You’re Not Falling Apart — Your Nervous System Is Asking for Something Different
December has a way of sneaking up on people.
The year is winding down, but your body doesn’t feel relieved. Instead, you might feel more tense, more irritable, more tired, even if things are technically “fine.”
If you’re someone who usually holds it together, this can be confusing. You’ve handled worse. You know your coping skills. You’re self-aware. So why does everything feel harder right now?
Many of the people I work with start asking themselves some version of this question:
“What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just get through this?”
But what’s happening isn’t a personal failure, it’s a nervous system response.
When insight isn’t enough anymore
If you’re an over-functioner, a high achiever, or someone who prides themselves on self-awareness, you’ve probably done a lot of “right” things:
You understand your patterns
You can name your triggers
You’ve read the books, listened to the podcasts, maybe even tried therapy before
And yet, your body still reacts.
Your chest tightens.
Your thoughts race.
Rest feels uncomfortable.
Slowing down makes you feel worse before it feels better.
This is often the moment people assume they need more discipline or better tools.
In reality, this is usually the point where the nervous system is saying:
“Thinking your way through this isn’t working anymore.”
Why your body feels on edge (even when life looks okay)
Your nervous system’s job is to keep you safe, not calm.
If you’ve spent years pushing through stress, staying productive under pressure, or overriding your own limits, your system may have learned that being “on” is necessary for survival, even when the original threat is long gone.
So when things slow down (like they often do at the end of the year), your body doesn’t automatically relax. It stays vigilant.
That can show up as:
Feeling restless or keyed up when you try to rest
Guilt when you’re not being productive
Anxiety that doesn’t respond to logic or reassurance
A sense that you’re always bracing for the next thing
None of this means you’re broken.
It means your nervous system is doing exactly what it learned to do.
This isn’t about trying harder — it’s about working differently
One of the biggest misconceptions I see is the belief that if you just understand yourself well enough, your symptoms should resolve.
But nervous system patterns aren’t changed through insight alone. They shift through felt safety, capacity, and practice that meets the body where it is.
That’s why telling yourself to “just relax” doesn’t work.
And why forcing rest can sometimes make anxiety spike.
The goal isn’t to shut your reactions down, it’s to help your system learn that it doesn’t have to stay on high alert all the time.
If you’re wondering what to do next
If this resonated, you might be realizing something important:
You’re not failing at coping, and you don’t need another overhaul, another routine, or another thing to push through.
Often, this is the point where people start wondering whether they need a different kind of support, something that works with the nervous system, not against it.
If you’re curious about what that could look like, I offer free consults to explore whether somatic therapy feels like a fit for you. There’s no pressure to commit, just a conversation to help you orient to next steps and decide what would actually be supportive right now. Click here to book a consult.
You don’t have to have it all figured out to reach out.
Sometimes the next step is simply understanding what your body has been asking for.