Category: Somatic Practice
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Physical Therapy Exercises for Stress & Anxiety
Stress and anxiety often show up in the body as tension, pain, and poor posture — but simple physical therapy exercises can help break the cycle. In this post, Dr. Christine Dickson explains how defensive body posture contributes to stress and shares three powerful exercises, including Wall Angels, that release tension, improve posture, and restore…
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Half-Smiling: A Mindfulness Meditation
Half-smiling is a simple yet powerful mindfulness practice that helps you manage difficult emotions, reduce stress, and approach challenges with balance and self-compassion. In this post, Dr. Christine Dickson shares how the half-smile technique can shift your emotional state and build resilience in everyday situations.
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Heating Pads: A Natural Remedy for Insomnia
Insomnia affects millions, but simple tools like heating pads may offer relief. This post explores how the warmth of a heating pad can relax muscles, ease pain, and calm the nervous system—making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. Learn how to use heating pads safely as part of a mindful nighttime routine, and…
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Ice Packs for Anxiety
Anxiety can feel overwhelming, but sometimes the simplest tools bring the greatest relief. In this post, Dr. Christine Dickson explains how using ice packs can help calm racing thoughts, soothe physical symptoms, and ground you in the present moment — offering a quick, practical way to ease anxiety when it hits.
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7 Grounding Techniques to Calm the Mind
When anxiety or racing thoughts take over, it’s easy to feel pulled away from the present moment. Grounding techniques are simple, practical tools that bring your focus back to the here and now. Whether you’re managing stress, calming intrusive thoughts, or trying to fall asleep, these methods help anchor your mind to your body and…
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Using TIP to Tolerate Distress
When emotions feel overwhelming, the TIP skill—Temperature, Intense Exercise, and Paced Breathing—can help calm your body and mind fast. In this article, Dr. Christine E. Dickson explains how to use this DBT distress tolerance tool to reset your body chemistry, reduce anxiety, and regain control in moments of high stress.
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Improve Anxiety and Depression with Cold Showers
In 2017, when I first learned that cold showers could significantly improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, I immediately began suggesting it to all of my clients. Exposure to cold is known to activate the sympathetic nervous system and send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which can…
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9 Ways to Accept Reality
In a previous post, I wrote about the practice of radical acceptance. Radical acceptance is accepting life on life’s terms. It is derived from deep spiritual wisdom that goes back thousands of years. The practice of radical acceptance has helped people thrive during periods of upheaval or change, and has helped decrease symptoms of anxiety,…
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Soothing Emotions with the Five Senses
Discover how soothing your five senses—sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste—can help you calm your mind and body. This guide explains simple self-soothing techniques that can reduce stress and restore emotional balance, even if you’ve never learned them before.
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7 Techniques for Practicing Mindfulness Meditation
This article provides a list and description of Dr. Christine E. Dickson’s favorite mindfulness meditation techniques.