New York City is Stressful: How Can Somatic Therapy Help?
For some New Yorkers city life can induce a more or less constant state of worry
3 min read
Many aspects of life in New York City can trigger anxiety — a delayed commute, the high cost of living, a bizarre interaction with a stranger, or simply by living in close proximity to millions of people. For some, these stressors are short-lived, but for other New Yorkers city life can induce a more or less constant state of worry.
Somatic therapy, with its holistic focus on mind-body connection, can help New Yorkers effectively tend to the feelings of overwhelm that are priced into the cost of living here.
Although anxiety often shows up in our bodies in the form of aches or chronic pain, some are inclined to think of anxiety as a worry that resides solely in the mind. Therapeutic modalities with a strict cognitive focus can be effective in helping re-structure negative thought patterns, but tend to not address the effects on our bodies, both physically and physiologically, that these stressful experiences can bring about. Conversely, interventions that are cognitive in nature can feel confrontational and might make a person feel disinclined to continue with their course of therapy. By temporarily bypassing the mind to focus on what psychiatrist and author Bessel Van Der Kolk calls the “body memory”, somatic therapies can effectively regulate stress & anxiety.
While the source of some worries are relatively easy to pinpoint (a looming work deadline, interactions with an irascible neighbor), a frustrating trait about anxiety is that it can exist even in the absence of an obvious stressor. This can make talking about your experience of anxiety feel futile. After all, it’s difficult to get to the root of the problem if you are unsure what the root of the problem is.
Most New Yorkers notice from time to time that they carry discomfort—a tightness or a clenched feeling—in their chest, shoulders, stomach, legs, or jaw. What many may not realize is that this tension is the physical manifestation of anxiety. While maintaining a certain awareness of your surroundings while maneuvering around New York City can be healthy, or even recommended, a constant on-edge hypervigilance will leave you exhausted and drained. Day-to-day anxieties, if not addressed as they arise, can compound to the point that we find ourselves stressed out at a dinner or unable to relax with friends without any clear awareness as to why.
Somatic therapy modalities like AEDP, EMDR, the Hakomi Method & Somatic Experiencing (among others), help draw attention to the specific places where anxiety resides in the body. By paying attention to these sites of anxiety we can begin to understand the connection between certain bodily sensations and stressful thoughts or feelings. This new awareness allows us to begin a process of self-regulation, whereby we learn to tolerate, modulate and dissipate the anxiety, along with the discomfort that it provokes.
“Somatic therapy allows people to better regulate the physical symptoms of anxiety prior to exploring its root causes.”
According to Downtown Somatic Therapy therapist Stefan Allen-Hickey, “a powerful benefit of somatic therapy is that it allows people to better regulate the physical symptoms of anxiety prior to exploring its root causes.”
As Stefan sees it, many New Yorkers come to therapy reporting experiences of “unwanted anxiety which they cannot get to go away; most are seeking a reprieve from the discomfort of feeling anxious that doesn’t require leaving New York for a vacation or for good. The counterintuitive part about somatic therapy is that we actually encourage leaning into the anxiety (by exploring it in a controlled manner). The exposure tolerance that results helps to diminish the intensity of our anxiety, which paves the way for exploring its underlying causes.”
“The counterintuitive part about somatic therapy is that we actually encourage leaning into the anxiety (by exploring it in a controlled manner). The exposure tolerance that results helps to diminish the intensity of our anxiety, which paves the way for exploring its underlying causes.”
Meditation, or mindfulness practices, which Stefan and other Downtown Somatic Therapy therapists incorporate into their work, can be a helpful complement to somatic therapy, especially in a chaotic city like New York. These practices allow us to feel the physical effects of releasing tension and worry and achieving a state of equanimity.
If you are a New Yorker struggling with anxiety, reach out to Downtown Somatic Therapy to schedule a free consultation.