Titration & Pendulation: Why Healing Can’t Be Rushed
The art of going slow — and why it’s actually the fastest way to heal By Abi Beri | Somatic Therapist, Dublin, Naas & Newbridge [Reading time: 10 minutes] “Heal your trauma in one weekend.” “Release your blocks in 60 minutes.” “Transform your life in 30 days.” We live in a culture that worships speed. […]
Why You Can’t Rest (Even When You’re Exhausted)
A somatic approach to burnout, deep exhaustion, and learning to put down the weight You’re tired. Not the kind of tired that a good night’s sleep fixes. Not the kind that a holiday sorts out. This is something deeper — a bone-deep exhaustion that lives in your body, that’s been building for months or years, […]
When Healing Doesn’t Look Like Healing: What Your Nervous System Needs You to Know
You’ve done the therapy. The breathwork. The journaling. The inner child work. The meditation apps and the self-help books and the workshops. And you still hurt. If that’s you, I want to say something important: You are not failing at healing. The model is failing you. As a somatic therapist working with clients in Dublin, […]
Holding Space: Why Being Witnessed Is the Healing We’ve Been Missing
“I don’t know why this happened to you. But I can hold this for you.” Let that sentence land for a moment. If you’ve found your way to this article, chances are you’re carrying something. Something heavy. Something you’ve tried to understand, tried to explain, tried to make sense of. And maybe — after all […]
Understanding Your Nervous System States: A Complete Guide to Polyvagal Theory and Self-Regulation
Have you ever wondered why you snap at the people you love most? Why your mind goes completely blank in important meetings? Or why some days you feel unstoppable, while others you can barely drag yourself out of bed? The answer isn’t willpower. It isn’t a character flaw. And it certainly isn’t something wrong with […]
The Hidden Cost of Living for Others: How Societal Expectations Dysregulate Your Nervous System
Understanding the somatic experience of performance and the path to authentic living Have you ever noticed a particular tension that settles into your shoulders when you’re about to do something you “should” do rather than something you want to do? Or the way your breath becomes shallow when you’re performing a version of yourself that […]
Why You Feel Anxious (Even When Everything’s ‘Fine’): Understanding Your Emotions & Nervous System
You wake up at 3am with your heart racing. Your chest feels tight. Your mind is spinning with worries about work, relationships, money, health—everything and nothing all at once. But here’s the thing: logically, everything is fine. Nothing catastrophic happened. No major crisis occurred. And yet, your body is screaming danger. You’ve probably tried the […]
The Intelligence of Your Shutdown Response: Why Freezing Isn’t Weakness—It’s Survival
Understanding the Freeze Response as Sophisticated Survival I want to share a story from my practice that I think about often. A client—I’ll call her Sarah—came to me deeply frustrated with herself. She kept saying: “I don’t understand why I freeze up. I know I should speak up for myself. I know I should say […]
Why Your Body Says Yes When You Want to Say No: The Somatic Truth About People-Pleasing
Understanding People-Pleasing as a Nervous System Pattern, Not a Character Flaw Your friend asks for a favor. Before your mind even processes the request, your body has already responded: shoulders tensing, breath quickening, jaw clenching—and then your mouth says “yes” while every cell in your body screams “no.” You leave the conversation feeling exhausted, resentful, […]
Where Trauma Actually Lives: A Holistic Guide to Body-Based Healing
Introduction: Why Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough for Trauma If you’ve spent years in therapy talking about your trauma and still feel it in your body – the chronic tension, the hypervigilance, the feeling of being constantly on edge or shut down – you’re not failing at healing. You’re experiencing what modern somatic psychology confirms: trauma […]
