Break free from chronic stress and anxiety with somatic therapy

Many clients arrive in therapy having already tried everything – from talking treatments to medication – and still feel stuck. They often feel like they have done the therapy, they have read the books, so why do they still feel broken? There’s often a deep sense of defeat underneath: “Have I done all this work for nothing? Did I miss something? Is this just who I am after all?” Even when they logically know they’re safe, their body still reacts as if danger is imminent. It’s as if their nervous system is stuck on high alert, and they can’t seem to turn it off.

This is where talking therapy combined with somatic interventions can offer something different.

Somatic interventions work with the nervous system – not just thoughts or emotions – to help the body release what it has held onto for far too long. It's based on a simple but often overlooked truth: healing doesn’t happen in the mind alone. If you’ve lived through chronic stress, emotional neglect, or trauma, chances are your body adapted in ways that still impact how you feel, think, and relate to others today.

When the body holds the story

You may already be familiar with terms like "fight, flight, freeze, or fawn." These are automatic responses of a dysregulated nervous system, rather than personal failures or flaws. In fact, many people with ADHD-like symptoms, anxiety, or burnout are often stuck in these states, feeling as if their body is always preparing for something bad to happen.

Somatic interventions don’t focus on how you “think” your way out of these states. Instead, it helps you feel safer in your body, often for the first time. You learn to notice sensations, develop internal awareness, and slowly build a tolerance for previously overwhelming feelings. This gentle process of tracking and completing your stress responses helps the nervous system recalibrate.

Take one of my clients, Leah – She came to therapy feeling burnt out and stuck. She had done years of talking therapy and self-help work, but her body felt like it was always on edge, as if something bad might happen at any moment. She lived in a state of tension and disconnection – always “on,” but never at ease.

Through talking therapy combined with somatic interventions, Leah began noticing what was happening in her body, not just her thoughts. At first, it was as simple as feeling her body breathing. Over time, she learned to recognise how her body responded to emotions, and to gently shift those patterns to release emotions in a safe way.

As Leah rebuilt a sense of safety from the inside out, her anxiety lessened, her energy returned, and for the first time, she felt at home in her body – not just surviving, but finally living.

Why this is especially helpful for chronic stress

Clients often come to me saying they’re exhausted, scattered, disconnected, or reactive, and nothing seems to shift that state long-term. Somatic work can help you:

• rebuild a felt sense of safety
• develop tools to downshift from high alert
• address chronic patterns like overthinking, people-pleasing, or shutdown
• strengthen boundaries – internally and relationally
• connect with pleasure, ease, and curiosity again

A regulated nervous system isn’t always calm – but it is flexible

Regulation isn’t about being calm all the time. It’s about your system having the range to respond and recover from stress, conflict, and everyday life. Somatic work helps increase this range.

When your body learns it’s no longer living in the past, it begins to stop reacting as though it is. And this is where deep, sustainable change begins – not by trying to control your symptoms, but by understanding their origins and restoring safety from the inside out.

What you can do

If this resonates, know that you're not alone – and you're not stuck. There are ways forward that honour both your story and your body’s wisdom. Here are a few places to start:

• Explore somatic work: Learn more about body-based healing through resources like The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.
• Try a journaling prompt: How connected do I feel to my body right now? In what moments do I feel most present, or most disconnected? Notice what comes up without trying to change it. Awareness is the first step.
• Pause and tune in: Start small. Take 30 seconds to feel your feet on the floor, notice your breath, or gently place your hand on your chest. These moments of presence send powerful safety signals to your nervous system.
• Work with an integrative somatic therapist: A trained practitioner can help you safely explore what's stored in the body and guide you through the process of regulation and release.

The patterns you developed were not flaws – they were brilliant adaptations to help you survive. But survival isn’t the same as living. You don’t have to carry these responses forever. By reconnecting with your body, you can begin to rewrite the story written in your nervous system and reclaim a life that feels more grounded, open, and truly yours.