Is your body telling you it doesn’t feel safe?
When your body is stressed, it is telling you it doesn't feel safe. This is because your body is an incredible survival machine, and it's always on high alert for danger. That means that even if you're just sitting in a comfortable chair, if your stress response is activated your body feels there is a threat.
It's important to know that this is normal and healthy—in fact, it's what keeps you safe and has helped keep you alive. But in today's world, it can cause problems because your body is often responding to perceived threats or past threats that are no longer a threat or these alarms are going off because there is a danger within and you are ignoring the signs and blaming the external stressors of the world.
You can learn more on my YouTube Video: Why Am I Stressed All the Time
10 Signs Your Body Doesn’t Feel Safe
1. You feel frustrated or agitated.
Many women feel frustrated or agitated when their physical surroundings don't provide them with a feeling of safety. It's not uncommon to feel this way - everyone has been in a situation where they felt unsafe. Your body holds these experiences and may be easily triggered by a smell, sound, touch, sight, or even taste that reminds it of the experience and you may not even remember or understand why.
2. You have muscle tension or pain.
Your muscles are your body's first line of defense, and when they're tense, it's because your body doesn't feel safe. When these messages are sent to your muscles frequently, over time they can become so strong that they are difficult to overcome, even when there is no real threat present.
3. You suffer from anxiety or depression.
You suffer from anxiety or depression when your body doesn't feel safe. But what does that mean, exactly? It's not just about the stressors in your life, especially what’s going on outside of you, but what's going on inside of you. This can happen for a variety of reasons: trauma, genetic predisposition, nutritional deficiencies, or a lack of sleep can all be internal stressors preventing you from feeling safe. And it isn't always easy to figure out why this is happening to you—but that doesn't mean there isn't a solution.
4. You have trouble falling asleep at night or trouble sleeping through the night without waking up multiple times. 
It's possible that your body doesn't feel safe. When your mind is worried about something, whether it be a real threat or a perceived one, it will not let you sleep as deeply as it normally would so that you can react to danger quickly. This means that even if you get into bed, your body will still be on alert and unable to fully rest.
5. You get sick more often than others around you do.
You feel you're always getting sick. There could be a reason you're falling ill so often: Your body doesn't feel safe. When you feel threatened, your body releases chemicals called stress hormones into your bloodstream so that you can fight or flee from the threat at hand. These chemicals are meant to help you survive an attack—they send messages to your brain telling it what action is needed in order for you to make it out alive. But when these chemicals stay active for too long, they can literally wear down your body over time by making it weaker and less able to fight off infection.
6. You feel like your body isn't performing as well as it used to—you are more tired with the same amount of activities.
Your body knows that something feels different and therefore it reacts differently. And when something feels different in your life (even if you don't know why), your body acts accordingly by conserving energy and resources until it feels safe again. While you may feel nothing has changed in your life, something has changed in your body.
7. You feel like your moods are out of control—you go from low to high.
When you are in a situation where you feel unsafe, your body reacts by sending you a signal: Fight, Flight, or Freeze. These options are designed to protect you from danger, but unfortunately, not very effective when it comes to dealing with emotions. This is often because we are focusing more on our emotions than how our body is feeling and what it needs to feel safe. This means taking the time to stop and become aware of how your body is feeling and even asking, How can I best support myself right here, right now?
8. Your appetite has shifted drastically, either you find yourself eating more than usual or eating less.
When your body doesn’t feel safe, it is constantly adapting. Your appetite is one of the first things that will change when your body is trying to adjust. This can be caused by several factors, including changes in hormones or diet. It might also be because your body is trying to tell you something. Your stomach doesn't know whether it's safe for you to eat—so it locks down and tells you not to eat (or not too much). This is a normal response when we feel threatened. The body protects itself from harm by shutting down digestion and diverting energy toward other functions (like running away). If you're experiencing extreme hunger or extreme fullness, ask yourself what your body is needing right now to help it feel more safe and it may have nothing to do with food.
9. You're always cold, even when it's warm out.
Your body is constantly trying to keep you alive, and it does this by constantly monitoring the environment around you. If it senses danger, it will attempt to lower your body temperature in order to slow down your metabolism and reduce energy expenditure.
10. When you eat something sweet, your blood sugar spikes quickly and then crashes, leaving you feeling shaky and tired.
The chemical actions of sugar move you into a stressed state. Yes, your body moves into the "fight or flight" response because of the sugar rush, your body believes you must not be safe and you now have extra energy to protect yourself. The question is what are you protecting yourself from? Once your body realizes that the danger has passed (sugar has dropped) your body crashes, leaving you feeling shaky and tired- much like you just finished fighting a tiger or running a race. Even if you never got up from the table.If you have any of these 10 signs showing up in your life. Know that your first step is helping your body feel more safe.
How do I help my body feel more safe?
Great question. For years, I didn’t know the answer and after going through several programs including Somatic Training, I began to use powerful exercises to help my body feel more safe. Now when I begin to feel stressed, I know that my body doesn’t feel safe. I don’t just tell my body it’s safe now. I show it. As it feels safer. I feel the shift. Then I know I can move on toward less stress, more energy, and an exceptional life.
If you would like to know what to do when these signs pop up for you - I have a foundational course called The 21-Day Journey designed for you in mind and to guide you through an experience inside of your nervous system while building safety, support, and capacity - one somatic exercise at a time. You can find more information on my website by clicking here or you can book a free session with me to see if it’s the right next step for you.
If you would like to know what to do when these signs pop up for you - I have a foundational course called The 21-Day Journey designed for you in mind and to guide you through an experience inside of your nervous system while building safety, support, and capacity - one somatic exercise at a time. You can find more information on my website by clicking here or you can book a free session with me to see if it’s the right next step for you.
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