I follow a handful of health and wellness advocacy accounts on social media, mainly Instagram, that I like to check in with from time to time. One account in particular I really enjoy because of her content is Mik Zazon‘s because she and I share a few similarities; she, like myself, was an athlete, and, due to injuries, was forced to retire from sport. Following her retirement, and in combination with trauma from her past, she developed different eating disorders and other mental health conditions.
I find her account inspiring in the sense she is quite transparent – she doesn’t try to hide or sugarcoat the sometimes harsh realities of life and healing, and I’ve been following her for years now.
Recently, Mik posted a Reel in which she describes her success with something called somatic therapy. I’m familiar with generic therapy, but not somatic, so I wanted to look into it to see what it is all about.
The following information comes from forbes.com.
“Somatic therapy, sometimes known as body psychotherapy, is a therapeutic approach that places importance on what we experience in the mind and the body as well as the connection between the two. ‘Somatic’ itself means ‘of or relating to the body.’
“Somatic therapy equally emphasizes and treats both the body and mind, while talk therapy (psychotherapy) traditionally focuses more on thought processes, perceptions and behaviors.
“Somatic therapy typically encompasses multiple practices that focus on both mind and body.
“Recent research has pointed to somatic therapy as being effective when used as a treatment for trauma and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)[1][2].
“Individuals living with other mental health conditions may also benefit from certain somatic therapy treatments. EMDR, a practice often utilized in somatic therapy, was found to positively affect individuals with anxiety, addictions, somatoform disorders (where physical symptoms seem to have no explanation), sexual dysfunction, eating disorders, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and pain, according to a 2021 review in Frontiers in Psychology[3],” the web page explains.
Now that we have an idea of what somatic therapy is, check back tomorrow to learn specific ways and methods in which this form of therapy is conducted.
ontheedgeofeverything 