Picture this: you're making the brave step of finally begin to heal from your trauma, but you feel blocked.
It could be that you can't recall certain things from your childhood, despite trying.
Or perhaps you immediately dissociate any time you start to think about a particular traumatic event.
Or maybe you experience a deep, bodily aversion to even the idea of allowing yourself to feel sadness or anger.
You're not alone.
The reason you can't access these emotions or memories might lie in the hidden ways you're signalling to your body that you're currently not safe, and for the body, safety is everything.
Understanding these subtle 'unsafe' signals and their impact on your nervous system can be a game-changer in your journey toward healing from trauma.
In this blog post, we delve into the hidden ways you might be signalling to your body that you're not safe and how these signals can sabotage your healing process.
By identifying and addressing these factors, you can create a sense of safety within your body, paving the way for effective trauma healing.
Let's dive in!
The Nervous System and Feeling Safe
The human body is equipped with a sophisticated system designed to protect us from harm.
At the core of this is the nervous system, which continuously monitors our environment and internal state to ensure our safety.
When the nervous system perceives danger, it triggers a fight-or-flight response, flooding the body with stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol and shutting down non-vital processes like digestion and memory consolidation.
This response is crucial for immediate survival, but when it becomes chronic - like it so often does in our modern, high-stress lives - it can have detrimental effects not only on our health and well-being, but it also directly impacts our ability to heal from past traumas.
Let's explore this in more detail.
How Safety Impacts Emotional Processing
When your body senses ongoing threats, whether real or perceived, it keeps you in a heightened state of alert, often referred to as hypervigilance.
In this state, your body is focused on immediate survival, not on processing past traumas or intense emotions.
This is because emotions are powerful and can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when they are tied to traumatic experiences.
The body instinctively knows that processing intense emotions when it already doesn't feel safe could overwhelm you.
So, in order to prevent you from being overwhelmed by emotions in times of perceived threat, your nervous system will suppress them. This is a protective mechanism to ensure that you can stay focused on survival, and are ready to fight, take flight, or freeze.
Similarly, healing from trauma requires processing and integrating the emotions associated with the traumatic event. If your nervous system is constantly in a state of alertness, it perceives that there is no safe space to process these emotions, and as a result, the healing process is stalled.
That's why you might not be able to access certain memories from your past, or you might dissociate when confronted with a strong emotion in the present; your nervous system will always prioritise safety over emotional processing.
9 Hidden Nervous Systems Signals of Unsafety
So, if you are trying to heal, but you find yourself feeling blocked, here are the top 9 unsuspecting ways you might be signalling to your nervous system that you're not safe (and the antidotes to fix it):
1. Fasting
While intermittent fasting has its benefits, prolonged fasting can stress your nervous system, making it feel unsafe. The lack of regular meals and nutrients can wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels and can trick your brain into thinking you're in an unsafe starvation environment, triggering a stress response and affecting your ability to feel calm and secure.
It's also important to note that the majority of studies on intermittent fasting have predominantly involved male participants, which means they don't take into account hormonal fluctuations in women, particularly related to our menstrual cycles and reproductive health.
Antidote: Eat regular, balanced meals focusing on nutrient-dense whole foods which satiate you and stabilise your blood sugar. If you still want to go down the fasting route, studies have shown that simply reducing your eating window to 12 hours a day (eg,. only eating between 6am - 6pm or 8am - 8pm), can have many of the same beneficial affects as more restrictive fasting.
2. Too Much Caffeine
Trust me, I hate having to include this one in the list as much as you do! Caffeine can be a great pick-me-up, but too much can overstimulate your nervous system, causing jitteriness and anxiety. Excessive caffeine intake elevates cortisol levels and can lead to heightened alertness and anxiety, mimicking feelings of danger. So, while you might be sitting there blissfully in the sun enjoying your latte, your body is in panic-mode, receiving signals that you aren't safe.
Antidote: Limit caffeine to avoid spikes in stress hormones, and if you're feeling particularly anxious or suffering from burnout, it's recommended to avoid caffeine entirely until your symptoms resolve. There are lots of caffeine-free ways to get a boost in energy, so keep an eye out for my upcoming post on this topic!
3. Overtraining
While exercise is integral to feeling good, pushing your body too hard without adequate rest can keep your nervous system in a heightened state of alert. Too much exercise can lead to physical and mental fatigue, signalling danger to your nervous system. Coupled with excessive fasting and you have a recipe for burnout and adrenal fatigue.
Antidote: Engage in regular, moderate physical activity that you enjoy. Include activities like walking, yoga or stretching to promote relaxation and help balance your nervous system and bring about a sense of calm.
4. Chronic Stress
Ongoing stress keeps your nervous system in a fight-or-flight mode. Continuous exposure to stressful environments - which can include things like toxic relationships and workplaces, schedule overload, no downtime, or even spending lots of time under artificial light - spikes your stress hormones and prevents your nervous system from relaxing and healing.
Antidote: There are myriad ways to calm your nervous system, including practising mindfulness, meditation, or deep-breathing exercises. Conduct a life audit and identify the factors in your life that are creating chronic stress, and brainstorm ways you can minimise or eliminate their impact.
5. Irregular Sleep Patterns
Irregular sleep schedules and sleep deprivation can signal to the nervous system that you're not safe, as they disrupt the circadian rhythm, which is essential for regulating various physiological processes. When the circadian rhythm is off, the nervous system struggles to maintain a consistent pattern of activity and rest, which can increase stress levels and impair the body's ability to recover and perform normal functions, signalling to the nervous system that the environment is unstable and unsafe.
Antidote: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Create a nighttime ritual and stick to a consistent sleep routine to support your body’s internal clock. You can learn more about the importance of sleep here.
6. Substance Abuse
Alcohol, drugs, and nicotine can significantly disrupt your nervous system and increase feelings of being unsafe. These substances alter brain chemistry and can exacerbate anxiety and nervous system instability. While substances like alcohol and drugs may provide temporary relief, they often lead to systemic inflammation, increased anxiety and poor quality sleep, further compromising the nervous system's stability.
Antidote: Use mindfulness and exploratory techniques to identify the core need the substance use is meeting (e.g., comfort, connection, numbing) and seek out healthier ways to meet this need instead.
7. Poor Social Connections
Humans are social creatures, designed to live in groups, so isolation and a lack of social connection is interpreted by our nervous system as a direct threat to our safety. The significance of isolation on health outcomes has been recently recognised, with numerous studies identifying loneliness as a leading cause of early death.
However, the quality of your social connections also matters. Constant interpersonal conflicts keep your nervous system in a state of alertness, signalling danger and preventing relaxation. This ongoing tension and lack of social support combine to undermine your nervous system's stability and your overall sense of safety.
Antidote: Foster positive relationships and seek support from friends and family. Participate in community or group activities to build a sense of belonging. Simply being around other people can help reduce feelings of loneliness, you don't even need to be interacting with them.
8. Shallow Breathing Patterns
Shallow breathing signals to your body that it is in a state of stress and can lead to reduced oxygen levels, exacerbating feelings of anxiety and tension. This type of breathing restricts the diaphragm's movement, limiting the amount of air that reaches the lower part of the lungs. Consequently, the body receives less oxygen, which can further increase anxiety and perpetuate a cycle of stress. Similarly, hyperventilation, or rapid breathing, can intensify feelings of panic and anxiety, disrupting nervous system balance.
Antidote: Deep, regular breathing promotes calm and signals safety to your nervous system, enhancing oxygen flow and encouraging relaxation. Practice techniques like diaphragmatic breathing to promote relaxation. Take time out each day to focus on your breath and ensure you aren't unknowingly signalling to your body that you're not safe.
9. Environmental Factors
Constant exposure to noise, light, and environmental pollution can significantly disrupt your nervous system. Noise pollution keeps your nervous system on edge, preventing it from feeling secure and relaxed. Light pollution, especially artificial light at night, disrupts your natural sleep cycle and increases stress levels, confusing your nervous system.
Additionally, environmental pollution contributes to overall stress and health deterioration, exacerbating the nervous system's instability. Together, these factors prevent your nervous system from achieving a state of relaxation and safety, leading to chronic stress and anxiety.
Antidote: While it can feel overwhelming trying to control for environmental factors, there are things you can do to reduce the impact on your health. Create a calming home environment with minimal noise and appropriate lighting. Wear blue-blocking glasses and minimise screen time before bed. Spend time in nature when possible to reduce stress and enhance well-being.
Conclusion
Ensuring your nervous system feels safe is a paramount and foundational step to effective trauma healing.
If you've felt blocked on your healing journey, recognising and addressing the subtle ways you might be signalling danger to your body can profoundly improve your trauma recovery and overall health.
By fostering a sense of safety, you create an optimal environment for your nervous system to relax and allow you to confront difficult emotions and memories, and to finally heal.
So, keep an eye out for these subtle signs you might be sending to your nervous system, and get ready to step into your healing era.
If you'd like to learn how a personalised protocol could unlock healing in your life, book in for a complimentary Discovery Call today!
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