Developing a Sense of Safety

The Role Of Safety in Healing

Physical and psychological safety are fundamental human needs. If we are in a chaotic home, abusive relationship, financially treading water, or battling an illness or other major stressor - our system may interpret our situation as dangerous and then act accordingly - we’ll talk about that impact in the NS section. 

In those cases, we are essentially living in chronic states of “danger” and so moving towards true safety and managing those current stressors, is a number one goal. Many of these larger challenges are not quickly or easily resolvable - but they do need to be prioritized and may indicate a greater need for supportive practices and lifestyle changes - like the ones discussed in this course. If we think in terms of triage - safety is a top priority.

If we are generally safe and in a stable place, the second goal is to notice that and integrate that information. If we’ve experienced painful or dangerous things in our past or current life - our body might not fully recognize that we are ok now and that we aren’t still in that difficult past situation. We want to help our bodies to shift from that survival mode to a state that is more conducive to healing and change. And that typically feels better as well. We can support that shift with mindful presence and other regulating practices

How does your body respond to the message of orienting towards safety? I tend to have a greater sense of openness and a sense of being more aware of my environment and myself in this environment.

When our stress responses are activated, often our focus becomes narrow. With this simple practice we are widening our scope and taking in our current -not past - situation.. In a way we are speaking to our systems - we’re saying we’re OK here, we can relax, be curious, open, we can even learn and heal.

Takeaway: Creating and noticing physical and psychological safety is an important first healing goal. Practices and lifestyle changes support the process of healing and help shift us out of survival mode.

Transcript Taken from my course Healing in the Present