How Havening Helped Me Rebuild My Nervous System: A Personal Story

I’ll never forget the moment I realised something had to change.

I was in the car with a bottle of milk on my lap, watching my son dance through the kitchen window. The scene was calm. Ordinary. Safe.

But inside, I was in free fall.

My chest was tight. My throat was closing. Panic was crawling its way up my body, threatening to engulf me.

From the outside, I looked fine. Inside, I was barely holding on.

That moment wasn’t the end, but it was definitely a beginning. It was my line in the sand. My “no more, I've got to do something or this anxiety is going to kill me.”

What Anxiety Felt Like in My Body

For years, I lived with what I now know was a fried nervous system, Adverse Childhood Experiences, low self-esteem and no tools.
Sleep was broken. I’d wake mid-thought, panic already rising.
I was snappy, wired, emotionally overstimulated.
There was a constant sense of dread, like a storm on the horizon that never arrived but never left.

Locked jaw.
Tension headaches.
A bowling ball of fear in my belly.
A tight grip around my ribs.
I wasn’t lazy or weak or bad at coping. I was in survival mode - and I didn’t know it.

Maybe you’ve been there too. Maybe you’re there now.

The Turning Point

That day in the car, I made a quiet promise to myself:
I would find a way to feel safe again. And when I did, I’d help others find their way too.

So I started exploring.

Breathwork, meditation, somatic therapy, coaching… all of it helped, but none of it touched the deepest part of the pattern.
Something old was still living in my body, and no matter how much I talked about it, it wasn’t shifting.

Then I Found Havening

The first time I experienced Havening, I knew it would be the end of anxiety for me. .

This wasn’t about revisiting the trauma over and over. It wasn’t about trying to understand it better. I had all the perspectives, changed lots of meaning and understood myself as much as I could. I just needed the anxiety to be over and Havening was my answer.
It gave my nervous system the space and input it needed to finally uproot and resolve it.

Havening uses a simple, gentle touch - stroking the arms, face or hands - paired with guided distraction (things like counting, humming, visualising) to calm the brain’s threat response.
It’s neuroscience-backed, kind to the system, and incredibly effective.

And most importantly: It works without forcing you to relive the pain.

What Happened For Me

With Havening, I was able to process and release trauma I’d carried for years.
Not through force, but through safety.
Not through pushing, but through presence, imagination and using the body's senses to remove biologically, my traumas.

Session by session, layer by layer, I began to feel calmer and freer in my own body.
Quieter.
More me.

It wasn’t just a moment of relief. It was the beginning of actual, felt change.

What is Havening?

Havening is a therapeutic method designed to support the nervous system in letting go of emotional distress.
It combines touch, imagination and neuroscience to:

• reduce anxiety and overwhelm
  
  
• dissolve trauma responses
  
  
• build real-time resilience
  
  
• and soothe the parts of you that words can't reach
  
  

It’s often used for PTSD, panic, phobias, emotional blocks and stress-related symptoms.
And it’s powerful when integrated with other healing and coaching approaches too.

You don’t have to understand everything about it for it to work. Your body knows what to do, when it’s given the right signals.

Why I Now Teach Havening

After experiencing Havening for myself, I trained to become a practitioner.
Then a trainer. Because I couldn’t not share this.

In my private work, I’ve seen clients shift in minutes what they’ve carried for decades.
People who’ve tried everything finally feel the grip loosen.
They walk out of sessions with tools they can use between appointments - tools that actually work.

That’s why I now offer practitioner training.
Because we need more people sharing this method.
Because the world is full of walking nervous systems in survival mode - and we don’t need to stay that way. In fact we need resolution and a personal level and a global one. 

What Makes My Training Different

In addition to the full certified Havening Techniques® programme, I offer a bonus Integration Day, where I share part of my own framework, the Soma Protocol.

This piece is all about turning the theory into practice - helping you feel confident, grounded and clear on how to bring Havening into your work.

It’s ideal for:

• Coaches
  
  
• Therapists
  
  
• Hypnotherapists
  
  
• Body-based practitioners
  
  
• Anyone ready to work with trauma in a safe, effective way
  
  

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to learn something new.

If You’ve Had Your Own ‘Kitchen Floor’ Moment

You don’t have to be on a literal kitchen floor to know what that moment feels like.
It’s the “I can’t keep going like this” moment.
The “I don’t know what to do, but I know I need help” moment.

If that’s you - or if you’re working with people who feel like that - Havening could change everything.

Your Next Step

🌀 Join Our Next Training

Includes the Soma Foundation Protocol, live Q&As, community support, and real-time practice.

➡️ Click here to reserve your place

💬 Want to try a session first?

If anxiety, stress or trauma are getting in the way of the life you want to live, you don’t have to go it alone.
➡️ Book a free 20-minute call here