In this article, I will talk about the ways general work can stress and impact us, how our nervous system can respond to this, and how somatic techniques can help us overcome this chronic tension in our bodies from the stressors we face daily.
As professionals, day-to-day happenings at work can be incredibly stressful and anxiety-provoking. If you are not careful, this anxiety and muscle tension can make you less flexible at work and more susceptible to burnout. Somatic quieting can help us self-regulate our anxiety and make more effective decisions that are intentional instead of reactive.
First, let’s review what somatic quieting is.
Understanding Somatic Quieting
Somatic quieting literally means quieting the movements and experiences in our body. The whole idea behind somatic quieting is that our nervous systems are responsible for helping us respond to danger and for keeping us safe.
Sometimes our nervous system’s fight or flight response can get out of whack; being stressed about getting to school on time to pick up the kids IS NOT the same as a wild Grizzly bear approaching. This is where somatic quieting can help us regain control of our nervous system, which is on fire.
If our nervous system is “on fire” —severely overloaded and overwhelmed— we are going to be more likely to react inappropriately to situations (like the picking the kids up on time mentioned earlier). As you can imagine, this takes A LOT of energy and can be exhausting. For more information on somatic quieting and how it can help you reduce physical tension, check out this article where I go into more detail on this.
Why Somatic Quieting is Important for the Health of Nurses and Professionals?
As you may very well know as a nurse or professional, high-tension and high stress work environments can be brutal. It is hard to make sure you do not bring all of that home with you. If you do not do anything to intentionally cope with all of that anxiety, that increased tension and stress will lead to your job performance suffering and an increased chance of burnout.
The constant stimulus at work can lead our autonomic nervous system and sympathetic nervous system to be over-activated, leading to toxic stress within the body. This toxic stress can ultimately build into traumatic stress that is stored in the body. This can lead to a deterioration of our physical and mental health. Utlimatic building into chronic pain, physical health issues, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.
To protect ourselves at work, and limit the potential for our stress to develop into an anxiety disorder or PTSD, we need to use neuroscience to our advantage and abate the trauma response with these mindfulness practices.
What Are the Signs of Emotional Responses to Trauma In the Workplace?
There are some signs to look out for that can signal that it is time you need to do something to intentionally cope. If you don’t, you may be developing toxic stress, which can lead to PTSD. Is there someone who is all of a sudden getting under your skin? Are you being more snappy? Are you maybe even detaching from your emotions? Yep, all signs you may be on the edge of burnout or making unnecessary mistakes at work, where others rely on you.
I hope these things will be enough for you to take action for yourself or for the longevity of your career. If it is not, remember that you may also be less productive at work and with the people you serve. You may be missing something. It is important to be present, these skills and techniques can help.
Techniques for Practicing Somatic Quieting
Like I talk more about in this article, we need to regain control of our nervous systems by using somatic quieting techniques. The three techniques that are most effective and that I use myself are rag doll, body scanner, and pelvic floor relaxation. Before practicing these, if you have not heard of square breathing, check this article out first, as it will help you be more successful with these.
Ragdoll
With the ragdoll technique, we are narrowing all of our focus completely and totally relaxing every single muscle in our body. This is a simple concept but can be sneakily hard to implement.
When I am coaching clients through this exercise I hear time and time again that they recognize that their brain is jumping all over the place. It will take some practice, but try to focus completely and totally on relaxing those muscles of yours.
Body Scanner
The next skill that people find helpful is called “scanner”. When I describe this exercise I describe it as visualizing a self-checkout barcode scanner.
This technique has a similar idea as the previous ragdoll activity, but it is slightly different. Instead of relaxing every muscle all at one time, you will control that “scanner” and go over every inch of your body, completely relaxing each muscle that the scanner touches and keeping it relaxed.
For some of my clients, the ragdoll visualization is difficult because focusing is hard for many people. If that is you, then this scanner may be more your style. There are more things for us to focus on, which helps us stay in the activity.
Pelvic Floor Relaxation
The final activity is my favorite one and the one I use most often with my clients. It works as it sounds; the entire purpose is to relax our pelvic floor. This works because this is the area of our body that is most closely connected to our nervous system via the vagus nerve, and that means this can be the most effective one if we can successfully relax that area of our body.
If you do not know where your pelvic floor is,
with your thumbs, feel for the tops of your pelvis. This is usually where your belt sits. Then find the bottoms of your pelvis. To do this, forgive me for being crass, sit on your hands with a cheek in each hand, and feel for the bony protrusion in the center of each. Those four points make a rectangle, and relaxing everything in that rectangle will relax your pelvic floor.
While sitting, find a comfortable position where every part of your body is lying naturally. Get comfy. Relaxing your pelvic floor is a strange sensation, but after focusing on this area, you will almost get the sensation of it lowering. It is honestly amazing how much tension is in this area.
Practice this consistently and you will start to do it subconsciously. You will begin to be more aware of the tension that is being held in your body. This will help you connect your mind and body.
Incorporating Somatic Quieting into Your Daily Routine
The powerful thing about these options is that they do not take much time. It is not so much about how long you do them for, it is how many times you do them. The more you practice these mindfulness exercises, the less cognitive effort it takes on your behalf.
As a professional, the work you do is busy, constant, and taxing. You do not have time to take 15 minutes to meditate, right? Challenge yourself to take 30 seconds, 7 times a day to practice one of these that work best for you.
The more times you do these, the quicker they will turn into habits. That is where the magic is. If you see patients or have back to back meetings all day, take 30 seconds after each one to practice one of these. Each time you will recognize how your body is somatically experiencing your tension. For the first week you will need to intentionally remind yourself to do this. But after a month straight of doing this, you will recognize that you are subconsciously doing this.
The most impactful way we can cope daily is to implement these practices habitually. By adding these strategies into your routine, you will be inviting more intention into your day and calming your nervous system down. You will start to recognize you are more in control of your emotions, and you may even find that your day feels more manageable. If you think you would like more mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques, read this article.
Final Thoughts
As a professional, your day is filled with back to back meetings and days that require incredible mental focus. This constant tension can take its toll on your body and can leave you feeling exhausted and reactive.
By using the ragdoll, body scanner, or pelvic floor relaxation techniques you can take your life back and regain control of your nervous system. Turning these techniques into habits can allow you to be more intentional in your day to day life and can drastically limit the levels of burnout you are feeling.
If you are interested in additional support in getting your life back from the constant tension you are experiencing, I would be honored to be a part of that process. As a healthcare provider, psychotherapy may be a core part of maintaining a lifelong, successful career. If you live in Maine and want to start therapy, I look forward to hearing from you!
