Healing the Nervous System From Trauma: Somatic Experiencing

I review the book Moving Beyond Trauma by Ilene Smith, which teaches about using somatic experiencing to heal the nervous system from trauma.

Not a sponsor, but I do get a few cents in affiliate links.

Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC, and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

About Me:
I’m Emma McAdam. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and I have worked in various settings of change and growth since 2004. My experience includes juvenile corrections, adventure therapy programs, wilderness therapy programs, an eating disorder treatment center, a residential treatment center, and I currently work in an outpatient therapy clinic.

In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
----

[battlehymnoftheempath]

"Your nervous system does not function through thoughts, it functions through feelings" so profound

[ArcanumMysterySchool]

My jaw is on the floor. I learned more in 12 minutes than I have the past 10 years from doctors. This all makes so much sense now. I want to heal. My stress levels are so high and my health is deteriorating. Fibro, chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, ADHD, CPTSD, stomach issues ... as I age, I develop more problems. I have to mourn my entire 30s. This is giving me hope. Thank you so

[uncle-nice]

I remember having some minor surgery years ago and at that point I had never done any kind of drug at all. I didn't even drink small amounts of coffee or alcohol. They hit me with an intravenous dose of shrooms and I felt so good, so positive, and so thoughtful that I felt like I could've talked Hitler out of a wagging war.

[Jennifer-bwku]

Psilocybin saved my life. I was addicted to heroin for 15 years and after Psilocybin treatment I will be 3 years clean in September. I have zero cravings. This is something that truly needs to be more broadly used in addiction treatment.

[evalinevanderwiel]

Emdr is a very good tool in my experience, to treat anxiety and process stuck emotions. It really helped me and releived me from an overstressed nervous system.. what also really helped was, walking in nature, magnesium supplements, meditation, yoga, writing, healthy foods chocolat), 8 hours sleep a day/structure. Someone to talk to. Praying. Writing down 3 things your grateful for, every day🌻wishing You welll if you’re going trough anxiety, and/or depression🙏🏻Keep up the faith.

[Ladyybird]

I just wanna heal so badly at this point. My nervous system is out of control

[brandonlee]

Oh my god. Everything makes sense now. Everything makes so much sense, the reason why I experience these panic attacks and constant anxiety is because my body is still stuck in the trauma response. I have had 2 years of crippling anxiety and panic attacks for seemingly no reason but now I understand everything and feel so guilty for being so hard on myself. Thankyou, you have changed my whole way of thinking

[Christandnature]

(Written by River)
I have survived my fathers murder being raised by him as a sociopath vietnam veteran full of violence torture and rage, been chronically ill for 8 years, survived a miraculous car accident 2 weeks before my dads murder that i hadn't seen in 10 years. likea life for a life deal. been through 30 years of the cycle of abuse and didn't even realize until i got very sick to where i couldn't care for myself. been homeless, tortured, abused in every way, survived life threatening illness, a fall off a mountain, overdoses from trying to numb the pain of my life while upholding everyone around me emotionally and loving everyone deeply but myself. and somehow i'm still in here. i'm still breathing, still wanting to learn about myself, still wanting to be a light on this earth, and wanting people to feel comfort and worth.i pray for us all and i wish everyone nothing but the best and I LOVE YOU> you deserve peace i deserve peace we deserve peace. My names River and we all matter here.today I'm 33 days sober and a lifetime to follow. We can do this

[heatherflynn]

I am slowly learning how to heal my body's nervous system from trauma with yoga and the difference is incredible. I was constantly living in a state of fear and anxiety, any noise, any sudden movement, any strange situation, I would notice it, my heart would start beating so fast, I was diagnosed with IBS (didn't actually have it but was just my flight response to need the toilet), I was paranoid, obsessive thoughts and I never actually truly knew what rest and relaxation felt like. I started to become suicidal and got admitted to a hospital, I ended up staying there for a very long time. After being out for a few years and doing better in myself I started to do a yoga challenge for 30 days and im here nearly three months since doing yoga everyday and the difference is insane. Sometimes you dont realise how bad the state you are living in is as this just becomes your everyday reality - its not until you enter a different mind state that you come out of the state you have been living in and yoga did that for me. I look back at only a few months ago and feel such sadness how I had lived my life like that for so long, my body constantly in stress and such tension, I feel really lucky I didnt actually get super chronically ill. we really can heal ourselves through the body.

[willowoodz]

I AM SO HAPPY I CLICKED ON THIS VIDEO.

as a child- i was always shamed for feeling emotions too strongly. “you’re too sensitive” while i’m trying to communicate my needs or “don’t be so giddy” as i’m literally too joyous for words. i’ve always been shamed for my physical reactions to things. in fact- i’ve been shamed for nearly everything by my mom. but it’s not her fault. it’s definetly not my fault. it’s a cycle of abuse that i’m willing to break- even if that means that my mom will think i’m crazy or that i hate her. i want to love myself, and although i love her- i love her enough to let her go rather than seek revenge. i have support. i have coping mechanisms. i have goals. i want to heal.

[golmaal]

You have a motherly soothing voice and aura. Don't recall any other person better suited to psychological counseling. Wish you a happy fulfilling life.

[TowerJunkie]

About half way through I started crying. This is such a breakthrough moment for me... you have no idea.

[leonardstefanyshyn]

When you can find peace in the middle of all the mess and suffering, you are on your way. In this world there will be suffering. Thankyou for all you do. Praying for you and your family.

[ilikehumans]

“ Traditional Western psychology has failed many people” A truer statement has not been uttered! Read books by Gabor Mate he has done some excellent work regarding trauma and body.

[cosmichouseofrose]

I am a trauma therapist as well. I am so happy that you have this channel and you are sharing this important information on a larger scale.

[FaithInspiredWriter]

YES! For once, someone understands me and that talk therapy doesn’t work successfully for everyone, especially trauma survivors. I’m on a beautiful healing journey giving voice to my inner child who had been silenced for 50+ years. There’s no single pathway to recovery. For each person it’s unique. Part of my recovery is standing firm in my healthy boundaries. #MeToo

[cococarton]

Hi Emma, thank you for explaining this so well. I am stuck in grief over the loss of my 23 year old son from cancer. He was diagnosed at age 18 and passed away 5 years later. I have tried everything and nothing works, but listening to you explain the whole body will try this. Even in the video I felt it all made sense when talk therapy does not work for some people. Thanks again from Vancouver, Canada

[lizgutierrez]

Exactly. Talk therapy didn’t help me at all just made me feel worse. Thank you for sharing this info. Much appreciated.

[rhondar]

I've recently realized the healing power of these gentle somatic movements. Oh my goodness I'm so glad, Praise God! After years of self-help from a terrible abusive and traumatic childhood or lack of one, I thought I was doing pretty good. Then 6 years ago my fiance died suddenly and traumatically in my home. Me and my son tried to save him and it was an ordeal with the paramedics and him lying on my floor for hours. After my adult son started taking prescriptive pills not prescribed to him because of the experience and then proceeded to verbally bash me for a next couple of years for pills. It devastated me along with re-triggering the post-traumatic stress I had worked so hard to overcome and made me a nervous wreck. At one point I could barely move off my chair for almost a year along with truly wanting to no longer live for like two. Never experienced depression like this before. Luckily I'm not in that spot anymore but this time around Im a lot older and in a lot more pain from three surgeries on my neck with a whole lot less of my life to look forward to. I've been doing a lot of cognitive stuff, positive affirmations, meditation along with seeing a counselor weekly for about 10 months which is helped a whole lot but not fast enough. I don't want to die alone at home. I've never been someone to isolate like this. The pandemic and having no family made it so much worse. I'm so glad I found this and some other videos on this topic because I don't like who I am anymore. As a young adult I had no choice but to work on myself because I couldn't live in my own mind and be happy. I'm in the same position now. But I realize it's my body more than my mind now. I did some exercises last night and weeped out loud like a baby but I wasn't sad my body felt such relief, my chest had been so tight I couldn't hardly breathe for days. I felt instant relief and I could hardly believe it. My chest was so tight to the point I was feeling dizzy when I stood up. That's gone now. Thank you for putting out these videos, not just this one but all of them. They've helped me a lot in the last few years I just never found this one before. They say that teacher appears when the student is ready. They also say that teacher leaves when the student has learned;)

[CassaundraBabe]

After suffering with complex PTSD severely for the past six years, I found Ilene's book. I actually wept through the entire book because I finally could stop blaming myself (a very high-achieving, goal-getting individual for 35 plus years) for losing my career, relationships, friends, family after nearly two years of debilitating anxiety, depression, suicidal ideations, isolation, inability to focus or make decision and physical shut down.