My mind struggles with moments of peace. I’m always in overdrive vigilant of every possible danger. Even little things challenge my threshold of what I can handle in a day. I find myself constantly seeking danger when there is none. It’s almost like I create problems when there are none. This poem is about that.

Fight, Flight or Freeze.

Do moments of peace feel uncomfortable?
Does living in survival mode make peace improbable?
Do you panic inside waiting for disaster?
When things are quiet does your mind race faster?
Are you seeking a crisis when things are slow?
Do you sabotage successes and all you know?
You don’t do it consciously, that would be nuts.
The neurons in your brain are simply stuck in a rut.
When chaos is all you know it’s easy to forget,
How to be comfortable within a calm mindset.
Tell yourself peace is good and self-soothe your mind.
Don’t race around blindly, havoc you seek to find.
Self-care is what you need as you learn to rewire your thoughts.
Take time for yourself as you heal from all you’ve fought.
It’s OK to feel uncomfortable and in time peace will feel good.
Love yourself gently as you come to learn as only you could.
Fill your peaceful moments with hobbies of things you enjoy.
Be conscious of your mind when it tries to doubt and destroy.
It’ll tell you lies as it scans for dangers all around.
It’ll be on high alert for danger, processing each sight and sound.
But not everything is dangerous that you come across each day.
Learn to calm your nervous system when it feels frayed.
It isn’t an easy task and takes time as you practice the skills.
You’ll find it gets easier as you traverse up and down hills.
Sometimes you’ll be climbing and the work will be hard.
Other days things will go smoothly and you let down your guard.
So take one day at a time and I promise you’ll get there.
Hold on for the future. You’ve got this I swear.

©2025 Stephanie Blomquist