Microdosing and somatic healing is a powerful combination. Somatic healing helps you better feel your body, where tension is building up and release it. With this you can support a process of trauma processing. Microdosing can be supportive in this. Below you will read what somatic healing is and why it can be healing for the body and mind.
What is somatic healing?
In this blog, we discuss what somatic healing combined with microdosing can do for your mental and physical health.
Please note that this blog is for inspiration and does not replace medical advice. With mental or physical symptoms, it is important to always consult your doctor.
Somatic healing (also called somatic experiencing or somatic therapy) is a way of working, where you focus on your body, on how it feels and where tension is accumulated. When you experience an intense event, the body stores feelings. Somatic healing helps you connect and release these emotions.
How is somatic healing applied?
A therapist helps you focus on your breathing and how your body feels. Where do you feel discomfort, tension, cold or heat? The therapist leads through various steps and asks you to move or stretch and sometimes gently touches you to help you relax. This helps you release tension and stress that you didn’t even know was there.
Somatic healing can help you relax, unwind and feel more peaceful. In fact, this therapy gives your body a chance to tell its story. At Harvard Health, you can read more about this form of therapy, including in what ways it differs from other forms of therapy. Some people have difficulty connecting with their bodies. Therefore, microdosing would be a good combination with somatic healing. We will elaborate on that later. First, it is good to know what somatic healing can be used for.
A relevant expert who emphasizes the importance of body-centered therapy in trauma is Peter A. Levine, the founder of Somatic Experiencing. In his book Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, he states.
“The body remembers what the mind forgets; it is through somatic experiencing that we access and find release from stored traumatic memories.”The Best Book Summary App | Bookey
Although Levine does not specifically address microdosing, his work underscores the importance of body awareness in processing trauma. Combining somatic experiencing with other approaches, such as microdosing, can be potentially valuable, if under professional guidance.
What can somatic experiencing be used for?
It can be useful for a variety of problems, both physical and mental.
- PTSD
- Fears
- Addiction
- Mourning
- Depression
- Stress
- Chronic pain
The effectiveness of somatic healing has been studied. A review of literature (83 articles were reviewed, of which 16 met the criteria) published on PubMed (2021)) concluded that there appears to be preliminary evidence of positive effects on PTSD-related symptoms. In addition, data show that this therapy has a positive impact on affective and somatic symptoms and on measures of well-being, in both traumatized and non-traumatized samples.
The powerful combination of somatic healing and microdosing
Somatic healing is in itself a good way to work on yourself. But microdosing could potentially be a good way to support this process. Microdosing involves taking a very low dose of a psychoactive substance, such as truffles, for example. The dose is so low that no mind-altering effects are noticeable, but you may be able to experience the benefits. Microdosing along with somatic healing can help process traumatic events and understand yourself. These are the benefits of combining somatic healing and microdosing.
Increase awareness
Both microdosing and somatic experiencing can help you become more aware of what is happening inside you. While you are processing trauma, these forms of therapy can help you stay calm and mindful. This gives space to learn new things about yourself and become aware of certain thinking patterns.
Some of the benefits include better coping with your emotions, solving personal challenges. You find new ways to deal with problems. Many people report that microdosing helps them get along better with others because you understand yourself better.
