Did you know that your nervous system is constantly asking one question in the background of your life. Am I safe right now? When the answer is yes, your body stays open and you can feel your emotions without being consumed by them. You can stay present and be able to reflect instead of react. When the answer is no, even unconsciously, your body shifts into protection and in this state fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown takes over, and everything is filtered through survival instead of awareness.

This is why one person can experience something and feel peace and calm, while another experiences the same thing and feels traumatized by it. A regulated nervous system can process what’s happening in real time, and our brains can process what is happening in a smooth and easy manner. It allows emotions to move through the body instead of getting stuck and creates enough internal safety that the experience doesn’t overwhelm the system. However, a dysregulated nervous system doesn’t have that capacity yet. It may already be carrying unresolved stress, trauma, or emotional overload, so even small or neutral moments can feel like too much.

I have seen this show up so clearly in spiritual and intuitive spaces. One person sits in meditation and feels grounded, connected, and open while another feels anxious, numb, dizzy, or disconnected, even when they are in the same room doing the same practice. When they come out of their meditation with will have completely different internal experiences. With the work that I do I can tell you that this difference is not intuition it’s safety.

When your nervous system is regulated, intuition feels clear and natural. It doesn’t feel loud or urgent, but instead it feels calm, steady, and embodied. You trust what comes through because your body is not in a state of protection. When your nervous system is dysregulated, intuition can feel confusing. In this state I have seen fear and intuition start to blend together. You may second guess yourself, overthink every sensation, or feel shut down altogether. This doesn’t mean your intuition is blocked. It means your body does not yet feel safe enough to listen.

So many people blame themselves for this and think something is wrong with them. They think they are too sensitive or broken or failing at their spiritual path. In reality, their nervous system learned that staying guarded or shutting down was once necessary, and so it makes this your default way of life. That response kept you safe at some point in your life. The problem is that what once protected you can later prevent you from fully living, feeling, and trusting yourself.

Your reactions are not wrong. They are protective. But they don’t have to run your life forever.

When you begin to heal your nervous system, everything shifts. Experiences that once felt overwhelming start to feel manageable. Your intuition becomes quieter but clearer. Your body learns that it is safe to stay present instead of checking out, you stop reliving moments long after they are over, and you stop feeling like you failed because your system didn’t know how to regulate yet.

This is the work I help people do. Not forcing intuition open. Not bypassing the body. Not pushing through discomfort. We build safety first and we teach the nervous system that it is okay to be here, to feel, to trust, and to open again. From that place, intuition doesn’t need to be chased. It naturally comes back online.

Healing is not about changing the experience. It’s about changing how safe your body feels while you are in it. And when safety returns, peace follows.

I have created 7 Shadow Work Prompts to Connect Your Intuition Back to Your Nervous System to help you get started with regulating your nervous system!