Our Nervous Systems Weren’t Designed For This

I wasn’t planning to write about this today.

But, when I opened my phone yesterday morning to log into my meditation app (Insight Timer), my attention was immediately stolen by the latest headlines.

A mid-air collision. Lives lost. Another tragedy unfolding in real-time.

Maybe, like you, before I even had a chance to take a deep breath, my body was already bracing—my heart sinking under the weight of yet another crisis.

Our nervous systems weren’t designed for this.

They were built for survival, for responding to immediate threats in our own environment—not for carrying the collective grief, fear, and uncertainty of the entire world in the palm of our hands.

Not for processing back-to-back tragedies, again and again, before we’ve even had our morning coffee.

Not for the constant barrage of breaking news, economic instability, and existential threats, all competing for our attention, all demanding urgency.

When our system is overloaded like this, we enter survival mode.

Our bodies tense. Our breathing gets shallow.

Our minds race, trying to make sense of something that has no easy resolution.

And when we live in this state for too long, we lose touch with ourselves—our needs, our emotions, our capacity to be present in our own lives.

And it shows.

It shows in the way we move through our days—distracted, irritable, exhausted before we even begin.

This is why learning to create internal safety is so important.

Because when the world outside feels chaotic, we have to be able to anchor ourselves from within.

So, how do we do it?

It starts with a simple question: What do I need right now?

Not what the world demands. Not what productivity culture tells you to push through. Not what you think you're supposed to do.

What do you need?

At first, and from my personal experience, it might be hard to answer that question.

When you’ve spent so long ignoring your needs in service of others, and in the name of productivity, recognizing them can feel unfamiliar.

But keep asking.

Maybe you need a walk. Maybe you need to unplug. Maybe you need to be heard—to walk away feeling seen. Maybe you need to move your body.

Maybe you need to sit in the quiet and feel the weight of your body being supported by something outside of your ability and reminding you that in this moment, you are held—you are safe.

Whatever it is—honor it. Make time for it.

Identifying your need is the first step to coming back home to yourself.

And in a world that constantly pulls you in a hundred directions, that is an act of resilience.

The world will keep spinning, but you don’t have to keep spinning with it.

Your heart deserves care, too.

As always, I'm rooting for you. We're in this together.