Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
You're in this state of safety when you're sleeping. Now a lot of us when we were younger Being safe wasn't safe. If you had an alcoholic parent and there was gonna be a blow up and there hasn't been a blow-up for a while, your body is waiting for that thing to go to go explode. Some sort of abuse, neglect, abandonment, loss, rejection, having to become the woman of the house too early, and shame, all these things Things build this physiological state of alarm in your system.
Typically, it will show up in the middle of the night because the rest of your body is kind of calm.
So feeling safe doesn't feel safe, and that's one of the things that keeps anxiety going Like if you can't trust safety, you're gonna be anxious for the rest of your life
**P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help you:
Subscribe: The Mini Pause — My weekly newsletter packed with the most actionable, evidence-based tools for women 40+ to thrive in midlife. drstephanieestima.com/newsletter
Build Muscle: LIFT — My progressive strength training program designed for women in midlife. Form-focused, joint-friendly, and built for real results. drstephanie.ca/lift
You're in this state of safety when you're sleeping. Now a lot of us when we were younger Being safe wasn't safe. If you had an alcoholic parent and there was gonna be a blow up and there hasn't been a blow-up for a while, your body is waiting for that thing to go to go explode. Some sort of abuse, neglect, abandonment, loss, rejection, having to become the woman of the house too early, and shame, all these things Things build this physiological state of alarm in your system.
Typically, it will show up in the middle of the night because the rest of your body is kind of calm.
So feeling safe doesn't feel safe, and that's one of the things that keeps anxiety going Like if you can't trust safety, you're gonna be anxious for the rest of your life
**P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help you:
Subscribe: The Mini Pause — My weekly newsletter packed with the most actionable, evidence-based tools for women 40+ to thrive in midlife. drstephanieestima.com/newsletter
Build Muscle: LIFT — My progressive strength training program designed for women in midlife. Form-focused, joint-friendly, and built for real results. drstephanie.ca/lift
