Shifting Out of Survival Mode: Healing Happens One Choice at a Time - Tiny Buddha

"It started as a faint hum-a sense of unease that crept in during the isolation of the pandemic. I was a licensed therapist working from home, meeting with clients through a screen. Together, we were navigating a shared uncertainty, trying to cope as the world shifted beneath us. I could feel the weight of their anxiety as they talked about their spiraling thoughts and struggles to feel grounded. What I didn't realize then was how much of their turmoil was a reflection of my own."

"During those months, I gave my clients all the tools I knew. We talked about mindfulness, grounding exercises, and ways to reconnect with a sense of safety. But the truth? These conversations often felt hollow. It wasn't that the tools didn't work in theory-it was that they didn't land in the body. Fear, disconnection, and panic had rooted themselves deeper than words could reach."

"Years ago, when I first trained as a therapist, I learned about bilateral stimulation (BLS). At its core, it's a method of gently guiding the brain to process emotions through rhythmic left-right movement. You've probably done it yourself, without realizing it-tapping each knee while stressed or walking back and forth to clear your head. Clinically, BLS is used in therapies like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), which helps people process trauma in a way that feels safer and more contained."

A licensed therapist working via telehealth during the pandemic observed clients' anxiety mirroring the therapist's own unease. Conventional interventions such as mindfulness and grounding were taught but often failed to register bodily safety because fear, disconnection, and panic remained rooted below conscious awareness. Bilateral stimulation (BLS) emerged as a pivotal somatic method that uses rhythmic left-right movement to help the brain process emotions more safely. Everyday actions like tapping knees or walking exemplify BLS. Clinically, BLS appears in EMDR, which offers a contained, body-based pathway for trauma processing when words alone cannot reach entrenched physiological states.

Read at Tiny Buddha