What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You: Understanding Emotional Signals Through a Nervous System Lens
- Jane Alice Davidson
- Jan 22
- 2 min read
This article explores what your body is trying to tell you by explaining how emotional signals can be understood through a nervous system lens.
Most people think emotions begin in the mind, but the truth is, your body is usually the first to send a signal. The mind just shows up late and tries to make sense of the mess. When someone says, “I don’t know why I’m so irritable,” what they usually mean is that their body has been whispering for a while, and now it’s finally raising its voice.
Sometimes the body speaks in straightforward ways. Hunger. Fatigue. A need for quiet. But when needs go ignored, usually because ignoring them used to keep you safe, the signals shift into something louder and harder to miss. Irritability, shutdown, numbness, overwhelm. The emotional equivalent of the body tapping you on the shoulder and saying, “Please look at me. Something isn’t right.”
The tricky thing is that these sensations often feel like personal flaws.
You assume you’re being dramatic, moody, sensitive, or too much. But what’s actually happening is much simpler and far less damning. Your nervous system is flagging an unmet need, a crossed boundary, or a moment that reminds your body of something it hasn’t fully resolved.
Your body isn’t trying to embarrass you. It’s trying to protect you.
Overwhelm might be the body saying, “This is too fast.”
Numbness might be the body saying, “This is too much.”
Irritability might be the body saying, “I’m at capacity.”
Shutdown might be the body saying, “Please, I can’t hold one more thing.”
When you start to listen instead of judging yourself, the whole emotional landscape shifts. The feelings stop being moral failures and start becoming coordinates; information pointing you toward what needs attention, repair, or tenderness.
You don’t have to decode everything perfectly. Just slowing down enough to ask, “What is my body trying to say here?” is the beginning of a different relationship with yourself.
A kinder one. A more accurate one. And eventually, a safer one.
Thank you for reading. If this stirred something in you and you’d like to spend more time with this work, you can explore The Humble Pie 12 Steps and learn more about how I support people as a trauma recovery coach.
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