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is trauma "stored" in the body?
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It's not revolutionary to say, "Healing isn't linear," but what does that actually mean? It means thinking that the case is closed when ... it's not. But you only realize this much much later. It means going back to your PT exercises when you feel the back pain creep in. It means finding yourself reacting emotionally to a problem that you used to think would be no big deal. It means finding yourself in the emotional abyss you used to know so well and thought you'd said goodbye to years ago. (“Hello, darkness my old friend …”) It means working hard to recover from trauma only to find yourself once again crippled by just the idea of going back home. It means finally being able to hike again but then spraining your ankle in the exact same place. It means realizing that maybe “getting over it” was never the right goal. There’s an idea in the wellness world that we can clear out the things that are the monkeys on our backs, the things that hold us back, the things we want to let go of and never look back. But what if healing doesn’t work that way? What if these things remain part of us, and the work is learning how to relate to them differently? Maybe healing has less to do with getting rid of what happened and more to do with befriending the body that lived through it. That’s what Kelly and I get into on the podcast: what it actually means for trauma to live in the body, what our bodies do with the things we’ve been through, and why healing may have less to do with “getting rid of” something than we’ve been taught. Oh and I talk about why I hate the term “knot” when it comes to working out tension in a massage. Listen to Ep. 39 - Is Trauma Really "Stored" in the Body? This episode has sparked an unofficial series that we’re working on that will go through the whole body. It’s brought me back to the foundations for how I approach the body in the treatment room. I hope it inspires you to befriend your body. In Joy, P.S. I forgot to get this out last week so you’ll get a second email from me later this week on the next episode on FEET!👣
Latest EpisodesClick to read about and listen to these episodes. #31 - Being in the Trenches Without Going to War With Yourself #33 - Why The Odyssey Still Hits So Hard: Archetypes, War, and the Search for Home #32 - How to Turn Emotional Wounds into Insight: Lessons from Tibetan Buddhism #34 - A Mini Solo Episode: Showing Up When Life Gets Messy #35 - Why Your Brain Needs a Friend (The Addition Edition) #36 - How to Compromise in a Relationship Without People-Pleasing or Losing Yourself #37 - Dolly Parton and the Trickster Archetype: A Jungian Analysis of Her Life and Legacy #38 - Why You Can’t Control Getting Sick #39 - Is Trauma Really "Stored" in the Body?
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Nyssa Hanger
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A few weeks ago we went to our vacation spot -- Cocoa Beach -- for our biannual trip. (I've written about that more here.) I feel like Kelly and I have gotten into a nice groove with this place. We always stay at the same resort and at this point we've got our favorite places to visit. This trip we got big into doing jigsaw puzzles, check out this beautiful one we completed: Yes, that tested both my botanical and geographical knowledge! But then two days before leaving I started to realize...
Hey Reader, It's been a minute. If you're new here, I usually send this newsletter once a week. But apparently I've taken an accidental sabbatical. I shared a few months ago that we're renovating our house ... while still living in it. At this point I'd say I don't recommend it. 😫 So we've spent the past few months shuffling our belongings from room to room, trying to make space for the work while also going to work, taking care of ourselves and our animals, and generally keeping life moving....
Every time I sit down to write this email, I face the same thing: The voice in my head that tells me I don't have anything worth saying. Or worse, that what I have to say is not worth saying. I'm sharing this because I want to normalize the battle with the Inner Critic. ⚔️ (And I'm guessing this sounds familiar to you, too.) In the latest episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and I discuss the next two sayings from Uncle Murray's canon, both of which point to a way through one of the...