Soothing
You have likely been exploring ways that you are soothed through various means already.
The most obvious ones that people use are eating, drinking, potentially smoking or drug taking. Some use sport, music, dance and meeting friends. All of these can have some effect but may be masking underlying issues which can accumulate over time or they may become more ineffective with an accumulation of life stressors.
In our culture, which tends to focus on mental activity rather than our physical experience, we may have an under developed ability to be in touch with the impacts of experience of our wellbeing. We are often given many more opportunities to subjugate our needs to ‘fit in’ with the overall needs in our family, a school system. Work environments can also encourage us to deny physical needs. It’s not accident that our post pandemic world included strong desires to control our working environments. Many discovered they could be much more attentive to and supportive of their own needs while working in their home environment.
If getting in touch with what you need has become problematic, then in a counselling relationship we can explore your habits and expectations. It’s surprising how often we have internalised as ‘normal’ something which is repeatedly exhausting us or causing excessive anxiety.
There are many soothing mechanisms to explore. Mindfulness, breathwork, focussing, somatic experiencing, yoga are all options which can offer relief. I have spent periods of my life exploring all of these. However, I was resisting sharing and reaching validation and integration of those experiences with a trusted other. I was surprised to discover how important this part of the soothing process is. Noticing the importance of being ‘accompanied’ is a large part of our therapeutic experience.
If you would like to request a free half hour call to establish whether working with me could help support you in your discovery please email sabcounselling@gmail/com
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