Are you living in survival mode?
Ever feel like you’re living in survival mode?
Rushing around as if it's a matter of life or death suddenly realizing your shoulders are up by your ears, your arse is as tight as a Victorian woman's corset and you haven’t sat down and taken a breath all day?
Maybe you find yourself super tired at the end of the night, but can’t seem to switch off. Your body FEELS tired but your mind is wondering why the earth rotates around the sun, how many seconds in a year, or when was the last time you wormed the cat.
You feel like you’ve been slaying dragons in the jungle of life all day, when in reality you were simply living your normal everyday life with kids, and work but somehow you feel like it's a lot of speed, stress and effort.
Or maybe you are someone that appears verrrry calm and collected on the surface but inside you’re going a million miles an hour, like a duck gracefully gliding across the lake her legs in rapid fire under the surface of the calm water.
It could be that sometimes you find yourself going through worst case scenarios, catastrophizing things that feel a little worrisome, or you could be feeling hypervigilant and self conscious when in the company of work associates, acquaintances or strangers.
Living in survival can often feel as though there is little time for pleasure, relaxation and joy, when you get spare time you find anything you can to numb the stress - eating, scrolling on social media, drinking etc….
If you recognise yourself in any of these behaviours , chances are your physiology is in SURVIVAL MODE.
This state of ‘threat response’ which can also be called a ‘trauma response’ is a kind of state of emergency (from the body's perspective).
And……
This way of being is so normalized in our culture that many of us don’t realize we are in it.
Its just life.
We rush through the traffic to not be late to our Yin Yoga class to relax.
Meditating for at least 30 minutes a day is just another task on our to do list.
We don’t realize the harm we’re doing to our physiology by staying in this state of hyper arousal.
Many people think “I’m not traumatized”, yet they’re operating from this space of survival.And that IS a trauma response.
No judgment here, believe me, I know this way of living personally,
And……
I have spent the majority of the last three years working on unhooking from the ways I was subtly in this state of stress.
It wasn’t so much that I was really obviously in this state, it was more how I noticed this feeling of speed inside of myself, an inability to feel slowness inside (unless I did an hour or more of Yin Yoga) and being in stillness I would be fidgety and distracted. I also noticed I was tired a lot, would go into overwhelm easily, couldn’t plan ahead much, and sometimes could even physically feel a buzzy hyper feeling in my chest.
So, I’m not saying we all need to live in this perpetual state of calm, in a zen like equanimity— there are times when a survival response is perfectly appropriate and needed (and it's not just when we might be running from a bear in the forest, or dodging a snake).
There are times when we might be preoccupied with how to make more money, if we are unable to pay our rent for instance. It’s an appropriate response to feel one's survival is at threat as the basic human need of shelter is being challenged.
I see a lot of people in the Spiritual/Conscious world, trusting the Universe, trusting the mystery (which is great) but also living on the bones of their arse. They pendulate between panicking for their basic survival and being in a floaty state, just trusting the mystery.
I was quite like this myself at various places on my evolutionary journey. So I can totally relate!
And…..
Here’s the thing.
Our nervous system is here to protect us. If there is a potential’ threat’ to our survival, or an emergency is detected it will let us know — through a quickening of the pulse, things speeding up, tension in the face, arms, upper body etc. We might experience a feeling of restlessness, wanting to get up and leave, becoming hyper vigilant - all of these are symptoms of sympathetic nervous system activation.
Trying to motivate us to DO SOMETHING.
None of this is bad per se.
It is an important part of our survival physiology.
It's just when the level of activation is not appropriate to the apparent threat, then we can tell we are not actually living in current time reality.
Like worrying and stressing even when there IS more than enough money to cover your needs.
What happens is we are either projecting backwards or forwards or multiple directions on the timeline and therefore not in our most up to date self.
WE ARE NOT LIVING AS THE MOST UP-TO-DATE VERSION OF OURSELVES.
This can create problems for us in terms of:
* capacity,
* resilience,
* being able to handle stress and challenge,
* being able to be methodical and consistent,
* being able to forward plan,
* feeling confident and capable,
* reaching towards goals and dreams,
* our ability to form lasting and loving relationships and friendships
* Being able to hold onto resources for ourselves and cultivate or grow money and assets.
Not living in our most up to date self has many negative impacts on our lives and those who relate to us.
Getting the support of a Nervous System Coach and Somatic Therapist can help you to rewire your physiology to its most up to date self and therefore enable you to reach more of your fullest potential.
* Unrestrained from past negative experiences and disappointments.
* Unhooked from neglect, and abuse you have experienced.
* Free from the collective conditioning around, emergency, speed, productivity and force.
* Aligning to more of your dreams, desires and the highest possible expression of love and care(without overgiving and burning out!!).
Even though this work is gentle, step by step and usually an organic, unfurling and a natural progression don’t be fooled that it isn’t impactful.
This work has literally changed my entire being, slowly , over time without me even realizing it at first. It's only when I look back, and remember how I felt and operated that I can gather the data of the proof of its impact.
AND…….
It’s the same with my clients.
So if you’re curious,
and maybe
you don’t consider yourself as someone with ‘trauma’ or someone wanting to ‘work’ on their trauma - Why not book in for a FREE NO OBLIGATION ‘Check the fit’ discovery call where you can get a taste for:
“If this work, might be your next step towards helping you fulfill your highest possible potential!”
Don’t let an outdated version of yourself sabotage your wildest dreams!!
You deserve to inhabit the version of you that is your fullest possible expression of amazingness in this lifetime!!
……for yourself,
…….for your loved ones
………and for all of your fellow earth community.
We each have a vital role to play in the ecological system of this earth, are you occupying your unique niche and therefore serving the greater earth community by doing so?
If you’re not sure I’d love to help you get there.
