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Your body isn't fighting you. It's speaking to you.

- Rachel Carta, RN

The Moment You Finally Sit Down

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the very moment you finally stop moving, your body does the opposite of settling? You sit down, maybe at the end of a long day, expecting relief to wash over you, and instead your mind starts racing, your shoulders stay lifted, and your system feels like it is still bracing for something you cannot even name.

A client once described this feeling to me as a symphony playing in her head the second she tried to fall asleep. Her body was exhausted, yet her mind would not quiet, and she could not understand why rest felt so far away when she needed it most. If you have ever felt that kind of inner restlessness, you might have wondered whether something was wrong with you or whether your body was somehow working against you.

What I want you to consider is that your body may not be fighting you at all. It may be speaking to you.

What I See Beneath The Symptoms

I once worked with a woman who came in convinced she had several unrelated problems that all needed separate solutions. She believed her anxiety was one issue, her digestion another, and her hormones something entirely different. She kept saying that everything felt off and she no longer felt like herself, and she was trying so hard to figure out what to fix first.

As she talked, her words sounded calm, but her body told a different story. Her shoulders hovered near her ears. Her breathing stayed shallow. Her jaw was tight. Even though she was sitting safely in front of me, her nervous system looked as if it were preparing for danger.

Instead of chasing each symptom individually, we started by helping her body feel safe. That became our foundation. From there, things began to shift in ways she had not expected. Her digestion improved. Her mood steadied. Her energy changed from that wired, exhausted feeling into something more stable and genuine. Nothing was forced. Her body responded because it finally had the conditions it needed.

Watching this unfold again and again with women is what led me to create my Mood Shift Method, because I kept seeing how often we try to fix symptoms in isolation while skipping the very foundation that allows healing to happen in the first place.

Why Safety Comes Before Change

It is common to assume that moods live only in the mind, especially because many women have been told that for years. Some have even been dismissed or talked over when they tried to describe what they were experiencing. But when we slow down and look more closely, it becomes clear that there is real physiology underneath those emotional shifts.

Your nervous system plays a central role in how you digest, think, sleep, and respond to stress. When it has been in survival mode for a long time, your body prioritizes protection over repair. Blood flow changes. Hormones shift. Sensitivity increases. In that state, healing becomes much harder, not because your body is resisting you, but because it is trying to keep you safe.

Repair needs an atmosphere of safety. Without that, even the best nutrition, supplements, or protocols may not land in the way you hoped they would.

Signs Your System May Still Be On Guard

Sometimes the signs are obvious, but often they show up in quiet ways that are easy to overlook. You might notice that you cannot relax even when you finally have time. You may feel overstimulated by lights, noise, or conversation that never used to bother you. Social time might leave you drained instead of nourished, and your digestion may shift depending on stress or emotional load.

I often notice my own nervous system needs support when small sounds suddenly feel irritating instead of neutral. That is usually my cue to pause and check in rather than push through.

Emotional reactivity can be another signal. When your system has less capacity than usual, your responses may feel closer to the surface. Overthinking can show up as well, with your mind scanning for what might go wrong as it tries to protect you. Even guilt around resting can point to conditioning your body learned somewhere along the way about when it was or was not safe to slow down.

These patterns are not random. They are messages.

Foundations Before Fixes

I have seen many women work so hard to support their health. They change their diet, take supplements, try protocols, and sometimes even begin hormone therapy, hoping something will finally click. Yet if their nervous system still feels like it has to stay on alert, their body may struggle to receive those supports fully.

It can feel like there is an invisible wall between what you are doing and the results you want. Often that wall is not about effort. It's about safety.

When we begin with the foundation of nervous system support, everything else has a place to land. Nourishment is better received. Regulation becomes easier. Small shifts start to create meaningful change.

A Gentle Practice To Try Right Now

You do not need a complicated routine to begin signaling safety to your body. Sometimes the smallest moments are the most powerful teachers.

Take a moment and slowly look around you. Let your eyes settle on something neutral or pleasant. Then take one slow breath in through your nose and allow a long exhale to leave your mouth. Let your shoulders soften. Let your jaw unclench. Notice that you are here, in this moment.

When you do this, you are teaching your body a new story, one that includes safety instead of constant vigilance. Repeating small moments like this can gradually help your system shift out of survival and into a state where healing becomes more possible.

Moving Forward With Understanding

If you recognized yourself in any of these experiences, let that be an invitation to get curious rather than critical. Your body has been responding in the ways it learned how, often with the goal of protecting you. What has been learned can also be supported and reshaped through understanding, patience, and self compassion.

This is exactly why I created the Mood Shift Method after working closely with dozens of women and seeing what truly helped them move forward. It is designed to help you understand what your body is doing, why it is doing it, and how to support it through nourishment, gentle regulation, and space to actually be instead of constantly pushing.

If that kind of support speaks to you, I would love for you to join me live when I teach this method. I will be offering both a midday and evening session so you can choose what fits your life.

Because every symptom carries information, and the more clearly you understand what your body is saying, the more trust you can build with it, and that is where real change begins.

Lots of love,

Rachel

Sign up for the Mood Shift Method - Live!

If this resonated with you and you’re starting to see your symptoms in a new way, I’d love to walk with you through this more deeply. In my live Mood Shift Method workshop, I’ll gently guide you through how to understand what your body is communicating, how to support your nervous system, and how to create real shifts that actually last. You can learn more and join here:
rachelcartaRN.com/moodshift