On Exhaustion
Why do we feel collectively exhausted as a people?
Long term survival is exhausting. It depletes and dysregulates. Our system is in a state of survival and suppression rather than safety and authenticity. It takes a lot of energy for a system to be and function in survival, always scanning for threats, tensing, contracting, disconnecting, being in hyper-vigilance, protecting and hiding. The more dysregulated and overwhelmed a system is, the more exhausted, disconnected and fatigued we will feel.
It’s important to remember as you heal individually that we are relational beings, living in a relational field.
A few reasons why we might feel Exhausted Living in Survival:
We become disconnected from our needs and limits. Always distracting, dismissing, ignoring and overriding is like holding a basket ball underwater for so long your arm gets tired adding more effort and pressure to the system, as you have almost become numb. With time we eventually stop hearing the signals and "screams" of our system for rest, needs, limits, connection, regulation, authenticity and wisdom. Being mis-attuned from our system's needs, limits and capacity, unconsciously perpetuates survival. Imagine ignoring the needs of a flower for water, sun and fertile soil and expecting it to grow, and feel good, and have energy, and bloom.
Our nervous system is disconnected, overwhelmed or numb from sensory or emotional experiences. If the nervous system cannot properly regulate and integrate information coming from these experiences, it will lock in more energy for survival, hence more exhaustion.
Our energy is directed towards protecting an identity that, although has in the past served our survival, is no longer serving our evolution and healing today. When our identity is invested in perpetuating the way we've learned to survive, suppress, ignore and protect our wounds, we perpetuate trauma and survival.
We can't address exhaustion, low energy and fatigue without addressing these four elements of our experience:
Lets begin to shift our attention towards somatic and psychoeducation
serving our system to come out of years of unacknowledged survival
learning to identify, attune to and meet our needs and limits.
embody more and more our truth
an identity that serves our truth, healing and evolution while at the same time honoring the layers of traumatization and protection.
Source: Somatic Experiencing International, Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy
