How to Make Our Body Feel Safe

Our bodies are constantly begging the question, is it safe? And how they answer that question is through data collection. They collect the messages we send to them daily and scan through them to ensure we aren’t under any perceived or actual attacks. They scan our thoughts, environment, relationships, food, careers, home lives, and family histories to ensure safety. And if our body doesn’t feel safe, it launches its defenses in the form of inflammation to heal us, but this response has adverse effects.

Because of the adverse affects of inflammation, we have compiled a list of our Big 6. The top 6 things you can do the help relay messages of safety and peace so that your body can function at optimal levels. These are not the only things you can do; they’re just the top 6:

1. Meditation. Mantra’s are helpful. Try saying, “I am safe, I am secure, I am healthy, I am strong, I am thankful, I am grateful,” and repeat this. Sometimes saying this out loud helps calm the mind and, therefore, the nervous system.
2. An anti-inflammatory diet. Everything we eat is a message to our bodies. Leaning towards leafy greens, lean vegetables, lean meats, nuts, seeds, low glycemic index fruit, healthy fats, and leaning away from processed and packaged foods, refined sugar, dairy, and some gluten, will help reduce internal inflammation.
3. Water. Water is vital for all processes in our bodies to function correctly. When we are dehydrated, many of our body’s functions could be off.
4. Thinking anti-inflammatory thoughts. Many of us are disaster thinkers. We believe that the worst possible scenario will happen. But what if the best possible scenario happens? What if it all works out in our favor? Trying to find a balance between being realistic but also being positive is so important. Inflammatory thoughts send stress signals to our bodies, and if we are constantly in a state of stress, our body wages an attack on our system. Thinking anti-inflammatory thoughts will help calm and cool our internal environments down.
5. Your external environment. Being in a safe space physically is essential to us not just living, but thriving. Our skincare, clothing, our homes, the outdoors all send messages to our bodies.
6. Lastly, our relationships. Our relationships shape how supported, uplifted, happy, and accepted we feel. Having healthy relationships with our friends and significant others, families, and those around us makes a marked difference in our lives and longevity.

We hope these were helpful hints on where to begin when we want to send our bodies a message that we are safe.

Be well,

Dr. Erika Horowitz & Staff