How Somatic Therapy Helps Persistent Dizziness
Understanding the Mind-Body Connection Within Chronic Dizziness
What is Persistent Dizziness?
It's challenging when dizziness lasts longer than we anticipate. It curtails what we can do, undercuts our confidence, and makes the world a more difficult place to negotiate on a daily basis.
Dizziness is called chronic when it lasts for longer than 3 months and occurs most days. The word "dizzy" might not be the word that best describes your experience — it may be imbalance, lightheadedness, disorientation, spinning, or feeling like you're woozy or drunk even though you haven't had any alcohol or substances. Many diagnoses fall under the heading of "chronic dizziness," including PPPD, vertigo, and other vestibular-related conditions. Chronic dizziness can be triggered or worsened by many different things, including motion sickness, mild concussions, hospitalizations, or procedures.
Dizziness persists because of a complex communication between your body and nervous system that's trying to keep you safe. That system is highly adaptable and sensitive — but it's become too protective, too quick to see danger in things that are otherwise harmless. And it's also sensitive to how you feel and your thoughts.
That's why approaches that treat only the physical symptoms or only the anxious thoughts can sometimes fall short and why a combined approach might help more.
Somatic therapy works with your body and nervous system directly, rather than relying only on talking through what happened. In practice, that can look like:
Nervous system regulation: Strengthening your toolkit to recognize and calm the body's alarm response when dizziness or anxiety spikes.
Rebuilding confidence in your body: Some people with persistent dizziness share that they have a difficult relationship with their own bodies and physical sensations. Somatic work helps rebuild a relationship gradually.
Movement-based support: Gentle, body-based practices (like therapeutic yoga) that build tolerance for movement and sensation.
Working through this can bring up more discomfort before it eases, and that's something we'd talk and work through together as we go.
As a holistic and somatic therapist, I support people with persistent dizziness both online for California residents and in person in Livermore, CA.
How Somatic Therapy Helps
My Background with this Work
I co-facilitated Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley's ARISE Program for Persistent Pain and Dizziness, working alongside a multidisciplinary healthcare team treating exactly these conditions. That work, as well as my years as a certified yoga therapist, has shaped my understanding that physical health and emotional well-being aren't separate but intertwined. As such, they’re often best addressed in unison - calming the nervous system and working with the body and mind together tends to bring more lasting relief than treating either alone.
I also offer therapeutic yoga for chronic pain, available online and in-person in California for people whose pain or dizziness makes traditional yoga classes or exercise programs feel inaccessible.
You’re Not Alone
If you're navigating persistent dizziness or chronic pain, support is available. You don't have to figure out how to manage it alone.
Learn more about individual therapy
Learn about therapeutic yoga for chronic pain
Join a supportive group