By Autumn Rock – Somatic Paths Somatic Wellness
Addiction changes the chemistry of the brain.
It alters how reward, motivation, and stress systems function — especially in areas tied to survival and pleasure. Over time, these changes make the urge to use feel less like a “choice” and more like a biological command (Koob & Volkow, 2010).
That’s why arguing with yourself during a craving rarely works. The craving isn’t “just in your head.” It’s in your nervous system — in the brain circuits that link emotion, body sensation, and impulse. When these circuits light up, the body floods with tension, urgency, and agitation. You can’t outthink it — but you can out-regulate it.
This is where somatics comes in.
Somatic practices help you override addictive chemistry by changing what the body is doing. They send new signals back to the brain, shifting it out of craving mode and into regulation. Breath, posture, touch, and movement can all calm the stress response and release the survival energy that fuels urges (Porges, 2011; Streeter et al., 2012).
A Practice for Riding the Wave
1. Name it.
Say quietly, “This is a craving.”
Naming the experience engages the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain that makes choices — and brings awareness online (Farb, Segal, & Anderson, 2015).
2. Feel it.
Close your eyes and locate the craving in your body.
Is it a tight chest? restless hands? pressure in the stomach?
When you feel where it lives, you shift from reacting to observing.
3. Breathe through it.
Inhale for 4 counts, exhale for 6.
This paced breathing helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system — the body’s built-in “calm-down” switch (Streeter et al., 2012).
4. Move or anchor.
If the energy feels big, shake your hands, roll your shoulders, or press your feet into the floor. Movement releases the charge that drives impulsive action (Levine, 1997).
5. Re-ground in your surroundings.
Look around.
Notice one color, one sound, one texture.
Say quietly: “This will pass.”
Every craving you ride through builds new neural pathways of regulation — literally changing your brain’s chemistry toward stability and self-trust.
Why It Works
When we focus on the body rather than the argument in our head, we work with the nervous system instead of against it. Somatic practices reduce the physiological intensity of cravings, helping the brain learn new routes to safety and relief.
Recovery isn’t about winning a battle with yourself — it’s about remembering that your body can be a safe place to live again.
References (APA 7th ed.)
- Farb, N. A., Segal, Z. V., & Anderson, A. K. (2015). Attentional modulation of primary interoceptive and exteroceptive cortices. Cerebral Cortex, 23(1), 114–126.
- Koob, G. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2010). Neurocircuitry of addiction. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(1), 217–238.
- Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma. North Atlantic Books.
- Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton.
- Streeter, C. C., Gerbarg, P. L., Saper, R. B., Ciraulo, D. A., & Brown, R. P. (2012). Effects of yoga on the autonomic nervous system, gamma-aminobutyric-acid, and allostasis in epilepsy, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Medical Hypotheses, 78(5), 571–579.