Somatic Tracking Isn't Working!

So you've tried Somatic Tracking for your chronic pain a bit but it doesn't seem to be working.

Maybe you read about it in my blog, found some guided practices on Youtube or in an app, or maybe you've even had a session or two with a Pain Reprocessing Therapist or Coach.

You're feeling frustrated; impatient even. What's the deal?

Does it not work? Is PRT a bad fit for you?

Nope. That's not it.

Your first move here is to check your mindset and approach to using Somatic Tracking. Are you approaching this practice with a "quick-fix" mentality, or like you're in a hurry? Do you view it like it's a different version of a pill or procedure that you hope you can do just once or a few times and then be done?

One or two tries with this practice won't give you the full picture; remember that Somatic Tracking is all about teaching your nervous system to feel safe in the face of uncomfortable sensations.

And as Alan Gordon, the founder of PRT, likes to answer when people ask him how long it will take them to heal from their chronic pain, "as long as it takes your nervous system to learn safety."

But if you can check that mindset box and you're still not unlocking pain relief, then it's time to go deeper.

Remember that pain is not just a sensation, it's a complex calculation in your brain that blends the sensations you're feeling (bottom-up processing) with beliefs, emotions, and expectations (top-down predictions).

That means chronic pain is a holistic, mind+body challenge. And a holistic challenge requires a holistic solution.

So, while Somatic Tracking is a great practice for creating safety in our nervous systems around pain sensations, for most people it offers only one dimension of the healing process and is not a complete solution. When my clients stall out on pain relief from using that mindfulness practice alone, I know very clearly that it's time to begin addressing the belief and emotional realms too.

The beliefs and emotions that are connected to our pain are important to unpack and create freedom around. Research shows that key triggers for the development of chronic pain include:

• Personality traits like perfectionism, self-criticism/pressure, anxiousness/worry, people-pleasing, and even conscientiousness.

• Bottled-up or unexpressed emotions like grief, fear, anger, or shame.

• Distance from emotions all together, like for folks that over-value logic, rationale, and being cool-headed, or those that grew up in environments where emotional expression wasn't valued or was even denigrated.

• Stressful childhood experiences -- not just trauma, but things like divorce, poverty, or growing up with caregivers that experienced their own chronic health challenges.

Chronic pain is often the body's expression of a deep emotional learning or belief like one of these examples. So solving pain requires addressing those non-physical, emotional or psychological challenges too.

Can you do that yourself?

It is possible to unravel the emotional & belief layers of chronic pain on your own, but this can be tricky. Our emotions and beliefs make up subconscious elements of our core operating systems. So, like the proverbial fish that doesn't know it's swimming in water, it's often hard to see the details of the system we're operating in from within the system itself.

If you're getting stuck or don't know which direction to go, this is likely the time to bring in a pro for an assist.

My recommendation? Somatic coaching or therapy methods like Hakomi, Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, Interpersonal Neurobiology, Coherence Therapy and the like. 

These practices help you get away from just talking about what's going on, or creating new strategies for dealing with your pain (like in traditional talk therapies or CBT), and into your body to better connect with those realms like emotions and belief that are often just beyond our conscious awareness.

There you can learn more about what's being expressed through your body and why, and find a new, better way to help your nervous system experientially land on the safety in really needs to resolve your pain for good.

Yes, it's a significant step from practicing Somatic Tracking on your own to doing deep, embodied somatic work to address your emotions and beliefs. But for many it's the way forward that finally offers a solution to their chronic pain.