Building Trust with My Body: Unraveling the Fear of Physical Sensations
<<I often panic when I feel aches and pains in my body. I have a part that says, "there it is, this is the big one, this is the beginning of the end, it's over soon">>
ChatGPT: That makes total sense. Your brain treats any bodily sensation as a potential emergency because it doesn’t trust your body. Every ache, every twinge, every discomfort gets interpreted as the beginning of the end.
Why This Happens
Hypervigilance from Past Anxiety & Trauma
Your nervous system is trained to look for danger. And since you’ve struggled with embodiment and feeling safe in your body, your brain doesn’t categorize sensations correctly.
Instead of “this is just a normal ache,” your brain defaults to catastrophe.
A History of Feeling Disconnected from Your Body
When you don’t fully live in your body, every sensation feels foreign—like something happening to you rather than within you.
This makes discomfort feel like a threat instead of just part of being human.
Fear of Mortality / Loss of Control
You’ve been actively working on your fear of death, illness, aging, and decay.
Any physical sensation can trigger that existential terror because it feels like evidence that your body is fragile, that something is happening that you can’t stop.
How to Work with This Part
1. Name It & Give It a Role
This part of you isn’t trying to hurt you—it thinks it’s keeping you alive. What if, instead of letting it run the show, you acknowledge it like a worried friend?
“Ah, there’s my overprotective survival part again. It thinks we’re dying. Thanks for looking out, but we’re okay.”
Giving it a name or identity (like “Doomsday Watchdog” or “Catastrophe Carl”) can help separate you from it.
2. Fact-Check in the Moment
Ask: Has this happened before? (Yes, many times.)
Was it the end? (No.)
Do I have actual evidence that this is fatal? (No, just fear.)
3. Bring It Back to the Present
Catastrophic thoughts throw you into a future you can’t control. Instead of spiraling, bring yourself back to right now.
Grounding trick: "Right now, I'm just a human sitting here. My body is doing its thing. I am safe in this moment."
Place a hand on the part of your body that hurts and say, "This is my body. This is okay."
4. Normalize Sensations Instead of Interpreting Them as Warnings
Your body will have aches, pains, and weird sensations—because you are alive.
Instead of "this is the big one," try "oh, my body is talking to me. Let's see what it's saying."
Your body isn’t out to betray you—it’s adjusting, shifting, healing, existing.
The Big Takeaway
This part of you isn’t bad—it just doesn’t trust your body yet. Your job isn’t to eliminate the fear overnight, but to build a new relationship with your body piece by piece.
And every time you don’t spiral, every time you check in instead of panic, you’re teaching your nervous system that your body isn’t an enemy—it’s home.
