When In Doubt, Scream!

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

Okay, I’ll admit it…I’ve been walking through a really shitty time.  I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s been a hell of a ride of late.  On top of that, there’s so much shifting energetically in the world these days, including us having just been through a full moon eclipse and Jupiter finally going direct, that my body is just overwhelmed.

Like all of you, there’s only so much my body can take – physical pain and pressure and feeling like I want to jump out of my skin.  The energy just builds and builds and eventually reaches a tipping point…I’m either going to #release it safely or end up turning it on myself in some way.

Since I’ve worked incredibly hard NOT to hurt myself over the years – no more drinking, smoking, debting, etc – I know that it requires release work.  That’s where #Psychodramatic Bodywork® comes to the rescue.

#Fear, #anger and #sadness live in our bodies and left unexpressed, cause pain and dis-ease.  As children, the natural inclination is to flail and scream when something upsetting or scary happens.  But with time, we learn that it’s more acceptable to just hold on to the feelings, push them down in some way (drinking, smoking, spending, sex, depression, etc) and carry on.

I survived like that for years, and lived in #dissociation and in addiction to manage those feelings the only way I knew how.  It worked – until it didn’t.  I’ve always been sensitive, so now when I feel those feelings, I know there’s a safe way to release them – through sound and movement – which is what the body naturally wants to do when it’s overwhelmed.

And so today, when walking on the beach with a friend, we stood arm in arm in a bit of a deserted area, turned towards the water and screamed at the top of our lungs to discharge what we’ve both been carrying.   Then I shook out the energy in my arms to release it more thoroughly, and almost instantaneously, felt a sense of relief.

For the first time in days, I felt like I could take a deep breath.

It also helps to #scream with someone, just in case big feelings come up behind the initial release.  Not everyone out there has the luxury of screaming at the beach, or having a friend with them, but don’t let that stop you.  There have been times I have screamed into a down pillow (down absorbs sound really well) and when necessary, done the release with someone I trusted on the other end of a phone.

So when it doubt, scream!  Your body will thank you for it!

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Understanding and being able to include the body in the therapeutic process takes extensive training and practice while being supervised.  Action Institute of California offers Psychodramatic Bodywork® workshops devoted to teaching  practitioners (therapists, counselors, bodyworkers, interventionists, nurses, doctors, etc) how to recognize the signs and symptoms of unexpressed feelings, and facilitate emotional releases safely and effectively.    For more information on our Intro to Psychodramatic Bodywork® Workshop on April 24-26 in Costa Mesa, CA or our Intermediate Psychodramatic Bodywork® Workshop in Costa Mesa, CA on October 9-11, please see our Trainings & Workshop Schedule.

In addition, we provide psychodrama training for professionals; team building, conflict resolution and staff training workshops in business, clinical and medical settings that are tailored to the needs of your organization, and we are committed to providing safe spaces for professionals to do their own work.