The anguish of trauma not only settles in your mind, but also leaves its mark on your body. One way to address this kind of suffering is with a tool that has its roots in somatic therapy. Learn more about it here.
Every day you may find yourself constantly saying, “I have to be strong” or “I have to get this done”. This is because you are constantly trying to draw strength and courage from your deepest psychological layers. But in doing so, you also suppress your emotions. You suppress your sadness and anxiety in order to cope with everything and move forward.
As humans we are programmed to survive, but not so much to be happy. In fact, our brains always prioritize fighting, overcoming obstacles and avoiding pain at all costs. This explains why it is so difficult for you to manage your challenging emotions. Because you don’t understand and regulate them correctly, they are the types that manifest in countless sensations of physical discomfort.
If you somatize your distress, you experience unresolved trauma. The pain often manifests as panic attacks, palpitations, dizziness, headaches and musculoskeletal pain. Not to mention the psychological effects. In fact, it is not easy to untie the strong threads of unhealed wounds.
One psychological resource you can apply is a technique based on somatic therapy. Every day you may find yourself constantly saying, “I have to be strong” or “I have to deal with this”. This is because you are constantly trying to draw strength and courage from your deepest psychological layers. But by doing this you are also suppressing your emotions. You suppress your sadness and anxiety in order to cope with everything and move forward.
As humans we are programmed to survive, but not so much to be happy. In fact, our brains always prioritize fighting, overcoming obstacles and avoiding pain at all costs. This explains why it is so difficult for you to manage your challenging emotions. Because you don’t understand and regulate them correctly, they are the types that manifest in countless sensations of physical discomfort.
If you somatize your distress, you experience unresolved trauma. The pain often manifests as panic attacks, palpitations, dizziness, headaches and musculoskeletal pain. Not to mention the psychological effects. In fact, it is not easy to untie the strong threads of unhealed wounds.
One psychological resource you can apply is a technique based on somatic therapy. In fact, thanks to this fascinating tool, you can get rid of the burden of suffering in your body.
Pendulum technique
The pendulum technique is a resource developed by Dr. Peter E. Levine in the context of somatic experience therapy. Dr. Levine is one of the most prominent figures in medicine and psychology who has contributed to the study and treatment of trauma. His books Healing Trauma (2008) and Trauma and Memory (2015) are two of his most successful works.
Dr. Levine was a stress consultant for NASA. However, he is more famous for his work at numerous clinical centers addressing emotional pain. In fact, according to research conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, his therapeutic model of somatic experience is an effective resource for the treatment of post-traumatic stress.
His approach to coping with trauma is based on body awareness. He claims that it is not enough to be aware of and reflect on our pain, suffering and emotional discomfort. This is because trauma remains embedded in the body, causing tension, panic attacks, sleep problems, etc.
The purpose of the pendulum technique is to release and channel the frozen energy.
Purpose of the pendulum technique
The pendulum technique aims to take the individual from a state of suffering to a point of homeostasis or calmness. However, its purpose is not simply to reduce stress or to reach a state of inner relaxation. It is not a source of relief, but a healing of psychological trauma. Therefore, we must keep in mind the close connection between body and mind.
Its goal is to focus on the difficult emotions that surround us, learn to tolerate them, break them down and then gradually release them. Dr. Levine underlines the need to act sensitively, without rushing. Every drop of emotional pain that hyperactivates the central nervous system must be contacted to heal it. This prevents psychological trauma from intensifying.
How to do it
You feed your trauma-induced suffering on a daily basis with certain mental schemas, associated emotions and some bodily correlates arising from the psycho-emotional situation in question. Your body aches because your central nervous system immobilizes you. This is because it is being influenced by your lived experiences. Moreover, your mind is stuck on a past experience.
The pendulum technique aims to “move” all your negative energy from overexcitement to calmness. From pain to relaxation. It implies regulating the physiology of the threat to bring it into a state of safety. This process is not easy but you should try to train your mind, brain and body to deal with your trauma.
How this works:
1. When you feel pain, try to give it space and tolerate it
Sometimes a memory comes to you. There may be a particular stimulus, experience or situation that activates within you the pain of suffering and pain that overwhelms and paralyzes you. The first stage of the pendulum technique requires you to get in touch with your emotional pain and identify it:
Where do you feel the pain, in your chest or in your stomach? Does it make it difficult for you to breathe? Identify this.
If you feel overwhelmed by the suffering, focus on only a small part of it. The idea is that you can manage this discomfort so it doesn’t overwhelm you and you can work on it.
Familiarize yourself with proprioception, kinesthetic experiences and all kinds of subjective perceptions. After all, trauma is often associated with many physical memories such as smell, taste, sound, etc.
2. Look for pain-free areas in your body
Now that you have made contact with the parts of your body that are held by discomfort, tension or pain, become aware of the areas that are calm and relaxed, that are not causing you any problems. For example, maybe part of your abdomen doesn’t hurt, or maybe your hands, forehead or neck don’t hurt.
Scan your body to look for these harmonious areas and focus on that feeling. If you can’t find it, focus on your little finger. Nothing hurts or disturbs you in this area and everything is calm.
3. Pendulum: from pain to calm
The last stage of the pendulum technique is the most interesting. It involves shifting your attention from tense and painful areas to relaxed areas of your body. You have to move from pain to calm, from a chest or stomach dominated by anxiety and anguish to more harmonious parts of your body.
Almost without realizing it, you will become much more tolerant of your challenging emotions. Your trauma will dissolve and release the emotional energy that has been holding you back and blocking you.
Solution
According to Peter A. Levine, we all have innate healing powers that we can activate. In fact, as we have noted, although we are programmed to survive, not to be happy, resilience is also an integral part of being human. And according to somatic therapy, in order to heal, we can dismantle ourselves from our bodies by paying attention only to our minds.
Pendulum means moving from one dimension to another, moving from one fixed point to another and vice versa. In this case, your mind must tolerate emotional pain slowly and calmly. To do this, keep in mind that you need to give your attention to your body’s map to convince it to stop being defensive.
Finally, you must deactivate bodily reactions that are always alert and mobilized to protect you. You have to convince your body and your brain that it is safe.
