The Somatic Energy Approach to Managing and Reversing Adult Diabetes

SELF-EMPOWERED
HEALING

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Joanne Pizzino, MD, MPH, is board-certified in Preventive Medicine and diplomate-certified in Integrative Medicine. After her own self-empowered healing epiphany in 1997, she has guided people to live healthier through both Eastern and Western medicine, ancient and ultra-high-tech healing. Learn more about how to claim your power to heal yourself at our website doctorjp.com. Sign up for a Free Discovery Session to learn if the Self Empowered Healing process is right for you.

Tom Ronen Goddard, PhD is a psychotherapist practicing Core Energetics and various other somatic energy therapies. You can learn more about his practice at https://www.integralbecoming.com/

By Tom Ronen Goddard, PhD, and JP Pizzino, MD

Tom Ronen Goddard, PhD

Our modern medical technology often focuses on the concrete—chemistry and anatomy—without fully balancing the whole person by in-corporating (embodying) our emotions. If thoughts are the language of the mind, emotions are the language of the body. Most people are able to localize various emotions somewhere in their bodies, and we frequently notice stress manifesting as tension in various parts of the body if we pay attention. The vast majority of the activity of the brain is actually sub-conscious, that is below the level of awareness. This includes virtually everything going on to maintain life. We don’t usually have to think about our hearts circulating blood, hormones being manufactured, wastes being removed. And yet, the body is devoting most of its energy to making this happen–until we notice that it isn’t!

Somatic energy therapies allow us to notice and process how the internal forces in the body are responding to our emotions. These sub-aware experiences and energies have been shown to change physical measurements such as blood pressure, and chemical parameters such as blood glucose, cortisol, and other hormones.

Joanne Pizzino, MD, MPH

Further, most of us— whether we admit it or not—are aware that our emotional states influence lifestyle choices, such as diet, sleep, adherence to exercise, etc. In fact, the subtle self-sabotage that keeps us from paying attention to these self-care activities, contributes to the modern epidemic of diseases related to metabolism: diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Addressing the whole person to include actually shifting emotional energies has tangible benefits for both physical and mental well-being.

Somatic Energy and Health

Somatic energy psychology is rooted in the understanding that the body, emotions, mind, and even spirit are interconnected, and that energy flows through our physical and emotional experiences. Rooted in both ancient wisdom traditions and modern psychology is the notion that to be human is to experience, throughout one’s lifetime but particularly in childhood, events that pack too much emotion for us to fully process in that moment. Our appropriate defense response on such occasions is to store the energy of that unexpressed emotion in our subconscious and our body. That stored energy shows up as muscular constriction and other means of “holding” that energy in place, rather than letting it move as is energy’s tendency. Somatic energy psychology seeks to move—to free up—that energy and restore this life force energy to a free-flowing state.

But what is this energy to which we refer? “Somatic energy” refers to the subtle, yet tangible, energy that flows through our bodies. It encompasses the vital life force that animates us and plays a fundamental role in our well-being. We can harness and cultivate this energy through a variety of practices.

Emotional Release

Somatic practices also provide a means for safely releasing and processing stored emotional trauma or tension. The energy of such primary emotions as anger, fear, grief, and shame can get locked in the body, creating conditions that can be debilitating to a person’s health. Guided physical postures can release this.

Stress Reduction

Chronic stress is a known contributor to insulin resistance and blood sugar dysregulation. We simply were not built to sustain stress over time, and the toll on our health is something our prehistoric ancestors—whose stressful moments were brief by comparison—never had to deal with. Chronic stress causes the sustained release of hormones and other chemicals that, while useful when escaping, say, a saber-toothed tiger, can degrade our physical health when released all day, every day. Somatic practices offer effective stress reduction techniques, promoting relaxation and hormonal balance.

The Mind-Body Connection

Emotions are not isolated from the body; they have a profound impact on our physiological processes. For individuals with diabetes, understanding and managing emotions is a critical aspect of holistic care. This is particularly so around the relationship between stress and blood sugar, and the comorbidities of anxiety and depression.

Chronic stress, which results in a steady activation of the body’s “fight, flight, or freeze” response, triggers the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones increase glucose levels and inhibit insulin, both of which can lead to elevated blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes. Worse yet, if the release of cortisol is prolonged, one result can be insulin resistance, in which the body’s cells fail to respond effectively to insulin.

Inflammation is a common product of chronic stress. Inflammatory responses of the body can interfere with insulin signaling and can contribute to elevated glucose levels.

Anxiety and depression are common conditions which often occur with diabetes, affecting both mental and physical well-being in various ways. First, the stress that accompanies anxiety and depression has been linked to less effective glucose management. Second, anxiety and depression can affect lifestyle choices around food, exercise, and medication adherence.

The research supporting the relationship of body-centered mental health on physical well-being, and particularly those associated with diabetes, is abundant and growing. Foremost among somatic energy practices associated with the reduction of stress and the associated health issues are mindfulness practices. Among the best researched of these is Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed a half-century ago and the subject of hundreds of randomized clinical trials. For example, a 2018 study published in the Journal of Diabetes Research found MBSR to be a “useful method to help patients with type 2 diabetes to diminish their emotional stress and to improve glycemic control.”

The release of stored emotional trauma, too, is a powerful tool in the toolkit of available approaches for those living with diabetes. By moving the energy stored in the body as a defense against trauma, modalities such as core energetics, bioenergetics, somatic experiencing, or expressive therapies can help with managing stress and therefore result in more stable glucose levels. These modalities also can help mitigate the psychosomatic contributors to diabetes, especially in the case of stress-induced hyperglycemia.

Balancing mind and body gives you all the possible tools for reversing conditions such as diabetes while reducing dependence on medications. Learn more about how to harness your chemistry and emotions by scheduling a Free Discovery Session with Dr. Pizzino or Dr. Goddard. Or, attend one of our zoom meetings to get all your questions answered about these research-proven methods. Make this the year to finally get balance in your physical and emotional health.

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