The fizzy bottle: how safe does it feel to lift the lid on ‘fizzy’ emotions and sticky subjects?
For leaders sitting on something their team hasn't said out loud yet.
Bottling up emotions and unsayable words can risk a build up of stress that leads to explosive conflicts, burnout, health problems and more. I’m interested in how we can take the same approach we would use with a shaken up fizzy bottle – unscrewing the lid slowly, carefully, and a little at a time.
In Praise of Discomfort -Unlearning White Politeness, Masking and Conflict Avoidance
For anyone exhausted by people-pleasing, masking, or keeping the peace at their own expense.
When the mask begins to slip
In the years since being diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, I have spent a lot of time thinking about masking: the conscious or unconscious effort to suppress natural instincts and modify behaviour to appear socially acceptable.
At a certain point, particularly for those diagnosed later in life, the mask begins to slip. Sometimes we make a deliberate decision to take it off; more often, our nervous systems simply run out of the energetic fuel required to keep it in place.
It is revealing to notice how that unmasking is received. In some spaces, people are accustomed to neurodivergent communication styles, unusual movements, and direct requests for adjustments.
What Does a Somatic Coach Actually Do?
For anyone wondering what somatic coaching actually looks like in practice – and whether it could help.
The problem with niche titles
I have a confession to make: I sometimes dread the question ‘what do you do?’
When I tell people I am a somatic coach and practitioner, the title often sounds like a specialist niche that requires a ten-minute explanation. For many, ‘somatic’ sounds vaguely mystical, evoking images of crystal bowls or unstructured emotional catharsis. For others, ‘coaching’ suggests corporate performance optimisation, five-year plans, and relentless positivity.
My work sits in neither camp. It exists to address a practical, grounded reality: the challenges that bring people to coaching – things like exhaustion, chronic self-doubt, conflict avoidance, and career paralysis – need more than thinking and talking to be resolved. Intellectually understanding your patterns does not stop your body from reacting when the pressure mounts.