Survival Stuff

Most people think “feeling unworthy” is a mindset. Something you fix by repeating affirmations or thinking your way into confidence.But you already know that doesn’t work. Affirmations bounce off you. Compliments feel foreign. Opportunities feel suspicious. Love feels overwhelming. Peace feels unearned. You don’t reject good things because you hate yourself. You reject good things because your nervous system doesn’t recognize them as safe . A good life, stability, love, grou

You Feel Like a Burden Because Your Nervous System Learned That Needing Anything Was Dangerous There’s a very specific shame that shows up when you ask for help, share your feelings, express a need, or simply exist around other people. It’s the quiet, constant fear that you’re taking up space you’re not allowed to occupy. That you’re asking for more than you deserve. That you’re somehow “too much” for people. That your presence is an inconvenience, an interruption, or a weigh

It’s Not “Just a Raised Voice.” Your Body Experiences It as a Warning. Some people hear a raised voice and feel annoyed. You hear a raised voice and your entire system shifts into emergency mode. Your chest tightens, your breath shortens, your stomach drops, and your heart starts hitting the walls of your ribcage like it’s trying to escape. Even when the voice isn’t directed at you, even when it’s mild, even when it’s just someone expressing excitement or frustration, your bo

A year ago, I fell out of my own life. That’s the only way I can describe it. It wasn’t a burnout or a panic attack, it was something deeper, like my mind and body had stopped recognizing each other. One moment I was walking to the shopping center with my mom, and the next, my world tilted. The air felt too heavy to breathe, the lights too bright, and my own reflection too foreign. I remember feeling my heart slam against my ribs and looking down at my hands like they belonge