Have you ever had the heebie jeebies? Those weird feelings that come when something’s just not right with someone. How about the feelings you get when you are forced to be in a room with someone you just don’t like? What feelings do you experience? Fear, anxiety?
Our minds translate unease through our bodies. When someone crosses our boundaries, the fight or flight response is triggered, and our bodies try to tell our minds it’s time to do something about it. Every time your mind overrides your body as it feels stressed or anxious, the body internalizes the feelings. They accumulate and well up each time you are faced with a similar situation.
Sometimes our minds rationalize fear or anxiety. Why?
- Social pressure
- Morals and values
- Power
Social pressure overrules the mind – Though our bodies know that a situation isn’t in our best interest, our minds may rationalize or minimize the fear. Instead of taking a stand or leaving a situation, our minds are ignorant to the impact, believe nothing can be done, or act in denial about the severity of the situation. The social pressure to conform or stay in the situation is too great for the mind to overcome. As a result, the body is held hostage to the situation.
Morals and values overrule the mind – Similar to social pressure, our values can overrun the intuition of the mind and body, making it difficult to stop negative influences and set healthy boundaries. Morals and values within a culture may conflict with what the mind and body want or need. This conflict can cause fear, anxiety, and result in illnesses, depression, and more.
Power plays can overrule the mind – There is a flow of power and those who have it are having a different experience than those who do not. An imbalance of power can result in the mind overriding the instinct to set healthy boundaries.
Setting health boundaries keeps the mind and body in sync
When you set boundaries that override social pressure, outdated morals and values, as well as power imbalances, your mind and body start to come back together in harmony. Overcoming your fears and anxieties is powerful. Standing up for yourself and what you believe in helps your mind and your body live in harmony. Here’s how:
Being authentic to yourself is easier than lying. If you set a clear boundary based in truth, it is far easier to stick to it and feel good than it is to stuff down what you really think and feel anxious all the time.
Setting boundaries teaches people how to treat you. Many people who come off as bullies don’t get away with the behavior with everyone. That’s because some people set boundaries. What you allow into your life teaches people what they can get away with.
There’s not much worse than feeling anxious and pushed around by people. If you find that you feel walked-on or controlled by others, your mind and body connection could be suffering. Start setting boundaries and watch how your body starts to feel confident and your mind feels assured.
