Parts Work For Anxiety

I’m excited to share the 4 step process of Somatographic Imagery with you. It’s a tool you can implement immediately - which provides relief in the NOW. It also works to retrain your brain the more you use it. You’re literally rewiring the neural networks in your brain. I'll walk you through 4 steps of visuals and affirmations to calm triggered parts.

Transcript

What we're going to do today,

The process of somatographic imagery is all about giving you quick access to feeling calm and relaxed in your mind and body,

Even when anxiety is looming in the wings.

Somatographic imagery gets its name from combining the Greek word for the body,

Or soma,

And graphic,

Which simply means picture or visual representation.

So just from the name,

You can predict that we'll be decoding anxiety in the body using visualizations,

Right?

But what proof do we have that visualizations have any real power?

Let's tackle that by looking at an amazing study with pianists conducted by a researcher named Pascual Leon.

He used brain imaging to study brain changes in two groups of pianists.

The first group learned a musical piece by practicing on a piano.

The second group merely played the simple piece of music in their heads,

Holding their hands still,

While imagining how they would move their fingers.

What scientists found was that week after week of practice,

The stretch of motor cortex in the brain devoted to these finger movements took over surrounding areas,

Like dandelions on a suburban lawn,

Showing that the greater the demand of a particular muscle causes the brain to devote more cortical real estate to it.

But that's not the amazing part.

What was so groundbreaking was that there is no difference in the brain changes between the group that played an actual piano and the group that imagined it.

Pascual Leon demonstrated the ability of mere thought to alter the physical structure and function of our gray matter in our brains.

What does this mean for you?

It means that you can literally change your brain by simply imagining your brain is changed.

I want to say that again,

Because this is so cool.

It means that you can literally change your brain by simply imagining your brain is changed.

This,

My love,

Is the foundation of somatographic imagery.

Do you see the power available to you if you learn how to harness it?

Here are the four steps of somatographic imagery.

First,

We awaken to the emotions and physical sensations in the body.

That's a strong form of acknowledgement,

Right?

Second,

We gain a deeper level of insight about what is underneath the anxious emotions and physical sensations by noticing images,

Thoughts,

And memories that come up.

This is how we start to translate anxious thoughts and start to understand the danger our brain and body suspects and wants to protect us from.

And third,

We will empower with a simple strategy to releasing negative images,

Thoughts,

And memories which will reduce symptoms of anxiety.

In other words,

We communicate back to the body that there's no real tiger and we have options for dealing with the perceived threat.

And the fourth step is to renew and replace the anxious script with a new target of your choosing.

This is essential because nature abhors a vacuum.

We can't take something away without replacing it with something else.

It's a simple law of nature.

This will make a lot more sense as we put it into action.

So what do you say we just do it?

As we look at this awaken piece,

I need to make one clear distinction.

And it is that you are not your anxiety.

You're not anxious.

Your anxiety is only a part.

You'll hear me talk about this as parts work inside my courses because anxiety,

Just like fear and panic,

Is just one part of you.

And I need for us to start separating you from the emotions that swoop in and overwhelm.

We can't let them take the wheel and we can't let them be the director or producer of our stories.

And so it may feel like you are an anxious ball of a hot mess when anxiety happens,

But the truth is that it is not you.

It's only a part of you.

Now it's time for the first step.

Awaken to your story.

This is about paying attention to the story I have going on around me right now and what's making me anxious.

So what is the main thing that makes you feel like an anxious person?

There's a thorn in your side.

Let's pull that thorn out and look at it.

To begin,

Find a safe,

Quiet,

Comfortable place where you will not be interrupted.

You may sit up,

Lay down,

Whatever feels right.

And at any time,

You may discontinue the exercise.

Because remember dearest,

This is about you.

And first,

I want you to notice your internal environment.

We have different thorns in our sides at different times in our lives.

But right now,

There is one part of us that we need to wake up to.

So notice your internal environment and ask yourself,

What's troubling me?

What obstacles am I coming up against?

What negative emotions am I experiencing right now?

Allow the main thing to float to the surface.

For today,

This is the main thing you're going to work on.

What do you notice?

Do you have any concepts or theories about this image?

What does this represent to you?

Allow yourself to be the observer of the target you selected.

With grace,

Love,

And acceptance,

Notice what your body has to say.

Getting into the moment with your body will help you identify your somatographic imagery target.

What kinds of physical sensations do you notice?

Pick the most bothersome or intense feeling.

What is its texture?

Is it silky or smooth,

Sleek or rough?

What is it made of?

Is it still or moving?

Quickly or slowly?

What temperature is this feeling?

What color is it?

Bright,

Dark,

Multicolored,

A single color?

Is it soft or hard?

If it could hold water,

How much would it carry?

What else do you notice?

Notice images,

Memories,

And thoughts that emerge as these chapters are being opened.

Who was there?

What was going on?

What did you see there?

What was said?

Where are you in this image?

What is around you?

When do you place this image?

How old were you?

As you become more awakened to your target emotion and the physical sensations that accompany it,

You are activating different parts of your brain.

The more deeply rooted this is,

The more triggered you may be,

And the deeper the work that may need to be done.

Is this the first time you've felt this way,

Or is this an older feeling?

Often you will find that an earlier part of you will feel affected by the circumstance,

Or that this circumstance is triggering the emotions of an earlier age of yourself.

Are there any parts of yourself or ages that feel disturbed or upset?

Often our earlier parts feel powerless and without a voice,

And when we're caught up in a trigger we are often actually evoking a younger part of ourselves who has an unresolved experience due to a disturbing memory.

Give your earlier part a voice,

Now.

You may say the following words out loud,

Or simply think them silently.

I am listening,

And you are safe.

Share with me your needs.

Honor and validate that emotion that your younger self is sharing with you in this moment.

As you do so,

Begin to slowly tap left and right,

Alternating on each leg.

Breathe and listen.

This will take us to phase two,

Which is insight.

I want to just ask you to lean in and trust that whatever is going on here is just a communication or a signal from our bodies about some things that we may have been too busy to deal with,

Or that we shoved down,

Or didn't have the time or space to deal with.

What we resist persists,

Love,

But trust that together with a process and in a safe format,

It's okay for us to pause and listen to these messages,

Right?

They're just an alarm notifying us of something our brain and body thinks that we need protection from.

So let's shift gears and get some insight from this darn thing.

It probably just wants to be heard,

And we're going to trust that if it's got a good message for us and gained some insight,

That that can lead to healing.

Are you ready to do that?

We're going to ask this part some questions that I've seen work over the years.

Be the observer.

With grace and love and acceptance,

Notice.

What does your part have to say?

What thoughts and opinions do you have about this memory?

What unmet needs does this part have?

What feelings come up for you?

What was important to you back then?

Do you have any concepts or theories?

And what does this represent to you?

Phase three is all about empowerment.

Okay,

We just gathered all of this insight,

And we just heard and finally listened to this part.

We were present with it,

And now with all of this insight,

I want to empower you to tell a new story.

We just unleashed this thing together.

We recognized it and listened to what it had to say.

And now it's my turn to say in return,

Oh wow,

I totally see what you're saying.

Look at you for looking out for me.

You have some valid points,

And what you're concerned about makes total sense to me.

I'm sorry I haven't been listening to you.

I'm sorry I've kept you in a box,

And thanks for coming out.

Let's look at how we can address your concerns and make this right.

Let's get on the same side together.

Instead of being at odds with the little part that came out of the box,

You can actually align with that part.

Say to your part,

We are now on the same side.

I'm not fighting with you or trying to suppress you anymore.

We're joining together so that I can assuage your fears.

Let's tackle this together.

After all of my years doing this,

I have found that there is a four-step process that is an efficient way to get on the same side of the thoughts that are really troubling us.

I'm going to walk you through these now.

Here are what the four steps are.

Step 1 is to request permission.

Step 2 is to offer a statement of hope.

Step 3 is to honor the part.

The last step,

Step 4,

Is to share your strengths and your desires with your part.

Here's an example from my life.

Recently,

I got anxious on a flight where there was turbulence and it triggered a feeling of powerlessness.

Sometimes it's so much easier to try to distract or suppress my emotions,

But I reminded myself to practice what I preach.

So I noticed the feelings of anxiety,

Where they were in my body,

And what the sensations were like,

And what images and thoughts and memories came up.

I realized the intense anxiety was my heart racing,

It was crushing my chest,

Squeezing my throat,

There were flushes of heat,

And these were old feelings from when I was a kid.

A memory came up from a time when my dad was in the military and had moved to Japan for work.

My mom,

Myself,

And my younger brother had to leave our home,

Our friends,

My school,

Everything familiar,

And moved to a new city to live with relatives.

The strongest character in my story would go missing,

And I didn't understand why,

And my mom,

She was scared and worried all the time,

And my baby brother was missing out on our dad,

And I didn't know how to fix any of it.

This part emerged to try to protect me.

It made me hypervigilant and wanted to control my environment.

This part wanted to protect my mom and take care of my brother in lieu of my dad not being there.

I realized that when I was on that airplane and when everything fell out of control as the plane bounced along air pockets,

That my inner child was totally freaking out,

And that freaking out part did not make the plane any safer.

I realized I'm not a pilot,

I can't land the plane any safer,

But I can send my energy to the city where I am landing and center myself in the future that I really want,

Instead of settling myself into a state where I'm miserable.

That's the thing with trauma in our parts.

They're locked in time and do not realize that our circumstances have changed and time has passed.

That's why I call them time capsules.

They continue on doing their jobs,

Trying to protect us,

But in the process they can make us even more miserable.

I needed my part to know that I can control my life and my choices as an adult,

And that now I have people in my life who I can lean on,

And I have a partner who can take care of me,

And I'm no longer a child who has no control.

But that afraid child part still lives inside of me,

And she needs reassurance.

To show you the four steps in action,

Here's the conversations I had with that scared part of me that showed up on the plane.

Current self to the emerged part,

Or the anxious part.

Requesting permission may look like this.

I ask my inner child,

Would you allow me to handle this situation and to use my resources and my supports to deal with this in the now?

And here's what the statement of hope may look like.

I will allow you part to feel safe,

Protected,

And harbored by me.

And here's how I honored the part.

I know you didn't get to feel this when you were younger.

You did not have the resources that I have now.

And this is where we share our strength and our desires with our part.

But I want you to know that I see you.

I'm an adult now.

I am in charge.

I have a lot of experiences and resources to draw upon me to help me in this stressful circumstance.

I want you to loosen your grip on the need to control the airplane.

I want you to stop trying to help me control the situation.

I want you to put down your sense of control and strong emotion that is attempting to dominate my current feelings.

Allow me,

Who is right here to protect you.

Relax while I slowly but surely move ahead and deal with this stressful and difficult experience.

The fifth step is to embody the shift and bring the body into alignment with what we are cognitively expressing.

Now we're having this conversation and everything is working logically and our emotions may be tuning into the change,

But what about our sweaty palms,

Rapid heart,

Heavy breathing?

Now let's get this shift fully into our body.

I have a whole tool chest for you of ways to do this,

But let's just try this one.

For today,

I'd like to have you place your hands on your thighs and slowly and gently tap left and right,

Left and right.

Imagine you're surrounded by a white light.

You may continue tapping as you go through this next step.

Inhale.

As you inhale through your nose,

Imagine pulling that white light deeply into your lungs and then mindfully watch as your lungs press that light into the presence of discomfort.

Surround that part,

Fill it with light and empathy,

Love and warmth.

As the light penetrates that spot in your body,

Notice how it becomes ever so slightly less dense,

Less heavy,

Less sticky and less large and then exhale,

Breathing out any darkness or discomfort,

Artifacts from the spot in your body.

Watch it turn to glitter as it merges with the bright light surrounding you and repeat.

Each inhale pull in light and warmth and each exhale push out darkness and pain.

Repeat this for several moments until you feel complete.

Give your part permission to let go even just a little bit and then put your hands on your heart and say,

I've got this.

You can trust me.

And when you feel ready and when your parts feel ready,

We will begin the process of renewal.

Now that we're grounded,

We can write a new story.

Today,

Let's draft up a new story for whatever came up for you.

But know that we can work together to rewrite storylines for any pain points that are continuing to affect your life.

Doesn't that sound amazing?

In the Anxiety Breakthrough Program,

Create your happily ever after with the ACT Method,

We get to do this for your overall life story.

All of the thorns in your side get to be cleaned up,

But not just one,

All of your thorns.

And better yet,

You develop the techniques to deal with any new thorns or slivers or even swords that come your way.

You develop the skills to use anxiety in the way it was intended,

As an alarm system,

Not as an everyday state of being that taxes your nervous system,

Your body and your happiness.

I want you to know that as we go into the next section that I want us to remove that sliver that came up for you today.

Sound good?

Somatographic imagery gives you the space to notice your mind,

Notice your body,

And acknowledge your many beautiful parts to create space for physical and emotional healing.

And somatographic imagery allows you to install a new story arc.

The last phase of the somatographic imagery process is renew.

Remember the piano story?

You can mindfully change your messages to your cells,

The connections between the neurons in your brain and the structure of your brain and your life.

As you look at that thorn that came up for you today,

Ask yourself,

How would you like to feel about that memory that came up for you?

Sometimes when our parts don't have clear direction on where to go,

They push forward based on old habits.

But you get to decide how you want to feel and how you respond to this thorn.

Things that I often use when creating my desired state in my own work include accepting,

Empowered,

Grateful,

Detached,

Loving.

Are you ready?

Continue breathing,

But this time breathe in your desired state,

Your desired feelings.

Imagine how your body may feel.

Imagine lightness in your chest.

Imagine warmth surrounding you like a hug.

Breathe it all in,

Confidence,

Joy,

Love,

Safety,

And peace.

Breathe in a soul on fire,

Happy,

Aligned with purpose.

Take your time with this step.

Allow a smile to form at your lips.

Notice your shoulders as they relax.

Notice your tongue relax to the floor of your mouth.

Notice your clear and peaceful breath.

Spend at least 30 seconds in this state memory.

If you're ready to dig deeper,

You may go back to the original memory and notice what else comes up.

Going back to the beginning of the somatographic imagery process and following the four steps to see what else emerges and what other work needs to be done is true,

Deep healing work.

And just remember,

It takes practice.

You might not master it all at once.

Otherwise,

If you'd rather dwell on this bliss,

Let's go visit our protective box otherwise known as the memory trunk.

Love,

I want you to know I am so proud of you.

It's not easy to hold the space for our anxious parts,

And it's definitely not easy to do the deep work that truly transforms.

As we come to the last chapter for today,

I want to teach you a technique that allows us to intentionally set aside the work we've been doing so we can rest.

Believe it or not,

Your brain will continue to heal and reprocess after the work is done.

So close your eyes and notice your body.

Notice how it feels differently than it did at the beginning of our session today.

And I want you to acknowledge your hard work and acknowledge that you are worthy of freedom.

Imagine at your feet there's a protective trunk.

It can be made of any material that you wish,

Any size,

Whatever it is,

Is just right.

We're going to place the things that we worked on today inside of this protective trunk so that you can walk away from this work with clear,

Calm thoughts and a sense of rest.

Notice in your body any thoughts or images,

Feelings or areas of discomfort,

And draw the breath into these parts.

And as you exhale,

Imagine exhaling them into your protective trunk.

Bring your mindful awareness to your thoughts.

Inhale and then exhale the thoughts into your protective trunk.

And finally,

Bring your awareness to your heart.

Take a nice deep breath in and exhale any tension,

Any stress or any grief into your protective trunk.

Take another moment to notice any other areas of your body that need attention and as you identify them,

Draw the breath into that part of your body and exhale everything into your protective trunk.

And when you feel complete,

Imagine yourself closing the lid and mindfully place it somewhere for safe keeping.

And when you feel complete,

I want you to open your eyes.

Do you remember Amy?

I promised to tell you how this worked miracles for her,

Right?

She came to me looking for help with anxiety and panic attacks.

She got that and a whole lot more.

We use somatographic imagery to get to the bottom of her anxiety and she gained the insight that she had literally embodied the abuse of her father and when he died,

She began to abuse herself both mentally and physically.

Somatographic imagery empowered her to change her story and amazingly as her anxiety began to disappear,

So did the tumors.

Amy was never the same sense.

With confidence she never knew living inside of her,

She transformed her business and doubled her revenue in the first year.

More confident in her body,

She began to date and ultimately found the love of her life.

This tool that you just experienced was just one of the ways Amy and I worked together to turn the page.