How Somatic Therapy Can Help You Get Out of Survival Mode and Enjoy Life Again
You might already know you’re stuck in survival mode—or you might just feel like something’s off.
Survival mode doesn’t mean you’re under typical stress. It’s not just a rough week at work or a few tough conversations at home. When you’re stuck in survival mode, your body and mind are locked into a constant state of tension or shutdown—and it’s affecting your ability to be present, enjoy life, and feel like yourself.
If you’ve been wondering how to get out of survival mode, somatic therapy can help.
In this post, I’ll explain what it really means to be stuck in survival mode, how it shows up physically and emotionally, and what healing can look like with somatic support.
Why You Might Be Stuck in Survival Mode
When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, it’s either frozen in one dominant state or cycling quickly between several stress responses. These include:
Fight – tension, irritability, or reactivity
Flight – worry, panic, or restlessness
Freeze – feeling overwhelmed and unable to act
Collapse – numbness, fatigue, or disconnection
These are normal responses to real danger. But trauma, chronic stress, or developmental experiences can train your nervous system to respond this way even when there’s no current threat.
It might not take much—a comment from your boss, a partner’s tone of voice, or a change in plans—to send you into overwhelm, anxiety, or shutdown. These responses are automatic and involuntary. And they’re not your fault.
When I work with clients in somatic therapy, we look at how the body is responding to life’s challenges—not just what you’re thinking or feeling. That’s often where the deeper healing begins.
You Don’t Need a Major Trauma for Your Nervous System to Struggle
Survival mode isn’t just the result of a traumatic event. You might not identify with having “trauma,” but your nervous system could still be holding onto stress it hasn’t had a chance to release.
That stress could come from:
A difficult relationship
Ongoing pressure at work
Unprocessed grief or loss
High expectations and never-ending responsibilities
Early childhood experiences that shaped how safe you feel in the world
Your nervous system doesn’t need a label to be supported. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, disconnected, or physically drained, your body is giving you information. Somatic therapy helps you understand what it’s saying—and what it needs.
Signs You Might Be Living in Survival Mode
Here are some emotional signs of nervous system dysregulation:
Anxiety or panic
Depression or a lack of motivation
Lashing out or emotional reactivity
Shutting down in conversations or during conflict
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
Feeling joyless, even when life “looks good”
And some physical signs your body might be stuck in survival mode:
Chronic pain or tension
Fatigue that rest doesn’t fix
Trouble sleeping
Digestive discomfort
Headaches
Feeling jumpy, foggy, or disconnected
You may find yourself avoiding situations that used to be easy—or pushing through with increasing exhaustion. Over time, it takes a toll.
What Somatic Therapy Does Differently
Traditional talk therapy can be powerful—but sometimes it’s not enough to shift what’s happening in your body. That’s where somatic therapy comes in.
Somatic therapy brings the nervous system into the conversation. Together, we work on:
Noticing what’s happening in your body in real time
Slowing down and staying with emotions without getting overwhelmed
Building capacity to feel hard things without collapsing or shutting down
Recognizing when you’re stuck in a survival response—and learning how to shift out of it
In our work together, I’ll guide you through gentle practices to help your body release stored stress and find what brings you a sense of ease. This is called resourcing, and it looks different for everyone.
For some, it’s a memory of a beloved pet. For others, it’s the feel of a soft blanket or the view out the window. These may seem small—but they matter. Over time, they become part of your nervous system’s map back to safety.
Approaches I Use in Somatic Therapy
I draw from several evidence-based methods to support nervous system healing:
Somatic Experiencing (SE) – A body-based approach that helps release stuck trauma energy and expand your capacity to stay present
Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) – A music-based therapy that supports emotional regulation and helps the nervous system recognize safety
Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP) – A newer sound-based approach designed for deep rest and reconnection with self, especially helpful for chronic stress and burnout
These approaches can be integrated into your therapy depending on your needs. I also support clients who are seeing a talk therapist and want to add somatic therapy to deepen their work.
You Deserve a Life That Feels Like Yours Again
Living in survival mode makes everything harder—relationships, work, and even rest. But you don’t have to stay there.
Somatic therapy helps you understand what your nervous system is doing, why it’s doing it, and how to work with it—not against it. You don’t have to force yourself to “push through” anymore.
If this speaks to you, I’d love to support you.
I’m Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW, an online somatic therapist supporting adults across Florida and Illinois. I specialize in helping high-achieving, thoughtful individuals who are tired of feeling like they’re bracing through life. If that sounds like you, you can learn more about how I work at www.amyhagerstrom.com.
Let’s help your nervous system shift out of survival mode—so you can enjoy your life again.