Softening survival mode: Finding ground through financial uncertainty
- Catherine Sanvictores
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
MINDFULNESS MONDAY
When financial fear awakens the old self:
A reflection for small business owners, dreamers, and anyone carrying too much!
There are seasons in life, especially in business, where everything feels steady, flowing, abundant. Then there are seasons where the ground feels shaky beneath our feet.
Some months feel expansive. Others feel tight, unpredictable, or completely outside our control. In these moments, financial pressure lands in the body with a heaviness that is far bigger than numbers on a screen. It presses on the chest. It coils in the belly. It stiffens the back of the neck.
It can whisper familiar stories:
“I won’t have enough.”
“I’m losing everything.”
“I should be doing more.”
“I’m alone in this.”
If you’ve felt this lately, you’re not failing. You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re not broken.
You’re human and your nervous system is doing something deeply normal: it’s remembering the past.
The nervous system doesn’t care about spreadsheets
Financial fear rarely comes from the present moment alone.
Yes, the cost of living is high. Yes, running a small business requires courage, consistency, and resilience. Yes, self-employment means carrying risk and reward in the same hands.
These things matter.
But what often hurts isn’t the money, it’s the old emotional imprint that surfaces alongside it:
the child who grew up without stability
the teenager who had no safety net
the young adult who had to “figure it out” alone
the nervous system that learned security could disappear at any moment
So, when the income slows or the bills stack up, the body doesn’t simply say:
“This is stressful.” It says: “This is dangerous.”
Because the body is responding to past scarcity, not just present circumstances. Being aware of this is a really important mindfulness skill so we can separate past from present.
The old belief that rises: “anything I have will be taken away.”
Many of us carry an invisible belief shaped early in life:
“Safety doesn’t last.”
“If I relax, something will go wrong.”
“I have to scramble to survive.”
“Good things disappear.”
“I’m responsible for holding everything together.”
This belief once helped us cope. It kept us alert, adaptive, hyper-responsible, traits that helped us get this far. But in business, this belief can make every slow month feel like collapse.
It makes ordinary challenges feel catastrophic. It makes uncertainty feel like emotional poverty.
It makes decisions feel urgent, pressured, and fear-driven.
And it makes us forget who we actually are today.
The emotional poverty beneath the fear
When financial anxiety activates, we often feel something much deeper than “money stress.”
We feel:
the loneliness of having no support
the vulnerability of being unprotected
the weight of responsibility that never belonged to us
the panic of not knowing how to be safe
the grief of never having “enough” emotionally
This is the child version of us rising.
She is not dramatic. She is not overreacting.
She is remembering.
And the invitation is not to silence her, but to sit with her and say: “You are not alone anymore. I’m the adult now, and I’m taking care of this.”
When she feels that, the whole system softens.
A somatic grounding practice for financial fear
For business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone feeling stretched
Use this when your body goes into survival mode.
1. Anchor your feet
Place both feet firmly on the ground. Feel the support beneath you, the present moment holding you.
2. One hand on your heart, one on your belly
This connects you to the two centres that tighten the most during financial fear.
Breathe gently. Let your exhale be longer than your inhale.
3. Say quietly:
“I am safe in this moment.” Not “forever.” Just now. Safety is built moment by moment.
4. Drop your shoulders slightly
Not fully, just enough to release the instinctive bracing.
5. Press your feet into the ground
Feel yourself supported. Say softly: “I have options. I am not powerless.”
6. Visualise the younger version of you who is afraid
See her clearly. Then tell her with warmth:
“You don’t have to solve this. I’m the one taking care of us.”
Let her feel the difference.
7. End with this grounding truth:
“The fear is old. But I am here now.”
Take one final, steady breath.
Your clarity returns when your body feels safe.
You are not alone in this
Every business owner experiences seasons of contraction and seasons of expansion. Financial fear does not mean you’re failing; it means your nervous system is remembering an old story.
And you are allowed to write a new one. You are more resourceful, more capable, and more supported than the younger version of you ever was, and you don’t have to navigate this alone.
If this resonates with you…
If you’re moving through financial fear, emotional overwhelm, or the weight of carrying your business on your own shoulders, you’re welcome to reach out.
I offer:
✨ Inner Alignment Coaching
✨ Deep Reset Sessions (a transformative blend of somatics + coaching + bodywork)
✨ Holistic Massage + Energy Work
✨ Supportive sessions for nervous-system regulation
These sessions are designed to help you:
soften survival mode
reconnect with inner safety
regulate your nervous system
restore clarity and direction
come back into your power
You can learn more or book a session here:
I would love to support you through whatever season you are in.
With gentleness and steadiness,
Catherine 🤍
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