This is what a survival reaction feels like: you have a very strong emotional reaction, and you can’t think logically or problem solve even though you really want to. You feel physical and emotional tension. For some of you, this might be an ongoing experience, so much so that you “get used to it.”
It’s much more than an emotional stress. It’s a programmed, survival instinct.
This is the science behind a survival reaction. It is a reaction your brain develops, during a time of crisis to help you survive from a perceived (physical or emotional) threat. This happens in your amygdala, a part of your brain. When the amygdala, or the survival reaction becomes dominant, live MRI scans show that the blood flow to various parts of your brain significantly decreases. This includes the logical, problem-solving and associative parts of your brain - which means you have less function in those areas. This is why you experience a very strong emotional reaction, but you can't think through to a solution. Your brain simply isn't working that way.
Even when the time of crisis has passed, the survival reaction can still linger, consciously or subconsciously. As a result, you are still posed to deal with a danger that, in reality, might not be present at the time.
You might have heard of the survival reactions of fight or flight. These are some of the survival reactions I have identified with clients who are recovering from sexual assault:
- It is not safe to be me
- Other people are not safe (or it’s not safe to be with other people)
- The world is not safe (so I have to hide, or I have to brace myself and just keep going)
- The pleasure of being me is not for me
- The pleasure of people (companionship, relationship, intimacy) is not for me
- Life is about pain / Love is pain
- I am angry with myself, or others
- It’s not safe for me to confront the issue within myself / It’s safer for me to ignore my feelings about being sexually assaulted
- It’s my fault, therefore I must behave in a (different) way now
You can also have survival reactions around dealing with the emotional pain of the experience. I hear my clients say:
- ‘It feels too raw and vulnerable. I can’t deal with it.’
- ‘It feels too awful. I’m better off not thinking about it so I can move on.’
- ‘It is not safe for me to show that I carry this hurt, this wound’
These survival reactions are easily identified with muscle-testing. I then use a process of counselling, acupressure, neuro-linguistic programming, and more, to shift them.
The result? You get your brain back, in a sense, so you have more freedom, and resources, to take the next healing step.
This is what my clients tell me after they have gone through this process:
‘I feel more at peace.’
‘I’m more relaxed. I’m not worrying as much.’
‘I wouldn’t have called it before you identified it (the survival reaction), but now that it’s gone, I feel so much calmer.’
Once survival reactions have been switched off, you can continue with the process of recovery without being overwhelmed, or blocked by survival reactions.
To return to the outline of the healing process, click here.
To view the article on the next step of the healing process, click here.
Well Wishes,
Michelle Soo
ph: 0403 798 963
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