I Lied—The One Intervention I Recommend to Most Anyone

A few weeks back, I shared an article about why there is no one-size-fits-all intervention. I stand by that. Context matters. History matters. Nervous systems are idiosyncratic and exquisitely shaped by experience.

But—I lied a little.

If there’s one intervention I do recommend to most anyone, it’s a trauma-sensitive body scan.

Not the rigid, “notice your breath for ten minutes and transcend suffering” variety—but a flexible, choice-filled practice that meets people where they are.

Here’s why it helps most people, most of the time:

• It builds interoception, the ability to sense what’s happening inside your body—one of the core foundations of emotional regulation.

• It restores agency at a micro level: you notice sensations without having to change them. That noticing is the intervention.

• It calms the nervous system without bypassing it, making it useful for anxiety, shutdown, dissociation, or everyday overwhelm.

• It requires no insight, narrative, or belief system—your body participates whether you’re a skeptic or a mystic.

I’ve recorded a trauma-sensitive body scan with pacing, language, and options designed to respect different nervous systems and trauma histories. Paid subscribers can access that here, along with all my other recordings.