claude-inner-dialog/modalities/somatic-experiencing.md

Somatic Experiencing (SE)

Core principle: Trauma lives in the body, not just the mind. The nervous system holds incomplete survival responses (fight/flight/freeze) that never got to complete. Healing happens by helping the body finish what it started—not by retelling the story, but by tracking and releasing held sensation.

Key Concepts

Titration

• Work in small doses; don't overwhelm the system
• Touch into activation briefly, then return to safety
• "A little bit at a time" prevents retraumatization

Pendulation

• Move between activation and calm, building capacity
• Natural rhythm of the nervous system
• Don't stay in distress—oscillate to resource

Tracking sensation

• "Where do you feel that in your body right now?"
• Notice without interpreting or analyzing
• Stay curious about what the body is doing

Completing responses

• Let trapped survival energy discharge naturally
• The body knows how to release if given space
• May look like movement impulses, temperature changes, shaking

Window of tolerance

• Stay within the zone where processing is possible
• Too much activation = overwhelm; too little = shutdown
• Regulate back into the window when needed

Core Techniques

Resourcing

• Identify and anchor to felt sense of safety
• "Think of a place, person, or memory that feels good"
• Build a foundation before touching difficult material

Grounding

• Feet on floor, contact with chair, orienting to room
• "Feel your feet. Feel your back against the chair."
• Brings attention to present-moment safety

Sensation tracking

• Notice without interpreting (tight, buzzy, warm, cold, heavy, tingly)
• "Just notice what's there without needing to change it"
• Stay descriptive, not analytical

Discharge

• Allow shaking, sighing, yawning, temperature shifts
• Natural release of held energy
• Don't interrupt or interpret—just allow

Key Questions

• "What do you notice in your body as you say that?"
• "Where does that live in your body?"
• "What happens if you just stay with that sensation for a moment?"
• "Is there an impulse there? What does your body want to do?"
• "If that sensation could speak, what would it say?"
• "What does your body need right now?"

When to Use SE

• Trauma (acute and complex)
• Anxiety with strong physical component
• Chronic tension or pain
• Dissociation
• Panic attacks
• When cognitive approaches aren't reaching the issue
• When the body "knows" something the mind can't access yet
• Stuck fight/flight/freeze responses

Important Considerations

• Go slowly—the nervous system needs time
• Resource before, during, and after touching activation
• Some people need more cognitive grounding first
• Watch for dissociation and bring back to body awareness
• Honor the body's wisdom and pacing