Before we go to the simple top tip of the century, let’s look at what survival mode is and what it looks like!
I feel like survival mode & fight or flight are becoming the new buzz words. It’s not because everyone’s jumping on the band wagon, it’s more truly because so many of us live that way, in that nervous system state.
When we sense or perceive threat our nervous system switches from the parasympathetic (rest and digest) state, to survival (fight/flight) state. Priming us to fight back or run.
What can this mean for us in a physical sense? Well if we were to be chased by a lion we would desperately need our survival mode to kick in & our body would respond by:
Shallow breathing in the chest, fast. As thought we are running! No time for deep belly breaths when we need to get away.
Restlessness, the physical need to move
Clammy hands
No digestion can take place, or bodies need the energy to escape. It can’t be wasted on your morning croissant & coffee.
Blood pressure increases
Pulse rate goes up
Anxiety
Tension in the body
This is all great and necessary when we truly are in danger. But when we are chronically triggered by our environment & people in our lives, it can feel like we are in danger. Even though in reality this is not true. Our body doesn’t know the difference between real and perceived danger & so the sympathetic survival fight/ flight nervous system is activated regardless.
Imagine we are in that environment of perceived danger for years, even decades. We become so used to it, we actually numb ourselves to the sensations of the body when in that state. We are accustomed to the body tension, anxiety, high blood pressure & restlessness we tell our selves that this it’s normal & part of our personality trait or genetic disposition. How sad hey? What a heavy way to live out your life.
Well this is called complex PTSD. Being in a state of re traumatisation chronically & the body adjusts by remaining in fight / flight. Releasing stress hormones & staying tense and inflexible, rigid & ready to run or throw a punch.
You can find out more about complex PTSD & the nervous system states here!
So how can we use a simple somatic technique to let the body know we are not in danger?
Relax the muscles of the body!
That’s it. Every time you feel those glutes tense & clench. Notice it, take a few mindful breaths & relax on the exhalation. Actively work on relaxing the muscles of the body. Tricking the nervous system back to a rest and digest state. The truth is you most likely are not in physical danger & so it’s not really trickery. Your body just needs conscious effort to be told this & the felt sense of not being in survival mode in the simplest terms is relaxing the muscles of the body!
Catch yourself every time you feel tension in the body. Notice it & take some breaths. Here’s your guide to breathing & using it to regulate you out of survival mode. Back to a calm nervous system which has capacity for both positive & negative life experiences.
If you’d like support with finding your way out of survival mode, meeting your emotions & understanding your bodies signals book in online for your Somatic Therapy journey.
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