“You can’t fix the mind with the mind. You have to fix the mind with the body.”
Mind blown 🤯
That’s exactly how I felt when I heard this from Dr Russell Kennedy on Modern Wisdom last weekend.
Why Anxiety Often Starts as Stuck Trauma in the Body
He went on to explain how most anxiety is a result of stuck trauma in the body and that the worry in the mind is just a way to make sense of it.
My insights from this fascinating conversation are that when we experience trauma as a child, either big T or small t trauma, it doesn’t matter; most of us don’t have the tools to be able to process this effectively. As a protection mechanism, it gets stored in our subconscious mind and our physical bodies.
The Body Keeps the Score, Even When the Mind Forgets
This is the work of Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score.
When left unresolved for years or even decades, it grows and manifests, leading to many of the anxiety and mental health disorders that are more prevalent today, such as panic attacks, Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), and even conditions like anorexia, depression, and beyond.
While many of these conditions are complex and not to be underestimated, I think they are coping mechanisms to deal with, or at least linked to, hidden traumas, no matter how big or small, that have been left unresolved and fester within us.
Why Talk Therapy Alone Isn’t Always Enough
What I found fascinating, and can resonate with from my own experiences and challenges with panic attacks and chronic anxiety, is that Dr Russell Kennedy spoke about how most modern interventions try to resolve these issues with interventions like CBT and talk therapy.
Sure, these interventions are helpful and have their place. However, they are more cognitive-driven/focused.
The challenge with this, as far as I understand, is that they primarily focus on treating symptoms and learning to cope with an anxious, racing, worry-driven mind, etc., when the root cause is far deeper within; our thoughts are merely the symptom, not the bug.
A more effective solution is a somatic approach to truly heal.
Remember: coping isn’t truly healing. It’s kicking the can down the road.
That was one of the arguments that Dr Kennedy put forward. He stated that cognitive-driven approaches and many traditional therapies don’t help people to truly heal, and instead, they stay in a perpetual cycle of talking about their traumas and issues over and over again.
In other words, stay stuck!
From my own experience with CBT, which I initially found very helpful, I got to a point where I needed something different in order to grow and change who I was being.
What a Somatic Approach to Healing Actually Looks Like
A somatic, more integrative approach is a form of therapy that looks at and honours the mind-body connection. Not just the mind.
This approach helps people to release stuck trauma in the body through many practices, including acupressure, hypnosis, breathwork, yoga, and dance.
A Simple Practice for Locating and Releasing Anxiety in the Body
Dr Kennedy shared a practice that involves locating, in this case, anxiety in the body (but it could be used for any other emotion or feeling that feels alarming for us), using focused breathing (three short inhales, brief hold, full exhale), and offering compassionate attention to the sensation, much like comforting an inner child.
In the episode on Modern Wisdom, he walks us through steps to really feel where anxiety (or the alarm) shows up for us, identifying the location, giving it a feeling, and even a colour.
Then, he encourages us to remember a time when we felt the opposite, most likely deeply calm, loved, or safe, and practise that feeling in our body. He shares that over time, when the alarm is triggered, we can begin to consciously shift from an alarmed state to more of an “anchor feeling,” which effectively rewires our nervous system to respond with familiarity and safety instead of anxiety and fear.
This takes time, effort, and practice. It’s not an overnight fix or solution.
I’m not an expert at any of this. Are any of us?!
But it does give me great hope and optimism that there are tools out there to help us navigate this thing called life, and not be a victim to it or our minds, when we truly decide.
The insights and wisdom that Dr Russell Kennedy shared, and his quote:
“You can’t fix the mind with the mind. You have to fix the mind with the body.”
…have left a deep and remarkable impact on me. It resonates with me deeply, and I believe holds so much wisdom.
You Can’t Solve a Problem With the Thinking That Created It
It reminds me of another idea: that we can’t fix a problem or challenge with the same level of thinking that put us there or created it in the first place.
In order to create change and get a different result, a new level of thinking and, furthermore, a way of being needs to occur.
The same approach can be applied here.
We can’t think ourselves out of hidden traumas and the things that we have been suppressing for years, if not decades.
A different approach is needed, and the case for a more somatic, integrative one is the best I’ve seen to date.
Somatic therapies give us the tools to be able to navigate and overcome traumas and issues from our pasts, so that we can live a more peaceful and better life.
I would highly advise checking out Dr Kennedy’s chat on Modern Wisdom, especially if you or someone you know is having a particularly hard time with anxiety and worry.
It’s a fascinating one, and what I have shared here is my understanding of it. It only just touches the surface.
Remember: “You can’t fix the mind with the mind. You have to fix the mind with the body.”
Key Takeaways on Fixing the Mind with the Body
- Anxiety as a Physical Symptom: Understand that anxiety often begins as unprocessed trauma stored in your body. The worry you feel in your mind is frequently a symptom, not the root cause.
- The Body Remembers Trauma: Even if your mind forgets, your body keeps a record of past traumas. Over time, this unresolved energy can manifest as anxiety disorders, panic attacks, or depression.
- Talk Therapy’s Limitations: While helpful for managing symptoms, cognitive-based therapies like CBT may not fully resolve the physical aspect of trauma. True healing requires more than just talking; it involves addressing the body.
- The value of a Somatic Approach: Somatic therapy focuses on the mind-body connection. It uses practices like breathwork, yoga, and focused attention to help you release the trauma your body is holding onto.
- A Simple Practice to Start: You can begin to heal by locating where you feel anxiety in your body, using focused breathing, and consciously shifting your focus to a memory of feeling safe and calm to help rewire your nervous system.
- A New Approach for Real Change: You cannot think your way out of a problem that wasn’t created by thinking alone. To heal deep-seated trauma, you need a different approach that involves your body, not just your mind.
FAQs for Why You Can’t Fix the Mind with the Mind
What does it mean that you can’t fix the mind with the mind?
This idea suggests that overthinking and intellectual analysis are often ineffective for healing issues like deep-seated anxiety. The root cause is frequently physical, stored as trauma or tension in your body. Therefore, healing requires body-focused (somatic) practices, not just mental effort.
How does trauma get stuck in the body?
When you experience a traumatic event, especially as a child, your body’s natural fight-or-flight response can be overwhelmed. If you’re unable to process and release that intense energy, it gets stored in your nervous system and tissues. This can lead to chronic physical tension and feelings of alarm, like anxiety, years later.
Is talk therapy useless for anxiety then?
Not at all. Talk therapy, like CBT, is very useful for developing coping strategies and your thought patterns. However, the article suggests it may not be enough on its own because it primarily addresses the mind (the symptom) rather than the trauma stored in the body (the root cause). Combining it with a somatic approach can lead to deeper healing.
What are some examples of somatic therapies?
Somatic therapies are practices that help you connect with and release physical sensations. Common examples include breathwork, yoga, dance, acupressure, hypnosis, and specific therapies like Somatic Experiencing. The goal is to help your body complete its natural response to trauma and return to a state of rest.
Can I practise somatic techniques on my own?
Yes, you can start with simple practices like the one mentioned in the article. Focus on where you feel a sensation like anxiety in your body, breathe into it, and offer it compassionate attention. For deeper work, guidance from a trained professional can be incredibly beneficial to ensure you feel safe throughout the process.
