Signs You Might Be Living In Survival Mode
You’re doing all the things — checking off to-do lists, showing up for others, pushing through your day — but underneath it all, something feels… off.
Maybe your jaw won’t unclench.
Maybe your sleep is restless.
Maybe you feel numb and wired at the same time.
These can all be signs that your nervous system is stuck in survival mode and under a high amount of stress.
What Is Survival Mode, Really?
Survival mode isn’t just a mindset — it’s a physiological state.
When your nervous system perceives a threat (real or imagined), it shifts into sympathetic activation (fight or flight) or dorsal vagal shutdown (freeze or complete collapse). These states are meant to protect you in the moment of a threat. But when our defenses came alone and weren’t able to run their course or be discharged from the body afterwards, our nervous systems might still feel under threat. The body was not able to complete the threat response cycle and naturally return to a parasympathetic state of knowing that we’re safe.
When fight/flight/freeze responses become chronic, they wreak havoc on your energy, focus, relationships, and health.
And often we don’t even realize we’re in it because we’ve adapted to it. It’s become the new norm.
Somatic Signs You Might Be in Survival Mode
Here are some common nervous system cues that you might be stuck in a chronic stress cycle:
Clenched jaw, tight shoulders, or shallow breath
(Your body is bracing for something — even if you don’t know what.)Difficulty resting or letting yourself pause
(Stillness feels unsafe or unfamiliar.)Overthinking or obsessing about things going “wrong”
(Your system is scanning for danger — even in everyday situations.)Digestive issues, low appetite, or stomach tension
(The body deprioritizes digestion when in fight/flight.)Feeling disconnected or numb
(A sign of dorsal vagal shutdown — your system is conserving energy.)Easily startled or hyperaware of others’ moods
(Your body is attuned to potential threats in your environment.)
These responses aren’t conscious mistakes — they’re intelligent signals from a nervous system that’s trying to protect you, which it’s been biologically programmed to do.
Why Creative, Sensitive Women Often Miss the Signs
If you’re intuitive, creative, or neurodivergent, you may be especially prone to survival mode — and especially skilled at hiding it.
Many of my clients have spent years functioning well on the outside while feeling dysregulated inside. They’re ambitious, high-achieving, and deeply empathic — but often feel stuck, scattered, or self-critical.
Healing starts with recognizing what your nervous system has been carrying — and creating space to meet it with curiosity, not shame.
How Holistic Therapy Can Help
In my integrative practice, I help women move through chronic stress cycles using a combination of somatic, neurophysiological, and energetic tools:
EMDR to process moments of overwhelm and rewire old survival patterns
Safe and Sound Protocol to regulate the vagus nerve and shift your system into a felt sense of safety
Somatic Experiencing to work with stress responses physiologically and return to a sense of safety.
This is body-based healing — not mindset coaching or performance hacks.
Because true healing doesn’t come from forcing yourself to “push through.”
It comes from learning how to listen to your system and help it feel safe enough to soften.
Work With Me
I offer online holistic therapy for women across California — including Encinitas, Carmel Valley, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, and the Bay Area — who are ready to heal from the inside out.
If you’re done pushing through stress and ready to meet your body with compassion —
Click here to learn more about working together with a holistic psychotherapist.
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or therapeutic advice. Reading this post does not establish a therapist-client relationship. If you are seeking clinical support, please visit somaticspiritualtherapist.com for more information about therapy services available to California residents.