Recovering from Trauma: The Power of Somatic Resourcing
Trauma is not only something that happened in the past.
It is something the body continues to carry in the present.
When an experience overwhelms our capacity to cope — whether through threat, neglect, chronic stress, or relational rupture — the nervous system adapts to survive. These adaptations are intelligent. They protect us. But when they become chronic, they can majorly shape everyday life.
For some people, trauma shows up as chronic hyper-activation. The nervous system remains on alert long after the danger has passed. This can look like hypervigilance, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, flashbacks, or a constant sense that something bad is about to happen. The body stays braced. Breath shortens. Muscles tighten. The world feels unsafe, even when nothing threatening is occurring.
For others, trauma shows up as chronic hypo-activation. Instead of revving up, the nervous system shuts down. This can look like dissociation, emotional numbness, depression, distraction, fatigue, or feeling unreal or disconnected. Rather than bracing against danger, the system dampens sensation and awareness.
Many people move between these states — wired and exhausted, anxious and numb — without understanding why. The common thread is this: the nervous system does not feel fundamentally safe.
Somatic trauma therapy works directly with this reality. Instead of trying to think our way out of trauma responses, it approaches the body — where trauma lives in breath, posture, muscle tone, and reflex.
And one of the most foundational tools in this work is resourcing.
Resourcing in somatic trauma therapy helps the nervous system rediscover safety through embodied awareness.
What Resourcing Really Is
Resourcing is the intentional practice of helping the nervous system experience safety as a felt sense.
It is not about forcing calm.
It is not positive thinking.
It is not bypassing pain.
Resourcing introduces the body to moments of steadiness, support, and capacity — often for the first time. It helps the nervous system learn that not every sensation signals danger.
For people who struggle with dissociation or emotional numbing, resourcing is especially important. It rebuilds somatic literacy — the ability to notice, differentiate, and interpret bodily sensations — so that the body becomes a source of information and choice rather than threat.
Before trauma can be processed, safety must be experienced.
The Mind’s Bias Toward Threat
Human minds are wired to detect danger. Trauma amplifies this bias.
After overwhelming experiences, attention narrows toward:
Pain
Tension
Fear
Absence of safety
What might go wrong
What often goes unnoticed is that in almost every moment, there are also neutral sensations — and often positive ones — happening at the same time.
The weight of your body on a chair.
The steadiness of the floor beneath your feet.
The neutral rhythm of breathing.
Warmth in your hands.
These sensations rarely register because the mind does not prioritize them. But when we intentionally direct attention toward neutral or supportive sensation, the brain begins to update its predictions.
Over time, this practice gently reprograms the mind to recognize that safety and neutrality are frequently present — even alongside discomfort.
Resourcing and Dissociation
Dissociation is not a failure. It is a survival strategy.
But when dissociation becomes chronic, it limits access to emotion, pleasure, and connection. Resourcing helps by anchoring awareness in manageable, tolerable sensation. It allows presence to return gradually — not through force, but through safety.
Instead of demanding, “Stay present!” with whatever sensation arises, somatic therapy asks, “What feels safe enough to stay with for a few seconds?”
This is the easiest, and most trauma-informed, way to develop somatic literacy.
Resourcing helps the nervous system shift from chronic threat activation toward safety and regulation.
The Three Categories of Resources
Resources loosely fall into three categories:
Internal Resources
Experiences that arise within:
A felt sense of strength
A memory of competence
A calm or steady inner part
Physical grounding or warmth
Internal resources are powerful because they travel with you — though they may take time to access.
External Resources
Support that comes from outside:
Trusted people
Animals
Nature
Music or art
Safe environments
For many trauma survivors, external resources are the safest starting point.
Transpersonal Resources
Experiences that connect us to something larger:
Spiritual connection
Ancestral belonging
Nature as something vast and steady
A sense of meaning
Transpersonal resources can provide deep stabilization when personal or relational safety has been inconsistent.
A Simple Daily Resourcing Practice
Resourcing works best when practiced regularly — not only during distress.
Try this:
Recall a recent moment of gratitude or a positive memory.
Ask: Where do I notice this in my body?
Stay with that sensation as long as feels comfortable — even 30 seconds is meaningful.
Let it shift or deepen naturally.
The goal is not intensity. It is contact.
While this might seem too easy or simple to make much of an impact, this practice can dramatically improve trauma symptoms and provides a strong foundation for future trauma work.
When Positive Sensation Feels Overwhelming
This is an important and often surprising truth: positive sensation can also be too much.
Openness, warmth, or pleasure may trigger negative sensations or shutdown when the nervous system is unfamiliar with these states. Relaxation can feel dangerous if the nervous system is used to bracing for harm. Joy can feel risky if the nervous system is used to losing it.
If discomfort arises, do not push through.
Instead, pendulate:
Gently shift attention between the supportive sensation and a more neutral or mildly uncomfortable one.
Move slowly.
Let the nervous system set the pace.
Pendulation allows the body to metabolize new experience without exceeding its window of tolerance. Over time, the capacity to stay with positive sensation grows.
Resourcing as Foundation
Resourcing is not a detour from trauma work. It is the foundation of it.
By helping the nervous system experience safety in the body, resourcing:
Reduces dissociation
Expands the window of tolerance
Increases emotional range
Builds somatic literacy
Restores choice
Most importantly, it helps the body learn that it does not have to live in constant anticipation of danger.
Safety becomes something that can be felt — not just hoped for.
If This Resonates
If you feel disconnected from your body, stuck in anxiety or numbness, or unsure how to approach trauma safely, somatic therapy offers a slow and respectful path forward.
You do not have to force healing.
You can begin by learning what safety feels like.
And from there, everything else becomes possible.
Learn more about my approach to Somatic Trauma Therapy or schedule a free consultation call to start working with me.
