chronic stress. It helps individuals tune into bodily sensations to regulate the nervous system and release stored tension.
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Somatic therapy teaches techniques like grounding and body tracking, which help individuals notice early signs of panic and reduce overcoupling between sensations and fear-based thoughts.
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Overcoupling is the process of linking neutral stimuli to traumatic responses. In somatic therapy, clients learn to “uncouple” these associations and reduce reactivity.
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Somatic therapy improves interoceptive awareness, helping clients differentiate between emotional hunger and physical cues, making intuitive eating more effective and sustainable.
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Yes. Somatic work helps regulate stress responses in the body, preventing burnout and addressing long-term physiological effects of chronic stress through body-based interventions.
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You’ll be guided through gentle awareness practices, like tracking sensations, breathwork, and grounding. Sessions are paced to your comfort, emphasizing body safety and emotional readiness.
Stevie Olson-Spiegel is a Licensed Therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner located in Kansas City. She uses Somatic Experiencing as her main body-based trauma healing modality, as well as EMDR. As an Intuitive Eating Counselor, she uses these principles to help her clients challenge their relationship with their cultural misconceptions about their body and food.
