What do you notice when you look at the above image?
A color theme? A landscape? A person?
Maybe it evokes a feeling of being alone while facing a challenge.
Perhaps you are struggling to adapt to a new culture after moving to a different country. Or are dealing with a health issue that suddenly changed your world. You may feel like you’ve gotten knocked down. Your familiar self-image may be broken into pieces - some pieces are missing, some seem not to be relevant anymore.
I use the somatic approach to help individuals who manifest chronic neurologic and musculoskeletal symptoms:
feeling off balance, lack of coordination
fatigue, weakness, exercise intolerance
aching, stiffness
muscle twitching
neuropathy
autonomic nervous system dysfunction
As an immigrant myself, I also work with those who:
struggle to adapt to a new culture
have difficulties communicating in a different language
experience panic attacks, anxiety or are prone to somatization (a condition when psychological distress/pain is expressed through the body)
Getting up after being knocked down is not easy. Taking a step forward is even harder. But as long as you can breathe and use your consciousness, there is a chance for your system to rebalance and recalibrate. There is a choice to reinvent yourself, to expand your self-image beyond conditions or medical diagnoses. You are not your medical diagnosis, just like you’re not your accent or your language skills.
Take a look at the image one more time. The colors are calm. The landscape is peaceful. A person is well supported by the environment.
