River Psychotherapy LLC

Opening space for self-compassion to enter into the places of suffering.

What’s getting you through right now?

Healing comes from being seen and heard by a compassionate other.

A friendly reminder...

Your body doesn't trust your positive thoughts.

We experience the world first through our senses, this information is then sent to the brain where our mind constructs a narrative to make meaning of our experience.

In fact, approximately 80% of the neurons responsible for our survival are afferent, meaning they carry information toward the brain. I'm not a neuroscientist, but from my cursory understanding, there's a superhighway of information moving from our body to our brain and a winding path moving back to our body.

While this is an over simplification, it may help us understand why our body doesn't trust our positive thoughts nearly as much as our mind trusts our "positive" sensations.

In the words of Deb Dana, our "physiological state creates a psychological story."

This also explains why focusing on positive thoughts is inefficient at best, and in many cases can be dismissive and toxic. Prioritizing positivity gets it backwards — when we feel safe our mind is more likely to construct a positive story not the other way around.

We can't think ourselves out of trauma because our bodies don't care that much about our stories or our thoughts, our bodies simply want to be safe. Trying to convince ourselves that we're safe may result in a compelling story, but our body is not buying our positive thoughts. Our bodies don't speak a verbal language, they communicate in the language of sensation.

This realization has made a huge difference in how I understand and work with trauma.

I'd love to hear if this concept was a light bulb moment for you too.

-Brian

The gift of therapy.

Entering into a shared space with a therapist is all about turning inward - to slow down, be in the present moment, notice what comes up, soften to all feelings, and welcome all parts of ourself so they are seen and heard - on a path toward a beautiful unfolding into our authentic Self.