Building an Internal Sense of Safety for PTSD, Trauma or Anxiety - 23/30 Break the Anxiety Cycle

Build an internal sense of safety to heal PTSD, trauma, and anxiety—use mindfulness and nervous system regulation to break the anxiety cycle.
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If you want to manage PTSD or Anxiety, you need to learn how to interrupt the anxiety cycle and to do that you've got to interrupt the perception of danger. We do that by fostering an internal sense of safety, this is a practical skill we can develop and in the PTSD treatment world it's called Resourcing or Building an Internal Sense of safety.
OK, so let’s take a look at the anxiety cycle, right here, after stimulus, is the perception of danger, the interpretation that we are in danger. And this interpretation, the belief that we are in danger, that the danger is a significant and real threat, causes the anxiety response in our bodies.

And the problem isn’t that we can’t handle real dangers, our body is built to perceive a threat, act on it, and resolve it and then resolve that threat response. The problem is that when we worry, when we catastrophize, when automatic negative thoughts or mental filtering or memories of trauma come up, we have perceived danger when we are actually safe.

So, you may spend hours each day in perceived danger. Which leads to an anxiety state that lasts for the majority of the day. This can leave us feeling anxious, exhausted and overwhelmed.
In the last chapter (section 2) we learned to challenge thoughts that lead to the perception of danger. In the beginning of this section, we learned about how anxiety shows up in our bodies, and how we can strengthen our nervous system so that the parasympathetic response can become stronger.
In this video you’ll learn how to strengthen that felt-sense of safety by bringing to mind the perception of safety. This breaks the anxiety cycle and essentially retrains our brains to be less anxious.

00:00 Intro
00:31 Building An Internal Sense Of Safety
06:38 Exercises To Build An Internal Sense Of Safety For PTSD, Trauma, Or Anxiety

Click the link below to access the transcript:
therapyinanutshell.com/building-an-internal-sense-…

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Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe

If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
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