The eyes are not only the ‘window to the soul’ but also to the buried traumas and troubles deeply embedded in the mind and body. So I learned and experienced first-hand in an intensive Brainspotting Training recently.
In my last Blog, I talked about how naming my company SOMA is so fitting because emotions do in fact get held in the musculature. And nowhere did that fact become more cemented for me than in the Brainspotting training.
Brainspotting is an outgrowth of EMDR, a therapeutic intervention that allows one to process the stuck, frozen trauma residue left within us. As with EMDR, Brainspotting was discovered almost accidentally by David Grand, a clever clinician, who realized that when talking about or ‘activating’ a particular trauma, certain eye positions will connect with a neural network that holds implicit memory of the frozen trauma. If one stays on the eye position and continues to talk or think or feel about the incident, deep processing occurs. The body gets involved by locating where one feels the most sensation while activating the issue. The appropriate brainspot will enhance that sensation. And then let the work begin!
I am very curious (albeit with reserved caution) to offer this intervention to my MVA clients. I am particularly curious to see how much deeper Brainspotting can go than my usual methods. Stay tuned.
Beverly Schwartz, LCSW
I am reading everything and it’s all very good. It’s wonderful to find a place and person that knows what’s happening when I can’t articulate words….I want to communicate but, my vocabulary is lost…then panic sets in and I experience fire works inside me. It feels painful somewhere.
Does that make sense? Am I going nuts?
My hands are numb when I wake up and yesterday, my whole left arm to my hand was numb. I woke up sleeping on my back. Yikes!
Hi Diane. Thanks for commenting. And sorry about your internal experiences—sounds unpleasant! Have you tried the deep breathing/relaxation exercise on the website? It is in the “audio” page. It’s actually quite relaxing and soothing. Many people love it and find it to be very helpful. It will help with that panic that you feel and the “fireworks inside”. And yes, it does make sense.
I don’t like how your hands and arm are feeling numb. You should have that checked out by a doctor or chiropractor. Good luck and take care.
Beverly