The Meerkat
I remember being compared to a Meerkat once, because I was constantly looking around, wanting to see and know what was going on in all different directions.
I wasn’t actually aware of this until this person pointed it out and it prompted me to analyse myself and to know more about why I did this and what it meant…
Trauma survivors can spend their lives seeking safety, which means we can be exceptionally skilled at noticing inconsistencies.
We become experts at analysing and recognising patterns.
We can “read the room” and everyone in it, we are constantly scanning for safety.
We can sense when something or someone is “off”.
We are triggered when we notice your behaviour changing toward us, when you’re not being honest or truthful or when you’re distancing yourself or holding back from us. This activates our internal safety mechanisms and we go into protection mode.
Seeking safety was the only way trauma survivers knew how to survive at the time, it is ingrained in our being.
This skill has served me well, I want people to know that I am a safe space for them, they don’t need to scan for safety in my presence.
This also explains why it takes me time to build trust and let people in, and also why I cut people off so quickly. Cuttie cut cut! ✂️
I value the truth, tell me how it is, because I can sense when you’re not. I know your patterns, I have already analysed you.
To the person that compared me to a Meerkat… If only you knew ❤️
