BONES AND YOUR FIGHT/FLIGHT/FREEZE RESPONSE

Bones: Keeping your guts safe, holding your body up, and helping you to fight/flight/freeze.

As the super nerd that I am, I am often reading new ways that our body and brain keep us safe, and it turns out there is research now that our bones also work to help us activate and survive danger. If you know me, then you have probably heard me say something like, “your maladaptive coping skill and/or response helped you survive your trauma. Let’s honor that it kept you alive, and let it go to find a new way to respond.” Then we spend a lot of time talking about neuroplasticity and charting escalation cycles.

Please remember that your responses to stimuli are not always calm thoughtful decisions; often we have an involuntary physiological response that takes our prefrontal cortex off line and then we rely on what we have done before. Be kind to yourself. Instead of shaming yourself for your reaction reflect on in what ways did it meet a need. We don’t do things that do not work towards meeting your needs, and then you figure out what need was being met you can find another way to meet it.

Here is some information on bones helping you to stay safe from Science Alert.