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Have you ever wondered why your body seems to be at war with itself?
Autoimmune diseases—like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s, or multiple sclerosis—are often described as the body turning against its own tissues. But what if this internal conflict is not just a medical mystery, but a message? A deeper cry from your nervous system?
From a Somatic Experiencing (SE) perspective, autoimmune conditions can sometimes be viewed as the fight response turned inward—a biological survival impulse that has had nowhere else to go.
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When we face threat, our nervous system automatically tries to protect us. This can look like:
• Fight: pushing back, standing your ground.
• Flight: running away.
• Freeze: shutting down.
• Fawn: appeasing or over-adapting.
But what happens when the threat is chronic, overwhelming, or socially unacceptable to confront—like childhood neglect, an abusive boss, or an invisible pressure to always perform?
In such cases, the fight energy might still activate… but without a clear external target. Instead, it turns inward against the self.
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In SE, we often observe that the body keeps trying to complete survival responses that were never allowed to finish. In the case of autoimmune diseases, the immune system’s attack on the body can be seen as a misdirected fight response—one that was never expressed toward the real source of the overwhelm or trauma.
Your body is not betraying you. It may actually be trying to protect you in the only way it knows how.
Trauma + Overwhelm = Dysregulation
Long-standing emotional stress, trauma, or unprocessed grief can keep the nervous system in a prolonged state of dysregulation. Over time, this constant activation or suppression taxes the immune system, confuses the body’s threat detection, and can create the internal chaos we see in autoimmune conditions.
In essence, your body is waving a red flag. It’s saying:
“I’m overwhelmed. I don’t feel safe. Please pay attention.”
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Somatic Experiencing gently supports the body to:
• Recognize where fight, flight, or freeze energy may be stuck.
• Discharge incomplete survival responses in safe, titrated ways.
• Restore a sense of inner safety, boundaries, and regulation.
• Reclaim agency and vitality that may have been locked away.
Clients who explore SE often report shifts not just in emotional well-being, but in physical symptoms too. While SE isn’t a cure for autoimmune disease, it can be a powerful companion on the journey—helping the body to stop fighting itself and start feeling safe again.
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If you’re living with an autoimmune condition, consider this:
• What if your body isn’t broken?
• What if it’s doing the best it can to protect you with the tools it has?
• What if it’s asking for help, not punishment?
Healing begins with listening. And sometimes, the loudest signals come from the inside.
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