You Can Learn to Feel Safe Again.

As we step into the holiday season, I want to offer you something:

Your body isn’t broken — it’s overwhelmed.
​ Especially if you have trauma.​
​ If your body has been living in a constant state of fight, flee, fawn, freeze, or dissociation, then your body has been carrying overwhelm for a very long time.​
Not because somethings gone wrong… but because your body has learned to stay alert (or shut down) in order to keep you safe.

And overwhelmed bodies aren’t bad, wrong, or failing.
They’re simply trying very hard to protect you.

This time of year can stir up so much.​
The long to-do lists…
The pressure…
The familiar places that hold old memories…
The family dynamics that send our nervous system into overdrive before we even know what’s happening…

For so many of us, the holidays bring up the exact thoughts I hear when I’m on a coaching call:

“Why can everyone else do this except me?”
​ “I feel broken.”

I want to offer something and invite you to hear this with your whole body:

You aren’t broken.​
Your system is doing exactly what it learned to do under stress, in overwhelm, and in moments where safety was uncertain.

And during the holidays? Those old survival patterns come online a lot faster.

A little story from my own healing during the holidays…

I walked into a familiar holiday setting where everything looked normal — but inside, my body was anything but.

My chest tightened before I even reached the door.
My breath went shallow.
A wave of emotion rose up out of nowhere.

Nothing dramatic had happened.
Just… activation.
My nervous system remembered.

Old patterns. Old sensations.
My body whispering, “Be careful. This place has been hard before.”

In the past, I would have pushed through, collapsed into people-pleasing, or disconnected so far that I'd spend the rest of the night numb.

But this time, I stayed with myself.
Here’s what I did — gently, slowly, without forcing anything:

1. I grounded (feeling my feet, noticing my breath)
2. I checked in with my nervous system:
   ​ Am I in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn? What feels most true? (freeze)
3. I named the sensations in my body — (tight chest, buzzing in my arms, shallow breath)
4. I identified one emotion — not all of them, just one of them — (fear)
5. I noticed one or two thoughts — even though my mind offered me about 50 — (What if they kick me out?)
6. I asked myself:
   ​ Now that I know what state I’m in…what action would feel supportive? — (I need to breath, I’m holding my breath)

Sometimes the action is stepping away for air. (I love to go outside for a walk, fall is a beautiful time).​
Sometimes it’s drinking water.
Sometimes it’s asking for a hug.
Sometimes it’s simply acknowledging, “Wow… this is a lot,” and staying regulated enough to stay present and sit with the sensations, emotion or thought.

The action isn’t the point.
The choice is the point.
And when you know your state, your sensations, your emotion, your thought, and what you want to do — you get your choice back.

This is the tool I want to share with you.
It’s called mapping your nervous system state.
​ Once you can ground enough to notice what’s happening inside your body — your nervous system state, your sensations, your emotions, your thoughts, and your impulses — you are using this tool. And from that grounded place, you can begin to gently map what’s happening and choose what you want to do next with more clarity and compassion.

Even if you can’t do this in the moment.

You can do it after,

Or before anything even happens (because just thinking about it freaks you out).

It doesn’t matter when you use the tool, all of it helps us heal.

Give yourself some grace this season

If you find yourself:

💥 Snapping at people you love
💥 Feeling anxious before gatherings
💥 Wanting to run or shut down
💥 Falling into old patterns you thought you were “over”
💥 Wondering why everyone else seems fine
💥 Whispering to yourself, “I feel broken…”

Please… be gentle.

You’re not behind.
You’re not failing.
You’re not broken.

You’re an overwhelmed nervous system trying to navigate a stressful season with old patterns that were once necessary for survival.

And that deserves compassion, not criticism.

A little encouragement from someone who’s been in Basic Foundation…

One of my clients recently shared this about her experience:

“Cami helped me through terrifying morning panic and trauma waves, and the tools she taught me actually calmed my body. I learned my body is releasing trauma — not failing — and felt moments of relief and hope. I finally left with tools that work and the sense that I can survive this.”

This is what happens when you learn to listen to your body with compassion instead of fear.
Your system starts to trust you.
And healing becomes possible in real, tangible ways.

If you want more support over the holidays…

I have 3 spots open in my Basic Foundation 1:1 program.
If you’re walking into this season wanting tools, safety, support, and someone to help you understand what your body is trying to say…

Let’s talk.

Click below to schedule a call with me, and we’ll figure out the details together — gently and at your pace.

👉 Get support

You don’t have to navigate holiday overwhelm alone.
Your body can learn safety again — and I’d love to walk with you as you do.

Remember, ❤️

You Matter. Your Healing Matters. You Are Worth It!

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P.S. If you don't want to click on the link, you can respond to this email and we can set up a time to meet as well.