Lyme Literate Somatic Psychotherapy
Introduction:
As I start to type this post, I feel the energies in my chest swirling. My shoulders move up towards my ears in tension as I feel all the layers and emotions that I hope to share in a way that is easily relatable and digestable. I also know myself well…and feeling that pressure of ‘easily relatable and digestable’ I pause and take a breath. In this exhale I practice what I invite with my own clients, to just be ourselves…messy, imperfect, swirly, human, and all… Another breath, and I feel myself ready to begin again.
My own journey with Lyme disease and co-infections:
For much of my life I have had a confusing relationship with my embodied experience. Even though physical symptoms screamed at me that something was not right, I was consistently told that what I felt was wrong, scattered, or all in my head. While I have always struggled with health issues and a weak immune system, it took 25 years for me to receive a correct diagnosis: late stage (chronic) Lyme disease and co-infections of Babesia and Bartonella. Through my own journey with somatic healing modalities, nervous system regulation, expressive art practices, and community support, I have found my way back to my body and am passionate about supporting others reclaim their voice and agency within their bodies as they navigate this disease.
Understanding the complexities of Lyme disease and co-infections:
Lyme disease is an “animal-borne” and “multi-systemic illness” that is caused most commonly by the bacteria known as Borrelia Burgdorferi (Buhner, 2015). The Borrelia Burgdorferi also travel with other strains of bacteria and parasites, which create co-infections such as Bartonella, Babesia, Erlichia, Mycoplasma, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasma, and Tularemia (Buhner, 2015; National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, 2018). The combination of symptom differences alongside multiple infections both contribute to difficulties diagnosing and treating later stages of Lyme disease. Furthermore, there is enormous controversy between politicians, policy makers, healthcare institutions, and healthcare practitioners around the diagnosis, symptomology, and treatment of Lyme Disease (Biesiada, et al., 2012; Center for Disease Control, 2021; Horowitz, 2013). Unfortunately, due to its often elusive symptoms and lack of awareness, many individuals with Lyme disease face misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. As the infection progresses, it can lead to a wide range of physical symptoms, such as chronic pain, fatigue, neurological disorders, and immune system dysfunction. However, the impact of Lyme disease extends beyond the physical realm, profoundly affecting one's emotional and psychological well-being too.
The Power of Lyme-literate Somatic Psychotherapy:
Lyme-literate somatic psychotherapy is a specialized approach tailored to meet the specific needs of individuals living with Lyme disease and/or other tick-borne illnesses and co-infections. This therapeutic modality recognizes the physical manifestations of the disease, while acknowledging the emotional and psychological toll it takes on individuals, as well as the role that trauma can play on the immune system. It encourages clients to explore their bodily sensations, release tension, and reconnect with their innate healing capacity. Furthermore, Lyme-literate therapy hopes to ease the pressure that individual with Lyme disease (or any other complex and/or unknown chronic illness) might have in needing to overly explain themselves and their health issues to be able to feel seen and heard. The therapeutic relationship and space is a place in which we can really be with your emotional and internal landscape and focus on inviting in more ease and space for your own experience. As a trauma-informed and Lyme-literate therapist, I hold complexity and nuance strongly. I collaborate with you so that we may honor your pace and support your remembering of your inherent healing capacity.
5 ways Lyme-literate therapy empowers the healing journey:
Validating the Experience: Lyme-literate somatic psychotherapy offers a safe and non-judgmental space for individuals to express their experiences and challenges. By acknowledging the unique struggles faced by those with Lyme disease, I seek to create an environment of validation, to help you foster a sense of empowerment and resilience.
Addressing trauma: Lyme disease often involves a history of misdiagnosis, medical gaslighting, and social isolation, leading to experiences of various types of trauma. Furthermore, many chronic health conditions have experienced incredible relief and healing when attention and support has been given to the role of trauma and the body in the individuals life (whether through exploring intergenerational trauma, developmental trauma, C-PTSD, and/or health trauma). Through gentle somatic practices and psycho-education, we work together to gently uncover and address the underlying traumas thus providing a platform for healing and growth.
Reconnecting with the Body: My offering of Lyme-literate somatic therapy focuses on rebuilding a harmonious relationship between the body, spirit, and mind. Through guided movement, breathing exercises, expressive-art practices, creation of rituals, and mindfulness techniques, individuals can develop greater body awareness, release both physical tension and unprocessed emotions, experience greater joy and well-being in their day to day life.
Enhancing relational support: Navigating life with Lyme disease can be incredibly isolating. It also does not need to always be this way. By working relationally, I hope to support you in feeling greater ease and fulfillment in your relationships by exploring other parts of your identity that encompasses your sense of self, working through experiences of shame and inner-criticism, and exploring ways of relating that empower you to both take care of yourself and be in connection with others.
Cultivating Resilience: Somatic psychotherapy equips individuals with a myriad of tools to manage symptoms, cope with setbacks, and cultivate resilience. It encourages self-compassion, self-care, nervous system regulation, and reclaiming your own relationship with your body.
Conclusion:
Experiences of Lyme disease can make us feel powerless. It can leave our sense of self shattered on the floor of our consciousness, it can make our brains so foggy with confusion and our throats and voices feeling tongue-tied and stiff about what we are even experiencing in our bodies. It can create experiences of distance, shame, isolation, and pain. It can also be an opening to create a more loving relationship with our embodied experience, in which we honor both in the inner warrior and healer, the parts of us that have needed to protect us with symptoms, and the parts of us that are longing to be supported in their expression. Disability justice founder and activist Pattie Berne (2018) elucidates that “we are powerful not despite the complexities of our bodies, but because of them” (p. 33). I fully believe this and hope to support you in reclaiming a loving relationship with your body in which you can experience more joy and ease in your day to day life. Well-being is not something that only correlates to a ‘perfect’ or ‘healed’ body experience. I hope to help you experience more well-being alongside your journey with this diagnosis, step by step and breath by breath.
References:
Berne, P. (2018). Skin, tooth, and bone: The basis of movement is our people, a disability justice primer. Sin’s Invalid.
Biesiada, G., Czepiel, J., Leśniak, M. R., Garlicki, A., & Mach, T. (2012). Lyme disease: Review. Archives of Medical Science, 8(6), 978–982.
Buhner, S. H. (2015). Healing lyme: Natural healing of lyme borreliosis and the coinfections chlamydia and spotted fever rickettsiosis. Raven Press.
Center for Disease Control. (2021, January 15). Signs and symptoms of untreated lyme disease. https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html
Horowitz, R. I. (2013). Why Can’t I Get Better? St. Martin’s Press.
National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. (2018, November 16). Lyme disease co-infection. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease-co-infection
