Somat
Awareness
Theory

Somat Awareness Theory Bridges Between Seemingly Rival Concepts
	Soul Spirit Instinct Patterning One-step learning Conditioned response Reflex the Unconscious   (Freud) Primary Process   (Freud) Mammalian Brain Visceral Brain   (MacLean, 1949) Limbic System   (MacLean, 1952) Mid Brain   (MacLean, 1970) Emotional Brain   (LeDoux, 1996) etc., etc.		can all be viewed as rough analogies to....		the Survival Brain System (SBS), a recent coinage (Bernet, 1997), refers to a functional part of the brain system that is essential for survival. It perceives with great speed but is far from accurate. It learns rapidly, often in one trial, and tends to be resistant to extinction.     The SBS "learns" when the cognitive brain system is unavailable: e.g., in infants, in lower animals, under threat or pressure, during altered states of consciousness, and during over-arousal.     The SBS scans the environment continuously; when a current perception roughly matches an encoded memory, the SBS triggers a physical response based on the response initiated after the first occurrence.     The new response is frequently maladaptive.
	Aversion Body Sensations Compulsions Drives Emotions Feelings Gut reactions Impulses Neurotic Impulses Reinforcement Rewards Traumatic memories Unconscious patterning Visceral response		can all be viewed as variant aspects of....		Somats, a recent coinage (Bernet, 1997). A somat is "the smallest unit of potentially perceptible change in the physical sensations within the body, that is prompted by the survival brain, and that has the potential to initiate emotional and behavioral response."     Somats are the motivating components that, when processed by the cognitive brain, will be perceived as emotions.     Unless rapidly and properly processed, somats will reverberate and will precipitate additional somats, resulting in suboptimal emotional and behavioral responses.
Survival Brain System, somats, emotions, behavior, mental and physical health
	The Survival Brain System learns in infancy, when under stress or hyper-arousal, and during altered states of consciousness; these memory traces persist and are usually difficult to extinguish post-traumatic stress disorder is an extreme example The Survival Brain System scans the environment and, when it matches a current perception against a stored memory, rapidly prompts responses based on responses to the stored learning having learned to step back when a truck approaches, I may step back in response to a dark cloud—and fall straight into a manhole or under the wheels of a cab The Survival Brain System prompts "action tendencies," faintly sensed initiations of physical reactions; they may be felt in various parts of the body, face, skin, viscera, eyes... and are perceived as Somats my calves may signal "about to kick," my eyes "about to cry," my fists "about to punch," my shoulders "about to hide," my genitals "act on this arousal" Somats are subtle physical sensations in the body, or changes in sensations. They are ever present, whether we are aware of them or not. Some are the promptings of the Survival Brain System, others are the varied sensations of our self-regulating bodies a flicker of a smile, a choking moment in the throat, averted eyes, mouth about to open in fright or astonishment—or the first faint indicators of impending disease Somats may be acted on, repressed, or processed: Unprocessed, or improperly processed response, is maladaptive. Repressed somats will prompt the SBS to prompt other somats. Chronic repression of prompted action causes stress in the body. perceived threat induces fight-or-flight Somats X (cognitive processing + cognitive memories + values + social learning) = emotions. Emotions modulate our behavior. bitten on your little finger: by your puppy, your lover, an infant, or a stranger on the subway. The sensations (somats) are identical; your emotions vary with cognitions Emotions, evinced by suboptimal perceptions or interpretations of the Somat promptings, will instigate suboptimal behaviors and initiate a new set of perceptions that the Survival Brain will compare with past memories, thereby triggering new Somats unthinkingly smacking an infant that bites your finger is suboptimal behavior. This would trigger old memories, and engender somats associated with blame or disgust Rapid and accurate cognitive processing of the somats ("Somat Awareness") leads to optimal emotional and behavioral response The inability to rapidly and accurately process the somats leads to maladaptive emotional and behavioral response (see above) Inattention to the somats that reflect the subtle changes in the functioning of our bodies, delays or reduces our immunological response, and reduces our self-regulating and healing skills at its simplest, awareness of incipient pain may induce more heedful movements, averting sore back and sprained wrist. In a less voluntary context, rapid and correct awareness of minute changes in body sensations permits a more accurate and more rapid deployment of the body’s defenses and self-healing responses

Somat Awareness proposes a theory of human health and behavior that is not at all new. However, by its reformulation of old constructs, it helps bridge among conflicting concepts, theories, and schools of thought, in terms that can be readily understood by scholars of diverse orientations.

Somat theory offers ready solutions to issues in emotions, psychotherapies, disease and healing that are not, in essence, at discord with existing theories and practices. The theory will be discussed here in brief; the interested reader is invited to review our Publications for various papers on the theory that have been presented at major conferences. The theory utilizes two constructs, "Somats" and "Survival Brain" to better understand and reconcile other theories and phenomena. "Somat" operationalizes the vague, contradictory, confusing and unscientific term "feelings" and at the same time suggests a better understanding of "emotions."

"Survival Brain" is a new construct, to describe a functional aspect of the central nervous system. Though it may largely overlap physically with those parts of the brain that have been designated as visceral brain (MacLean, 1949), limbic system (MacLean, 1952), mid brain or paleomammalian brain (MacLean, 1970), and emotional brain (LeDoux, 1996), the survival brain (not unlike the emotional brain) is defined in terms of its function only, totally independent of any physical location or constituents (in fact, as recent neuropsychological research hints, include components in the spine, the viscera, and elsewhere in the body. The functioning of the "Survival Brain" can be conceptualized also as a rough synonym for the (Freudian) "unconscious" and "primary process" as well as the soul, psyche, and, in many, respects instincts.

"Somat," also a new construct, is defined as "the smallest unit of potentially perceptible change in the physical sensations within the body, that is prompted by the survival brain, and that has the potential to initiate emotional and behavioral response."

Somat Awareness Theory is based on a 15 year study starting back in 1982, and on more recent research involving over one thousand subjects and over thirty validating measures and factors. Originally, the study attempted to operationalize the popular concept "Being in Touch With One’s Feelings" and to explore the contention that this was in some way desirable. It also sought to establish whether this "Being in Touch With Feelings" could be taught and learned.

Research showed three consistently different styles in awareness of the Somats (the physical promptings from the body) and in the ability for optimal response in emotions and behavior.

• BB (Based on Body) reflects an effortless, integrated awareness of the fine nuances of body sensation that precede or accompany the awareness of emotion.

• EE (Emphasis on Evaluation) reflects a style in which great effort is made to understand what is happening to oneself, often from the viewpoint of an outside observer, or in terms of imagined ideals or expectations. When used to excess, it has a ruminative, non-productive quality

• LL (Looking to Logic) interposes logic between feelings and response, to control or avoid the potential discomfort or ambiguity of emotions.