Have you had moments where you take deep breaths to calm down or go for a walk to clear your head? Whether you’re managing anxiety or everyday stress, these somatic coping skills could already be a part of your routine.

Mental health is not just in our minds but our nervous system, body awareness and our physiology. Using awareness of physical sensations and movement to express negative emotions are being increasingly discussed as important coping strategies. These somatic coping skills focus on mind-body connection as a way to process trauma, increase resilience, improve emotion regulation and self-awareness (Özel, 2023). These somatic skills can have a great influence on our mental health. Before looking at specific techniques, it is important to understand why they work.

What does the research have to say about somatic coping skills?

To make sense of somatic coping, we need to understand how the body responds to stress through the fight or flight response. The fight or flight response is the reaction of the nervous and endocrine systems that signals to us that we are in danger or need to escape (McCarty, 2016). For example, imagine you are taking a hike, and you see a bear. Your body will have a physiological reaction like your heart rate increasing and eventually you might run away to avoid the bear or stay still so the bear doesn’t notice you. The fight or flight response keeps you safe by sending signals to your body so you can interpret the situation as dangerous. This signal includes rapid breathing, tense muscles, nausea, dry mouth, increased blood pressure and more (McCarty, 2016). 

The fight or flight response can be triggered for things related to trauma and mental health conditions. An example of this is feeling anxious in crowds, your heart rate increasing, and because of this you might leave and avoid situations with large crowds. This is where somatic interventions can be helpful like practicing box breathing in that moment. Somatic techniques work to lower stress, increase introspective awareness, regulate the nervous system, and manage bodily sensations and emotional responses (Özel, 2023). Research has shown that practicing these techniques can lead to positive outcomes such as self-control, increased positive thinking, better attention skills, and reduced impulsivity, anxiety, depression and perceived stress (Neal, 2021). 

What are common somatic coping strategies and what can it feel like? Here some common examples of somatic coping practices:
– Exercise (Tai chi, stretching, dancing)
– Breathing techniques (box breathing or belly breathing)
– Practicing mindfulness
– Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) tapping
– Grounding techniques (5-4-3-2-1 method, aromatherapy )

Somatic expression or release can vary for each person. It’s the body’s way of letting go of stored stress, tension and trauma that is held in the nervous system. This release can be seen in physical and emotional responses. Some physical sensations that may be experienced are muscle twitches or shaking of the body, crying, temperature changes in the body, yawning as the nervous system starts to regulate and tight areas may start to soften (Lynning et al., 2021; Payne, Levine & Crane-Godreau, 2015; Hosono et al., 2022). For example, when trying grounding techniques while having anxiety you might cry, which is normal because your body is reacting to the release of these emotions. Some emotional response to these somatic practices may include waves of anger, sadness or relief that then eventually pass (Haller et al, 2018). There are feelings of lightness in the body or even laughter (Kramer & Cristiane, 2023). Somatic release can feel very intense, or it can be subtle, but both support the regulation of your nervous system. 

Key takeaways: Somatic coping is important to our mental health because it creates a mind-body connection and may help to processes trauma, improves emotion regulation, and increases self-awareness. The fight or flight response explains how somatic practices support the body when dysregulated. These strategies can improve attention, reduce anxiety and depression while the somatic release can be physical and/or emotional. Regardless of how you choose to practice somatic coping techniques, the key is to regulate your nervous system and support your mental well-being.

Seerita Sankar, BASc.  

References

Haller, H., Saha, F. J., Ebner, B., Kowoll, A., Anheyer, D., Dobos, G., Berger, B., & Choi, K.-E. (2018). Emotional release and physical symptom improvement: a qualitative analysis of self-reported outcomes and mechanisms in patients treated with neural therapy. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-018-2369-4 

Hosono, S., Fujita, K., Nimura, A., & Akita, K. (2022). Release of cervical muscle tension improves psychological stress and symptoms of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: A case series with 20 Patients. Dermatology and Therapy, 12(10), 2383–2395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-022-00814-x 

Kramer, C. K., & Cristiane Bauermann Leitao. (2023). Laughter as medicine: A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional studies evaluating the impact of spontaneous laughter on cortisol levels. PLoS One, 18(5), e0286260–e0286260. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286260 

Lynning, M., Svane, C., Westergaard, K., Bergien, S. O., Gunnersen, S. R., & Skovgaard, L. (2021). Tension and trauma releasing exercises for people with multiple sclerosis – An exploratory pilot study. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 11(5), 383–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2021.02.003 

McCarty, R. (2016). The fight-or-flight response: A cornerstone of stress research. Stress: Concepts, Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior, 1(1), 33–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-800951-2.00004-2 

Neal, A. M. (2021). Somatic interventions to improve self‐regulation in children and adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 34(3), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcap.12315 

Özel, D. (2023). “We are all in this together”: Coping with stress during uncertain times through somatic experiencing. Group Analysis, 57(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/05333164231189471 

Payne, P., Levine, P. A., & Crane-Godreau, M. A. (2015). Somatic experiencing: Using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(93), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00093  

*This information is not intended to replace psychotherapeutic and/or medical advice or practices. They are for educational purposes only.