Why is urgency a trauma response?
Updated: Oct 13, 2022
Did you know that a constant sense of urgency and rushing are trauma responses?
This could show up as a need to do it all and figure it all out as quickly as possible. It could also be the urgent need to return a text, email, or check a notification on your phone.
I invite you to watch yourself with curiosity and not judgement in the times that you feel a false sense of urgency or rushing.
These particular trauma responses indicate that your nervous system is stuck in flight mode. This is because they were never fully processed and could not be released when you initially experienced them.
But, we don't have to accept them as part of our personality. We can physically and emotionally move through the stuck responses and calm our nervous system to a place of safety and security.
Traumatic events require us to act quickly, without much thought for the long term. Trauma responses limit our ability to slow down and be mindful of the big picture. When you notice yourself feeling like you need to figure everything out all at once, pause and notice your breath. Notice the urgent energy with compassion. Validate the part of you that feels threatened. Let that part know:
"I see you. I know that you are afraid. I'm here for you now."
In addition to acknowledging this part of us with compassion, we can also use the power of self-awareness to release these trauma responses from our nervous system.
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