This is Part 2 of ‘Rebuilding Trust in Your Physical Responses.’ If you missed Part 1, I encourage you to read it first, it sets the stage for what we’re unpacking today.
Dear Survivor,
Last week we named panic and hypervigilance for what they truly are: protection and wisdom. Today, we’re going deeper.
The Other Signals of Protection:
Shutdown/Dissociation as an Exit
During intimate moments, during conflicts, sometimes even during everyday conversations when I feel attacked, I leave my body. I check out, go numb, or simply disconnect.
I once thought this meant I was damaged beyond repair. Too much. Weird. Broken.
But dissociation serves as an emergency exit, a small mercy built into your nervous system to help you survive unbearable moments. You’re not flawed. It’s not a failure. It’s a survival skill that keeps you alive.
The Loneliness of Being Misunderstood
One of the hardest parts of these responses? The isolation.
Standing in that patty shop, hearing the judgment, I felt profoundly alone. No one saw the frightened little girl inside me. No one understood why I reacted that way. They just saw me as “dramatic” or “angry” or “unstable.”
It’s especially hard when you’re with loved ones or friends and they contribute to the loneliness by making insensitive or disparaging comments, worse when they know your story.
If you’ve ever felt misunderstood for your body’s responses, I see you.
Your reactions make perfect sense when you understand the context. And part of healing is learning to become the protector that younger version of you never had. You don’t need everyone to understand, you just need to trust that your body knows what it’s doing.
Working With Your Nervous System, Not Against It
According to an article published by the Cleveland Clinic (last reviewed in November 2023), the nervous system, the body’s command center, includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. It sends messages to regulate thoughts, movements, and senses.
So how do we move forward? How do we honor these responses without being controlled by them?
• Recognize early signs. Tight chest. Queasy stomach. Racing thoughts. Anxiety. These are warnings, not flaws.
• Name what’s happening. “I’m feeling triggered/activated.” “I’m feeling unsafe, angry, emotional.” “My body is in protection mode.” Naming gives power.
• Ground yourself. Breathe slow. Touch something cold. Feel your feet on the ground. These aren’t cures, but they’re anchors. They can center you.
• Honor exhaustion. Rest without guilt. Healing is work, and your body needs recovery time.
• Discern wisely. Sometimes healing means staying present even when it’s hard; sometimes it means leaving the patty shop. Wisdom is knowing which is which.
• Find safe people. You deserve companions who see your responses as valid, not “too much.”
What God Says About Your Body’s Protection –
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” ~ Psalm 34:18
God sees your triggers. He sees the child who wasn’t protected and the adult who’s still learning to trust her own body. Your nervous system, with all its panic, hypervigilance, exhaustion, and shutdown, isn’t something God condemns. It’s something He understands. It took me a while to believe that, but I do now.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” ~ Proverbs 4:23
Your hypervigilance, your boundaries, your caution, these aren’t failures. They’re biblical. You’re guarding your heart, your temple, your sacred space. This is obedience, not overreaction.
“So do not fear, for I am with you… I will strengthen you and help you.” ~ Isaiah 41:10
Even in panic, fear, anger, exhaustion, or shutdown, you are not abandoned. God is present in your body’s defenses, holding you steady as you heal. He’s not asking you to be perfect, He’s walking with you as you learn to trust Him and yourself again.
The Truth You Need to Hear
Dear Survivor, your body’s responses aren’t flaws to fix.
They are trustworthy signals that have been keeping you alive.
• Your panic? = Protection.
• Your hypervigilance? = Wisdom.
• Your exhaustion? = Evidence of deep healing work.
• Your shutdown? = An escape route when you need one.
The work isn’t to silence your body. The work is to trust it, because it remembers what your mind couldn’t, and it’s still fighting for your safety.
So today, when your body responds in ways others don’t understand, pause. Listen. Thank it. Trust it.
Because you’re not overreacting. You’re protecting the one who should have been protected all along.
And you’re not broken, or at fault, you’re brilliantly designed to survive, and now to heal.
Again: The work isn’t fixing your body. The work is learning to trust it, because it remembers what your mind forgot.
Get Honest with Yourself – Ask Yourself:
• What physical response have I been ashamed of that might actually be protecting me?
• When has my body warned me and I ignored it? What happened?
• When has my body kept me safe by reacting quickly?
• What does my body need from me today?
From My Heart to Yours:
Back in that patty shop, I thought my body betrayed me.
Now I see it differently: my body saved me.
Your body isn’t the enemy ~ it’s your ally.
Your signals aren’t shameful ~ they’re sacred alarms.
And your healing? ~ It’s learning to trust that your body, your heart, and your God are all speaking the same truth:
You are safe now.
You are protected.
You are free.
Welcome back to yourself.
Join me as I/we Journey 2 Free
From my heart to yours,
Larissa.
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