Our survival instinct is our most dominant program. It over-rides rational thought as the flight, fight or freeze reaction kicks in instantly. Every living thing on the planet has it. We would not be here without our ability to survive a hostile environment living among predators that were bigger, faster and deadly.
That was millennia ago. It was useful when we lived in small tribal groups. So, why does our brain continue to pump out chemicals that shut down everything but the need to run, fight or stand motionless in the hopes of being invisible?
The answer is, our bodies respond to stress and threat in the same way. We still have that primitive brain keeping us safe. Our bodies contract and restrict our breathing, the heart rate speeds up and the need to survive kicks in. This part of the brain does not know or care what the problem is. By constricting our normal functions, the body has sent a message to the brain that our life is threatened and it reacts instantaneously.
We are just living in a different kind of jungle. For our ancestors, stress lasted a very short time, perhaps 90 seconds. They either survived or did not and stress was over either way. For survivors the brain pumped out chemicals of euphoria and joyful relief, healing and balancing the tissues that were flooded with adrenaline and other chemicals.
Now living in our modern jungle creates lives full of chronic stress, causing fatigue and anxiety and ultimately poor health. Most of us do not know how to switch off stress and activate our natural ability to heal.
Living with chronic stress, we are in survival mentality. So many us are not aware of it because we have been living with it since we were very young. With little or no experience of being nurtured, loved and supported, it has shaped how we live, the work we do, the partners we attract.
I know this because it is how I lived my life. My core transformation happened in an instant and I became aware of a personal power I had never known before. I could look back over the years and see how I had defended myself constantly and trusted no-one. True change is possible and easier that you think.
Love and Blessings
Anne Kane