You’re just over-adapted.
If you were to make a list of all the adverse or traumatic experiences that you have gone through in your life, you may find it to be quite extensive! I would be willing to guess that most of the trauma happened in your childhood. You may want to ask yourself an honest question: How did you survive all of those things?
What did it take for an 8 year old to survive in the presence of an alcoholic, abusive father? Oh, the tip-toeing and walking on eggshells. Don’t say the wrong thing or he will flip! Oh, and what sleep? You never know if in the middle of the night he would start to rage. The 8 year old, who at a very young age, learned to survive.
Fast forward 20 years and the 8 year old is now a full-fledged adult. The 28 year old is angry. Always on guard, still walks on egg-shells, has issues sleeping. Easy to set-off because everything is a threat. Every. Thing.
Hurt, yes. Broken, no. The reason why the 28 year old has emotional upset? I bet you’ve heard of fight or flight. They stay in this mode — over-adapted to the current world. It’s like they are wearing all this heavy body armor but there is no war (not anymore, at least). When a person is never in calm body (what is that?!), then of course, they will easily elevate at just the littlest thing. Not to mention, being in fight or flight mode all the time wears on your body. Hello, symptoms.
The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28 that “…God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose…” Another way to put it: every detail, no matter how insignificant, painful, or otherwise, fits into God’s perfect plan for your life. He will use it for good. You may be wondering, HOW IN THE WORLD? Well, my friend, you will just have to ask Him.
PRACTICAL TIPS:
- Youtube – “Progressive Muscle Relaxation”
- Because of your experiences, your brain is wired for survival, BUT it can be rewired for safety. Instead of looking for signs of threat/danger, look for signs of safety.