24/05/2026

This is a story about my recovery from using tarot addictively.

But it's also really a story about how complex trauma conditions us not to trust.

Not to trust ourselves.
And not to trust that we’ll be ok if we do.

Over time, many of us learn to override our own signals:
the quiet “yes, go there.”
the “no, this doesn’t feel right.”
the “I’m not sure yet, I need more time.”

Sometimes this can look like chronic indecision, rumination, people pleasing, hypervigilance, obsessing, constantly seeking reassurance, or searching outside ourselves for answers.

And the more disconnected we become from our bodies, the harder it can feel to know what we genuinely want, need, or feel.

For me, somatic therapy has been absolutely key in beginning to reconnect with that inner knowing.

The more capacity we have to stay present with what is here, now:
the less urgency we feel to force certainty.
The more patient we can become with the process of decision making.
The more able we are to notice internal and external signals that support a clearer yes, no, or not yet.
And the more we begin to trust that we will be ok, even if things don’t unfold exactly how we hoped.

Maybe healing is not becoming perfectly certain.

Maybe it’s learning that uncertainty and self-trust can exist together.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this?

Charlotte ☀️

p.s see link at top of my page for ways we can work together, including specialist somatic therapy one to one sessions that support recovery from complex trauma.

20/05/2026

One of the questions I get asked most often lately is:

“What actually *happens* in a somatic therapy session?”

And honestly, there isn’t one fixed answer.

Because every nervous system, history and lived experience is different.

Some people arrive feeling highly anxious and overwhelmed.
Some feel numb or disconnected.
Some find talking deeply regulating.
Some struggle to feel anything in their bodies at all.

The work meets the person.

And despite what social media sometimes suggests, somatic therapy is not always dramatic.

It isn’t always about catharsis, shaking, crying or “releasing trauma.”

Sometimes it looks much quieter than people imagine.

Talking.
Pausing.
Noticing tension.
Tracking sensation.
Recognising survival responses.
Learning what safety feels like.
Staying present with yourself for a few moments longer than before.

Some people find talking deeply regulating — and we talk a lot.

It’s not all about sensing the body.

We move into body awareness gradually, in a way that feels manageable and tolerable for the nervous system.

This is part of what we call titration:
working slowly and carefully, rather than forcing intensity or overwhelm.

Of course, not all somatic practitioners work in the same way.

The somatic field is broad, layered and evolving, with many different lineages and approaches.

Here, I’m sharing from the perspective of my own practice and training:
a blend of counselling, Somatic Experiencing, movement and touch-based work.

I’d love to know:
What surprised you most about this post?

Meet you in the comments 💛

See link at the top of my page for ways we can work together, including specialist 1:1 somatic therapy sessions to support recovery from trauma and complex trauma.

19/05/2026

I hear from many people I work with one to one that, over time, something about their inner experience begins to change.

There can be a sense of more space opening up internally. A little more room to breathe, feel, pause, respond.

People often describe finding themselves responding differently to situations that, in the past, might have completely overwhelmed them or floored them emotionally.

Sometimes it can be difficult to put into words exactly what has changed, or what they’re doing differently.

But there has been a shift nonetheless.

Sharing some of my own experience, alongside reflections I’ve heard from people I work with (shared with permission), these are some of the subtle ways our relationship with ourselves can begin to change over time.

We’ll likely all relate differently to these. Maybe some feel familiar to you, and others don’t.

In my experience, this work often brings a different way of relating to ourselves and to the world around us.

Not because we become perfectly regulated, calm, or “healed” all the time, but because there is gradually more capacity for being human.

More ability to ride waves of intensity without becoming completely overtaken by them.

More ability to notice our limits, boundaries, needs, and emotions before we hit breaking point.

More moments of rest, ease, connection, and presence becoming accessible.

Less fighting ourselves.

More relationship with ourselves.

For me, this work has never really been about fixing ourselves.

It’s been more about building capacity for life, while slowly growing more compassion for the parts of us that had to survive in the first place.

I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts below.

Do you relate to any of these in your own experience? Or anything else you've noticed you're doing differently, or experiencing differently? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

See the link at the top of my page for ways we can work together, including specialist 1:1 sessions to support recovery from complex trauma, with somatic therapy.

17/05/2026

I think one of the funny challenges of exploring this work in the age of social media is staying connected to our inner experience, while being surrounded by images and words telling us about healing, online.

Somatic healing is often shown in big, cathartic releases, or a pretty-looking sway, or a caption that says 'my body just released something huge today'.

We might receive the impression that there is one right way, and that is to look regulated, embodied, or with a zest or exuberant joy for life. To look evolved, spiritual, confident, expressive, high-vibe, self-aware, successful, “doing the work.”

Sometimes we can end up relating to ourselves through the imagined eyes of other people, rather than through our own direct experience.

And many of us learned this very early : monitor ourselves carefully, to perform wellness, to stay likeable, keep the peace, achieve, to become what was needed.

So it makes sense that exploring how it might be to work a bit less hard, or to not perform as much, can feel surprisingly vulnerable and confronting.

Sometimes somatic work is not dramatic at all.

Sometimes it looks like:
feeling your jaw unclench for a moment.
Noticing you’re tired before you push through
Sensing anger or sadness underneath “I’m fine.”
Feeling your feet on the ground.
Realising you don’t actually want to say yes.
Allowing yourself to take up space.
Or allowing yourself to rest.

Small moments of honesty with ourselves can create profound shifts over time.

Not everything meaningful is visible from the outside 💚

13/05/2026

Somatic Movement Retreat in Canford Cliffs, 6th to 7th June
At beautiful .sandbanks and surrounding areas of outstanding natural beauty, like Canford Cliffs beach, also a visit to Compton Acres garden to explore how outside spaces and nature can support nervous system healing.
2 spots remaining
We'd love you to join us - see link in bio or feel free to send Charlotte a message with any questions and she will get back to you soonest 💚

10/05/2026

I hear from so many people these days that they’re experiencing a bone-deep level of tiredness (and I'm feeling it myself from time to time).

Maybe part of this is that it’s easy to underestimate how many digital message exchanges or touch points we have, day to day, through the day. Also absorbing news from around the world, without any break. We’re taking in so much, and processing so much, beyond what is our capacity and our own to hold.

Often, when we’re really tired, it can still be hard to rest. Have you ever experienced this?

Our system is activated, or frozen and disconnected, and it can feel much harder to settle our energy, or to properly pause and rest.

Stress and trauma are biological, and cause real physiological shifts in our nervous system: heightened adrenaline and cortisol, heightened nerve activity, and more tension in our bodies.

Rest is free, and also essential to support recovery.

The good news is that we can practise actively resting in small moments through the day, and this tends to make rest feel more accessible over time.

How can we grow a practice of resting when we’re busy, or when it feels super hard to rest?

This is what this post explores, and some of the things that I focus on.

What supports you?
I’d love to hear from you below, if you feel like sharing. 💚

05/05/2026

You matter.

That feeling of “this doesn’t feel real” is more common than you might think.

It’s a protective response, and a way your system creates space when something has felt too much, too fast, or too overwhelming, or too little for too long.

Over time, this can leave you feeling disconnected
From your body, sense of self, and from the world around you.

Grounding and validation are about helping your system recognise that it’s safe enough to come back into connection and presence, bit by bit. And they signal that you matter.

See link at the top of my page for ways we can work together, including specialist sessions in trauma and complex trauma recovery, working with somatic therapy.

01/05/2026

Welcome to this new month : let's welcome in your needs, your joy, your hopes and dreams.

Join us on 6th - 7th June for this Somatic Experiencing informed retreat, held by at .sandbanks ? 💙

Today is the final day for early pricing. See link in bio, send Charlotte a message with any questions or to reserve your place.

29/04/2026

Retreat, 6th to 7th June in Canford Cliffs. Comment 'retreat' or see link in bio for further details 🌊🌳

ometimes healing doesn’t begin through trying harder, thinking more, or forcing ourselves to be social.

Sometimes healing begins through something quieter.

Standing beneath a tree and feeling the ground hold your weight.
Listening to water move over stones.
Watching light shift through leaves.
Feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin after a long winter inside yourself.

For many people, nature has been one of the first places the nervous system could soften. A place where nothing was demanded. A place where there was no criticism, no performance, no need to get it right.

Just space. Rhythm. Breath. Life continuing.

When human connection has been painful, confusing or overwhelming, it makes sense that the body may feel safer with the sea, the garden, the dog, the trees, the sky.

There is no shame in that.

Often, nature becomes a bridge. A place where we begin to remember what steadiness feels like. What connection feels like. What it is to belong to something larger than our story.

And from there, gently and in our own time, we can begin to bring that safety back into relationship with people too.

This is part of what we’ll be exploring on my upcoming retreat in Canford Cliffs, Dorset | 6th–7th June.

A weekend of nervous system support, gentle movement, rest, co-regulation, nature, spaciousness and human connection that doesn’t need to be forced.

We’ll be working with yoga, qigong, somatic practices, beautiful surroundings, and plenty of permission to move at your own pace.

4 places remain.

If you feel the call to join us, comment RETREAT below or see the link in bio for further details.

27/04/2026

Some days, the voice in your head that says:

“I feel fat.”
“My face looks awful.”
“My clothes feel wrong.”
“I need to fix myself.”

…isn’t actually about your body.

It can be a sign that your nervous system is overwhelmed.

When trauma feels loud, stress is high, or emotions feel too much, your mind often turns against the body. What feels urgent and true in that moment may actually be a signal that you’re at capacity.

Same body, dfferent nervous system state, different experience.

What you may need most in that moment may be something that supports your capacity at that moment in time :

Fresh air
A walk
Quiet
A blanket
Ground beneath your feet
Connecting with someone you feel at ease around
Rest

The more we practice learning to recognise these moments as signals rather than facts, the more freedom we can create from the need to constantly repair ourselves.

Hard days are not failure, and they can be information.

See the link at the top of my page for ways we can work together, including specialist sessions in trauma and complex trauma recovery.

22/04/2026

Yoga on Thursday mornings, 7-8am at ... Join us? 💚 if you're in the Bournemouth / Poole area, come and join us for a movement practice on Thursday mornings, 7-8am at ? designed to slow us right down, connect with each other, and the beautiful sea and landscape. questions or bookings, comment below or send me a DM

Charlotte Preston

24/05/2026

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17/05/2026

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10/05/2026

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