Why Mindset, Affirmations and Talk Therapy May Not Work for You

Have you found that when you try to change your thoughts/mindset or do affirmations, it might feel good at the moment but it doesn’t change how you feel long term?

This doesn’t mean that you’re doing it wrong or that there’s anything wrong with you.

The reason these practices aren’t working for you is that working with your thoughts accesses the cognitive part of your brain. When you are feeling stuck, anxious, overwhelmed, or depressed, that is originating in your nervous system which is your brain in your body. This is the part of you that feels emotions, sensations, sees images and has impulses. This part, your somatic nervous system part, detects and sends 80% of the information from your body to your brain. Only 20% goes from the brain to body.

Nervous system repatterning is totally possible and proven, it’s called Neuroplasticity.

How do you effectively shift how your respond to stress?

Adopt this 3 step system. Remember, this is a Lifestyle, not a quick fix:

1. Educate -> learn how the nervous system works and more importantly how YOUR nervous system works. This is a VERY important step. You can’t just do some mindfulness exercises and then voila all is well forevermore.
2. Regulate -> develop of toolbox of nervous system regulation tools that work for you so that you can build regulation into your system. This is a daily practice of regulating and building a relationship with your nervous system to support yourself in feeling grounded, at ease, open to possibilities, curious and interested in connecting with others.
3. Repattern - once you have more regulation on board you can learn how to move emotions through your body to full digestion. Learning how to do this is a superpower that we should have learned in science class when you learned about your body. You will be able to clear stuck stress (aka Trauma) and move through challenging emotions when they arise.

I invite you to contact me here to schedule a one-on-one consultation to talk about what it will look like to work together

With LOVE and Regulation
Dorie

PS. Check out the weekly class schedule for Somatic Movement Classes

I've Tried Everything and I'm Not Sure This Will Help Me

Since I was a little girl, I’ve struggled with my health.  Chronic sinus infections and nausea, a year of undiagnosed cysts, emergency surgery, fibroids, and anemia, to name a few.  I’ve had doctors tell me I was making it up, say it was a virus when they had no idea what was going on, and laugh in my face when I told them how I felt.  Today, I see these ongoing challenges as the motor behind my insatiable desire to find optimal health and wellness. There is something in me that believes that I CAN feel good in this life, and I will do what I can to seek that goodness.  

My latest challenge is a combination of blood sugar, hormonal, and metabolic issues that create chronic hunger.

Here’s the cycle: my blood sugar plummets rapidly and my brain gets foggy. I’ll eat something, and then immediately be starving as if I haven't eaten in days. When my blood sugar drops, I feel like an emotional and physical wreck. Because of this, I feel chronically panicked about food. I think about my next snack or meal constantly, and make sure to always have food with me (which has to be just the right kind of food so I don’t crash). And before you know it, I’m hungry again.

UGH…exhausting.  

I knew that I couldn't keep up with this on my own and that I needed some help. I saw doctors, I took tests, but just like the rest of my life, I found allopathic medicine coming up short.

So, that part of me that never gives up on my health, that KNOWS my body can heal, went on a hunt to find someone who could support me in this next level of healing.  I invested money and trust in a specialist who works with these challenges and got to work.

I’ve been on the new protocol for 2 weeks and I am delighted to say…it’s starting to work!  After struggling for so long and trying things that haven’t worked for decades, I am a little bit shocked. AND I also know that with the right habits and ingredients, the intelligence in my BodyHome can move the needle in the right direction.

It’s going to take some time and I’m here for it.

I’m hopeful and I’m willing to do the uncomfortable things to shift how I feel.

It feels important to note that

Feeling good in my body takes priority over the discomfort of changing habits.

This has become my mantra when it comes to being a steward of my BodyHome.  It is a mantra that naturally arose when I began working on my nervous system. Daily, I am creating new ways of relating to my BodyHome that help me to feel safer, at ease, and that I’ve got me.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I get overwhelmed and can’t do more for my health.  The energy and effort ebbs and flow.  Sometimes I just need to let it go and then, I get a message from my body that it's time for a change.

Are you are getting the sense that:

• The stress, anxiety, stuckness, or depression you’re feeling is in your body?

• Just talking about your issues or past is perpetuating the trauma?

• The time is now to make habit changes that will support your system in feeling more at ease?

• You KNOW that there is an intelligence in you that you want to support to feel more at home in your body?

• You want to experience your own power, confidence, and intuition?

• Your wish for the future is you feeling better and better, not sicker and sicker?

If you said yes to any of these questions and you still feel hesitant or unsure about taking a step forward, I completely get it.  I feel both sides of the coin every time I step into something new. It’s natural and it makes sense.  

Does feeling unsure mean to step closer or step back?

Great Question! Only you know what’s true for you.

Here is what I know:  

Maybe it’s possible to hold hope and uncertainty at the same time. See what that feels like for you. Can you tolerate that little bit of discomfort in service of feeling something new and different? Can you tolerate the little bit of I don’t know if this will work for me in service of feeling more embodied, calm, and empowered with tools to take care of your system?

When you’re sick of the old patterns and ways of being that aren’t working for you, you will be ready to take action.  

IF you are ready, I invite you to:

Join the Settle Your Sh*t Healing groups starting in July
8 weeks of group sharing and nervous system work
Join the waitlist here.

Or

I invite you to contact me here to schedule a one-on-one consultation to talk about somatic therapy

Have courage and follow the cycles.
With LOVE and Regulation
Dorie

PS. Check out the weekly class schedule for Somatic Movement Classes

"It’s all unfolding faster than my nervous system and psyche can manage it"- John Kabat Zinn

I'm sure you've experienced it.  Life has become unmanageable and you're feeling anxious, stuck,or highly emotional and you don't know what to do.

"It’s all unfolding faster than my
nervous system and psyche can manage it"
- John Kabat Zinn

Should I calm myself down?
Should I push through and wait for it to pass?

There's something in you that knows you have to do something.  And you know it goes deeper than your thoughts and memories, it's in your body. But all you have is your old strategies that might dull the pain for the short term.

I lived in this space for 45 years.  Feeling like my emotions were controlling me rather than feeling as if I have control.  I hated it and I started hating myself.  I felt like no matter what I tried, the effects were short-lived and I was right back into my old patterns.  It felt like these patterns were who I was and I just had to accept it.

Then, I found a way to understand these patterns and the exact tools that worked for my nervous system.  This was absolute freedom.  I started to see shifts very soon after I started receiving Somatic Experiencing sessions and even 6 years later, I still see them happening, for myself and my clients every day.

You can feel empowered with tools that work specifically for your nervous system.  This isn't some cookie-cutter plan or process.  This is actual science that you can apply to your specific nervous system and develop ways of relating to yourself that will help you shift out of feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and stuck.

Ready to get started?
Signup for the next Settle Your Sh*t healing group here
Reach out here to set up a 30-minute complimentary consultation regarding somatic therapy

Check out the weekly somatic movement class schedule here

With LOVE and Regulation~
Dorie