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"I feel stuck" is one of the most common things I hear from clients. In this episode of Soulreign, I'm joined again by Andrew T. Austin to ask what stuck means to the subconscious mind. I was also lucky enough to have a Metaphors of Movement session with him myself.

In this episode, we explore:

-Why "away from pain" movers can feel stuck, and why chasing pleasure rarely satisfies

-What Metaphors of Movement is, and how a stuck state can look like glue, a swamp, a hole or a bucket

-Autogenic metaphors: your own unique mental imagery of your experience, as opposed to everyday idioms

-Why articulating a subconscious metaphor often brings the reaction "I've never thought about it like this before"

-How diagnostic labels can shape identity, and Andrew's view that "endpoint" labels leave no path forward. These are his opinions, and he acknowledges they're challenging.

-Why change often gets harder before it gets easier, and why sustained effort matters more than a burst of motivation

-Why not everyone responds to the same modality, and why some people simply need psychoeducation

-What the work can feel like afterwards, including a release similar to a therapeutic psychedelic experience

A glimpse of the work

Andrew doesn't start by asking where you'd go if you weren't stuck. He asks, "Stuck like what?" A person who is "up to their neck in a swamp" and a person "stuck on a gluey floor" are both stuck, but the structure of each problem is completely different. When the metaphor is brought to conscious awareness, what he calls "the elusive obvious" becomes clearer.

Recently Andrew wrote a blog about being stuck, you can visit it here: https://metaphorsofmovement.co.uk/im-stuck-walls-containers-and-burdens

My own experience

My metaphor was standing in a bucket, with a wall behind me and every possibility out in front. Afterwards, my subconscious kept bringing me back to that image whenever I felt I had no options. It gave me a choice I hadn't noticed: stay in the bucket, or step out in any direction.

A question to sit with

What are you willing to give up to become unstuck?

Sponsored By

This podcast is brought to you by Healing Beyond Trauma — Hypnotherapy & Trauma-Informed Coaching. Each episode is made possible through work dedicated to nervous system regulation, subconscious integration, and soul-aligned healing.
​www.HealingBeyondTrauma.com