3 Hidden Habits Keeping You in Survival Mode

Sneaky patterns you might not even notice — and how to gently shift out of each one.

Summary:

Even after years of healing, survival mode can still slip in quietly. This post unpacks 3 surprising patterns that may be hiding in your everyday habits — with nervous system insights, quick resets, and deeper tools to help you shift out of survival and into safety, one small step at a time. For each pattern, you’ll learn:

• Why it matters: Understand how each stealth pattern hijacks your nervous system.

• Quick Reset: Simple practices you can use immediately to downshift.

• Go-Deeper Practice: Deeper suggested rituals for lasting nervous-system regulation.

Hint: I’m guilty of all three—sometimes all at once!

After years of committed daily meditation and inner healing work, I like to think of myself as a pretty grounded person.

But when life gets especially hard — like it has been this past week — my body still remembers how to shift into survival mode. Even with all the tools I’ve built and years of dedicated daily inner work, healing doesn’t mean I never get triggered.

It means I catch it sooner.

I meet it with more compassion, love and curiosity.

I’ve learned to recognize when these old patterns start creeping in — sometimes all at once! In this post, I’m sharing 3 surprising ways survival mode still shows up — even when you think you’ve moved beyond it — and how I gently work with each one when it does. Are you doing one of them right now?