Overwhelm Somatic Release

The Prefrontal Cortex and Executive Function

• The prefrontal cortex governs executive functioning, the ability to organize, plan and complete tasks, and it held heavy, chaotic and staticky overwhelm.

• Panic and frantic, useless searching, like running around looking for a way out without finding one, were released, as this overwhelm slows the brain's productivity.

The Insula and Mind Body Integration

• The insula supports mind body integration, interpretation, social emotions, intuition and gut instinct.

• Releasing emotion stuck here clears a pathway to knowing what is going on, what needs to be done and in what order, supporting more integrated executive functioning.

Resetting the Nervous System with Acupressure

• Three master points for the nervous system were used: Large Intestine 11, Spleen 6 and Urinary Bladder 62.

• Large Intestine 11 cools and calms an overdriven sympathetic nervous system, Spleen 6 nourishes the brain with yin fluids, qi and blood, and Urinary Bladder 62 re-energizes the whole nervous system.

The Mammillary Body and Life Story

• The mammillary body in the limbic brain forms memories and holds the story of one's life.

• A suffocating feeling of wanting to create or perceive a new story but finding it impossible was released, along with deep doubt.

• Built up emotion causes stagnation that can result in pain, so movement and even sleep are welcome during release.

The Liver, Frustration and Anger

• In Chinese medicine, the liver is the organ of anger and holds the natural consciousness of planning and organizing.

• Frustration, self hatred and anger at being stuck in anxiety loops, knowing better but feeling held back, were released.

• Box breathing on a count of seven gave the nervous system a moment to reset after these connections between the brain and liver.

The Water Element and the Spine

• The water element, which is joy consciousness, was brought in to calm a nervous system stuck on hyperdrive.

• Overwhelm and isolation were released from the spine, whose natural consciousness is support and connection, along with beliefs that no one understands or experiences anxiety the same way.

The Liver as the General

• In Chinese medicine, the liver is the general, directing, planning and organizing the flow of qi through the body.

• Aloneness, hopelessness and a dejected feeling of there being no way out were restricting this flow and were released.

The Eyes and Hope

• The liver meridian opens into the eyes, which collect images and create stories, and it can be seen as the channel of hope.

• Hopelessness, doubt, depression like feelings of succumbing, and fear of the future and of nothing changing were released from the eyes, optionally with gentle pressure.

• This work makes room for a feeling of possibility.

The Neck, Shoulders and Mid Back

• These areas relate to flexibility, seeing things differently, feeling less responsible for everyone else and feeling loved.

• The weight of the world and the heaviness of how anxiety is perceived and felt were released from the shoulders.

Panic in the Upper Digestive System

• Panic that nothing will change and that overwhelm will last forever was released from the stomach, pancreas and upper digestive system.

• Letting go creates space for new beliefs, curiosity, flexibility, malleability and the freedom to see things differently, like removing old furniture before redesigning a room.

The Pons, Shutdown and the Kidneys

• The other side of anxiety is shutdown, paralysis and dissociation from exhaustion, held in the pons of the brain stem, which relays information between the brain and spinal cord and drives the fear and panic response.

• The kidneys, the organ of fear in Chinese medicine, were balanced alongside the pons to settle stuck fear and create lightness and freedom.

The RAS and Kidney 27

• The RAS in the deep brain stem alerts the body to threat, monitors sensory data and acts as the gatekeeper of information sent to the brain, and it felt jam packed and tight.

• Old memories of feeling threatened and unsafe were released so information can flow through a grounded, parasympathetic mind rather than an anxious one.

• Kidney 27 was used to calm the energetic nervous system held within the kidneys and clear pressure from the eyes.

Balancing the Brain

• Blood, lymph, nerve and qi flow in the brain were optimized and organized, with warm spots cooled and cold spots warmed.

• The left and right hemispheres were opened to communicate through the corpus callosum so the changes stay in the body as a new normal.