Mapping Primitive Reflexes to Emotional Dysregulation & Somatic Interventions

 💡 Why start here?

• Primitive reflexes directly influence autonomic responses, movement coordination, and emotional regulation.
• If a reflex is retained or unintegrated, it can lock a person into a specific emotional pattern (e.g., fear paralysis reflex → chronic freeze response).
• By matching emotions to reflexes, we can use reflex repatterning to unlock stuck emotional states.

✅ Example of Mapping Emotions to Reflexes:

Primitive Reflex	Unintegrated Emotional Impact	Tied Emotional States	Somatic Integration Strategy
Moro Reflex (Startle Reflex)	Overreaction to stress, chronic hypervigilance	Fear, Dread, Insecurity	Rocking, deep pressure holds, slow eye-tracking
Fear Paralysis Reflex	Freeze response, social withdrawal, inability to act	Apathy, Shame, Regret	Core expansion, weight shifting, slow reaching
Rooting Reflex	Difficulty receiving support, emotional longing	Longing, Jealousy, Grief	Head-turning, facial massage, deep touch
Palmar Grasp Reflex	Emotional rigidity, difficulty letting go	Resentment, Judgment	Hand opening/closing drills, bilateral tapping
ATNR (Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex)	Cognitive rigidity, difficulty shifting perspective	Contempt, Frustration	Cross-body movements, contralateral engagement
Spinal Galant Reflex	Hypersensitivity, irritability, boundary issues	Anger, Disgust	Hip activation, spinal rolling
TLR (Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex)	Postural instability, poor spatial awareness	Guilt, Insecurity	Extension-flexion drills, vestibular input