Aug 13, 2026 · 26 min · 9 segments
Your reactions might actually make more sense than you think. In this episode we will move beyond simply labeling reactions and responses and explore the deeper question: **What is your body trying…
I know I use the word nervous system a lot when I talk, but that's what somatic work is.
And sometimes we hear the words nervous system and immediately think of something incredibly complicated.
It's constantly gathering information about what's happening around us and what's happening inside of us.
And the age-old question that I say in almost every podcast is, am I safe? What's fascinating is that your nervous system is asking these questions all day long before you're even consciously aware of it, most of the time without you even realizing it.
Listening to the tone of someone's voice, watching facial expressions, paying attention to your memories, and even noticing sensations inside your own body happens automatically.
You don't decide to do it.
Your body simply does it because that's how it's designed.
One way to think about this is if you imagine your nervous system as a world's most loyal security guard, its only job is to protect you.
Sometimes it correctly recognizes that everything is okay, but if you've lived through things like chronic stress, trauma, unpredictable environments, or long seasons of overwhelm, your nervous system and your security guard become extra sensitive.
And when they do this, we may react to everyday stressors as though they're much bigger threats than they actually are.
Our body has learned to stay on high alert.
Maybe that's you.
Oftentimes, our survival responses happen before our thinking brain even has time to catch up.
Think about the last time somebody startled you.
Maybe it was a loud noise or they came around a corner.
You didn't stop and think, hmm, should I be startled? Your body's first reaction is to scream or jump or feel fear.
And then your brain makes sense of what's in front of you.
Our survival responses work the exact same way.
When your nervous system perceives danger, whether it's physical, emotional, rejection, it could be conflict, uncertainty, or something that reminds you of a difficult experience from the past, it automatically shifts into protection.
It's never a conscious decision.
It happens incredibly fast.
Those protective responses become what we now know as fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.
Each one of these responses is a very intelligent attempt to help us survive.
I know I use the word nervous system a lot when I talk, but that's what somatic work is.
And sometimes we hear the words nervous system and immediately think of something incredibly complicated.
It's constantly gathering information about what's happening around us and what's happening inside of us.
And the age-old question that I say in almost every podcast is, am I safe? What's fascinating is that your nervous system is asking these questions all day long before you're even consciously aware of it, most of the time without you even realizing it.
Listening to the tone of someone's voice, watching facial expressions, paying attention to your memories, and even noticing sensations inside your own body happens automatically.
You don't decide to do it.
Your body simply does it because that's how it's designed.
One way to think about this is if you imagine your nervous system as a world's most loyal security guard, its only job is to protect you.
Sometimes it correctly recognizes that everything is okay, but if you've lived through things like chronic stress, trauma, unpredictable environments, or long seasons of overwhelm, your nervous system and your security guard become extra sensitive.
And when they do this, we may react to everyday stressors as though they're much bigger threats than they actually are.
Our body has learned to stay on high alert.
Maybe that's you.
Oftentimes, our survival responses happen before our thinking brain even has time to catch up.
Think about the last time somebody startled you.
Maybe it was a loud noise or they came around a corner.
You didn't stop and think, hmm, should I be startled? Your body's first reaction is to scream or jump or feel fear.
And then your brain makes sense of what's in front of you.
Our survival responses work the exact same way.
When your nervous system perceives danger, whether it's physical, emotional, rejection, it could be conflict, uncertainty, or something that reminds you of a difficult experience from the past, it automatically shifts into protection.
It's never a conscious decision.
It happens incredibly fast.
Those protective responses become what we now know as fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.
Each one of these responses is a very intelligent attempt to help us survive.
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3 of 8
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