WHEN SELF-PROTECTION PLAYS OUT LIKE SELF-SABOTAGE
Gah! Ever feel like you can't stop sabotaging yourself? What's that all about?!
Psychologists now know that many behaviors that look like self-sabotage actually start as self-protection — subconscious defense mechanisms originally developed to manage perceived threats in early life.
The same happens in the body. Neurological research shows that, in your body's effort to keep you safe, physical symptoms (like pain or fatigue) can be active as the nervous system guards against potential danger.
In both mind and body, when self-protection hasn’t kept up with our evolving needs and wants as we grow and change, it can start to hold us back.
A few examples:
• Heightened defensiveness that sparks needless conflict
• Procrastination that leads to missed opportunities
• Chronic pain that limits freedom and peace
• Constant self-criticism that keeps you in fight-or-flight, drains energy, and erodes self-trust
Painful emotions that can follow:
▴ Shame over reactions beyond your control
▴ Frustration that, even when you know what to do, you can’t change
▴ Disappointment that peace and confidence still feel out of reach
If this sounds familiar, try this experiment to regain some hope:
⏸ Pause
💭 Imagine life *free* of your “self-sabotage”
🤔 Double your curiosity about it, asking...
... What does the effortless absence of the issue feel like?
... What becomes possible now that wasn’t before?
(E.g., constant self-criticism: imagine your new default is effortless non-judgment and support toward yourself. Can you feel your shoulders relax as you give yourself a break? What can you now put your freed-up energy, focus, and calmness toward?)
I don't know if you find it easy to visualize this alternate reality, I just know that it's groovy as heck that that life of possibility and 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓯 is available to you 👉 through hypnotherapy.
In hypnosis, you'll retrain your protective parts to serve the highest good of who you are *now,* aligned with your current life and vision, freeing you from old routines.
If you're ready to stop fighting your own defenses book a free consultation and let’s talk!
~ Gwen
