Fortify Yourself. Self-Regulate.

This is one example of the kind of guided meditations I lead my patients in during clinical sessions. It is a simple way to begin the settling and embodiment process for those not used to relating to their body. It’s also the place to start when learning to self-regulate.

Self-regulation is a term used by the field of affective neuroscience to describe an individual’s ability to consciously and unconsciously manage and modify arousal states. It describes an the ongoing process of finding an equilibrium of the whole in the face of change. Learning how to self-regulate is fundamental to the manifestation and maintenance of health over time. The foundation of self-regulation is embodiment. The only way to begin learning how to be embodied is by developing a relationship with the body. This is done through finding the body in space and being present with the changes happening on a physiological level without expectation or judgment, but rather with an ever expanding sense of curiosity. Another word for this is mindfulness.

Redefining Your Trauma

Complicated by Glen Josselsohn

Once we have told the story of the trauma in our lives to others and others have reflected that story back to us, then it is time to make a choice. Our trauma either defines us for the duration of our life, becoming the closed box from which our actions and words stem, or the trauma becomes a stepping-stone from which we renegotiate who we are and pursue something different, even if we are not clear on what that is.