When I started working with therapists as a kid with ADHD, medication was all the rage, and many of them didn’t work for me. What I found later was that my ADHD was really a response to an emotionally chaotic experience in my environment – my nervous system developed in hypervigilance, which meant that my neural pathways and my nervous system itself was wired in fight or flight mode. When I started working with cognitive therapy in my 20’s, the layers started to peel and I started to see what was happening, and what I really needed.
A quick and easy explanation on this topic for the science minded: our nervous systems and brains are developing until we’re about 15 years old. During those early years, we are imprinted with everything happening around us. What happens if we are developing in an unregulated or unsafe household is that our brains and nervous systems are prioritizing survival and the chemicals like cortisol, adrenaline are prioritized over Serotonin and Dopamine. This then become our bodies default response in any situation that might be stimulating; good or bad, and we easily get “there.” Then, we need drugs to help us produce Seratonin and Dopamine. There have also been studies done that talk about brain development actually changing based on the chemicals when we are under duress as infants and children.
The good news is that – with work, we can change these outcomes, and manage our responses to stimulation, good or bad.
The reason I am studying to be a certified Somatic Integrative Therapist is because I have benefited from nervous system therapy more than most any other kind (cognitive therapies like EMDR, Lifespan Integration have been immensely helpful as well). And, nervous system therapies (read: Somatic) are things you can do every single day to help yourself.
Somatic therapy comes in the form of breathwork, getting in to our bodies and out of our heads, and physical movement like Yoga, Tai Chi, and more. I can teach you how to use your feet during a stressful meeting to completely calm yourself in 30 seconds.
Let’s breathe together.
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