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Monday 9am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 9am - 4pm Friday 9am - 12pm

http://linktr.ee/balancecentreformentalhealth

Balance Centre for Mental Health, 6/34 Baynes Street, Margate (2025)

14/10/2025

When we go through overwhelming experiences, especially in childhood, or repeatedly over time, our nervous system doesn’t just respond in the moment. It stores patterns of survival.

This is called implicit memory. Unlike a visual flashback or specific event, these memories live in:
👎 Muscle tension
👎 Startle responses
👎 Emotional reactivity
👎 Gut discomfort or appetite changes
👎 Avoidance behaviours
👎 Shutdown or collapse

Even when life becomes objectively safe, the nervous system might still be on high alert, scanning for threat, interpreting neutral stimuli as dangerous, and keeping the body ready to fight, flee, or freeze.

You might not consciously remember what caused it. But your body does.

At Balance Centre for Mental Health, our approach is grounded in this science. We integrate therapies that address both the brain and the body, supporting clients to gradually restore regulation and connection. From evidence-based treatments like EMDR to body-informed practices that build interoceptive awareness, we create space for healing that respects your pace and experience.

You do not need to fight this disconnect alone. With the right support, it is possible to rebuild the bridge between mind and body, so that both can finally feel safe again.

12/10/2025

The part of your brain that thinks—plans, reasons, reassures you—is the prefrontal cortex. This is the part that remembers the facts: I’m not in danger. That happened a long time ago. I’m OK now.

But the part of your brain that reacts to threat—the amygdala, brainstem, vagus nerve, and other subcortical structures—doesn’t use logic. It uses neuroception: a subconscious scanning system that constantly asks, “Am I safe?”

If your nervous system detects even a hint of risk—based on past experience, sensation, or subtle environmental cues—it can override your rational thinking in an instant.

That’s why you can know everything is fine…
…while still feeling:
😣 A tight chest, racing heart, or shallow breath
🥶 Numb, frozen, or foggy
😤 Overwhelmed, agitated, or emotionally out of control
🧐 Suspicious or disconnected in relationships
🫨 A sense of impending doom or “something bad is about to happen”

This isn’t overreaction. It’s a nervous system doing its job: protecting you the way it learned to survive.

At Balance Centre for Mental Health, we support clients whose bodies are still holding onto past threat, even when their lives are calm. We understand the shame, confusion, and exhaustion that comes with feeling like your body has a mind of its own. You don’t need to explain away your symptoms. You don’t need to convince yourself you’re fine. You just need support that honours where you are right now.

10/10/2025

For many people, especially trauma survivors or neurodivergent clients, “feeling safe” isn’t something they’ve experienced often. So even if the nervous system starts to relax, you might not know how to identify it.

Common signs that your body is beginning to trust again:
👌 Breathing slows and deepens
👌 Muscles soften—especially in the jaw, shoulders, or belly
👌 You can stay present during a hard conversation
👌 Emotions arise without overwhelm or shutdown
👌 You feel more connected to others
👌 You can rest, digest, or play

These signs might be subtle. They might not feel comfortable right away. But they’re worth noticing and nurturing.

Healing isn’t always about big breakthroughs. Sometimes, it’s noticing your body let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding.

08/10/2025

The phrase “my mind knows I’m safe, but my body doesn’t” perfectly captures what researchers describe as a disruption in self-referential processing. When trauma occurs, the systems that help us track our body, thoughts, and sense of self become fragmented. This makes it difficult to feel like “everything is happening in the same person.”

Recovery involves re-establishing this integration. Over time, with consistent support, the body can learn to down-regulate its stress response. The prefrontal cortex can re-engage with the amygdala, allowing a person to evaluate safety based not just on instinct, but on present reality.

This process is slow and often nonlinear. It requires safety, co-regulation, and a therapeutic approach that honours both cognitive understanding and somatic experience. Clients must be given permission to move at the pace of their nervous system, not the pace of a structured treatment plan.

When you’re ready, we’re here to help you rebuild that connection and support your healing journey.

06/10/2025

Traditional talk therapy focuses on thoughts and beliefs. These top-down approaches are valuable, especially when combined with psychoeducation and emotional processing. But they often struggle to reach the subcortical systems that control the body’s automatic responses to threat.

Bottom-up approaches begin with the body. These include somatic therapies, EMDR, breathwork, and nervous system regulation strategies that are designed to shift how the body perceives safety. These therapies engage the brainstem, vagus nerve, and other regions involved in regulating arousal, allowing the body to slowly re-learn what it means to feel safe.

Research also supports the use of trauma-informed mindfulness and body awareness practices, which can help individuals learn to track physical sensations without becoming overwhelmed. This helps build what is known as interoceptive awareness, the ability to notice and interpret internal signals. When people are able to observe their body without reacting with fear, they begin to restore communication between the body and mind.

At Balance Centre, we work with both sides of the equation. It’s not enough to work with the mind. It’s not enough to work with the body. For true healing, you need integration. That’s why we offer body-aware, trauma-informed therapy that:
👉 Respects your pace
👉 Supports nervous system regulation
👉 Validates the intelligence of your survival responses
👉 Helps you build a bridge between logic and felt experience

04/10/2025

The body does not need your permission to enter a survival state. When exposed to trauma, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated, releasing cortisol and other stress hormones. This response prepares the body for action, increasing heart rate, sharpening focus, and mobilising energy. But when this system is repeatedly activated or never fully calms, it becomes dysregulated.

Chronic HPA axis dysregulation is associated with many of the symptoms seen in trauma survivors, including anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and emotional dysregulation . These are not signs of psychological weakness. They are signs of a nervous system that has adapted to survive by staying vigilant.

Importantly, these survival responses can be triggered by internal sensations, not just external cues. The body may respond to an elevated heart rate, tight chest, or even certain emotions as though they are dangerous. This creates a loop in which the body's response to normal feelings reinforces a sense of danger, even when the environment is safe.

If your mind knows you’re safe but your body hasn’t caught up yet…
You’re not broken. You’re not behind. You’re human.
Your nervous system learned to protect you.

Now it deserves the chance to feel safe again.
We’re here to help.

03/10/2025

One of the core reasons people feel unsafe in safe environments lies in the way trauma disrupts communication between brain regions. The amygdala, a part of the brain involved in detecting threat, often becomes hyperactive in individuals with post-traumatic stress. This means the brain becomes quicker to perceive danger, even when there is none present .

At the same time, the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for reasoning, self-awareness, and regulation), can become less effective at calming the body’s alarm system. Trauma weakens the ability of the prefrontal cortex to inhibit amygdala activation. So even when a person can logically tell themselves that they are safe, the part of their brain responsible for threat detection may still be sending strong danger signals .

This internal tug-of-war between logic and instinct can leave people feeling confused, ashamed, or exhausted. They may wonder why they keep reacting in ways they cannot control. In reality, their body is doing exactly what it was wired to do—protect them, even if the threat is long gone.

At Balance Centre for Mental Health, we support people living with this disconnect every day. Our trauma-informed, body-aware approaches help clients regulate their nervous systems, rebuild a felt sense of safety, and reconnect with themselves. We do not rush the process or pathologise survival strategies. We walk alongside clients as they gently unlearn patterns that once kept them alive but are no longer needed.

If your mind knows you’re safe but your body still feels under threat, you are not alone. There is a reason it feels this way, and there is a path forward.

01/10/2025

Reconnecting with your body doesn’t have to mean sitting still and noticing every sensation right away. For many people, that’s overwhelming.

Our Tuning In Journal is designed with this in mind. With bite-sized check-in prompts, sensory signal trackers, and grounding exercises, it helps you build awareness gradually, without pressure, without shame, and always at your pace.

This is not a clinical assessment. It’s a gentle tool to help you understand your own patterns of hunger, rest, tension, emotion, and safety. Over time, these small moments of noticing can add up to a stronger brain-body connection.

👉 Download the journal from our resource library today and begin where you are.

29/09/2025

Many people in trauma recovery find themselves stuck in a frustrating paradox. They know they’re safe. They understand that the threat is gone. They are told by loved ones, and maybe even themselves, that the past is over and that they should be able to move on. But inside, their body tells a different story.

This disconnect is not irrational. It is not a lack of effort or resilience. It is a neurobiological survival response. When the nervous system has been shaped by prolonged stress, trauma, or unpredictability, it often continues to operate as if danger is present, even in the absence of external threat. The body continues to respond with activation, shutdown, or hypervigilance, long after the actual event is over.

Understanding this pattern is not just validating for many trauma survivors. It also offers a roadmap for healing that goes beyond positive thinking or cognitive reframing. True safety must be experienced physiologically before it can be integrated psychologically.

Your body isn’t betraying you. It’s doing what it learned to do to keep you alive. In our latest blog, “My Mind Knows I’m Safe, But My Body Doesn’t,” we explore the neurobiology of trauma and why the body can keep reacting long after the danger is over. Understanding this connection can be the first step in finding a way back to safety.

📖 Read the full post on our website

27/09/2025

Have you ever been told to “just breathe” or “just calm down” and felt even worse afterward? That’s not a sign of weakness. It’s often a sign of disrupted interoception.

For people with trauma, chronic stress, or neurodivergent wiring, tuning into the body can sometimes make things harder. Instead of soothing, deep breathing or mindfulness may heighten anxiety, trigger dissociation, or leave you feeling trapped in a body that doesn’t feel safe.

This is called an interoceptive mismatch. Your brain and body are not working with the same map, and strategies that rely on body awareness can backfire.

At Balance Centre for Mental Health, we understand that safety has to be built slowly. Our clinicians use body-informed therapies that help you rebuild tolerance for sensations without overwhelm. It’s not about forcing calm, it’s about creating conditions where your nervous system feels safe enough to settle.

💡 If traditional calming tools don’t work for you, it doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means your nervous system needs a different approach.

25/09/2025

You can tell yourself “I’m safe.” Your loved ones can remind you, too. But if your body is still in survival mode, logic alone won’t calm the nervous system.

Safety has to be felt. That means the body needs to experience conditions where it no longer perceives danger. Only then can the brain and body integrate the message of safety fully.

This is why trauma recovery often requires body-based approaches. Talking therapy is valuable, but it may not reach the nervous system’s deeper patterns. Practices like Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, or trauma-informed yoga help the body gradually relearn what safety feels like from the inside out.

At Balance Centre, we know healing is not about pushing harder or trying to override your body. It’s about creating an environment where safety becomes a lived experience, not just an idea.

✨ Safety must be embodied before it can be believed.

23/09/2025

Interoception isn’t a one-way street. Your brain doesn’t just receive signals from your body, it predicts them, compares them to reality, and adjusts. This prediction system is known as the Embodied Predictive Interoception Coding (EPIC) model.

But trauma, stress, or neurodivergence can throw this off course. The brain may no longer trust the body, and the body may no longer trust the brain. That mismatch can lead to confusion, overwhelm, or feeling like you don’t know what you’re feeling at all.

This is why people sometimes swing between emotional shutdown and emotional flooding. The bridge between body and brain is damaged, and the nervous system struggles to keep signals accurate and safe.

The good news is that this bridge can be rebuilt. With therapies that respect pacing, capacity, and the nervous system’s protective role, it’s possible to restore clearer communication. At Balance Centre, we support clients to re-establish trust between body and brain, one step at a time.

Healing isn’t about silencing the body. It’s about repairing the bridge so both sides can work together again.

Balance Centre for Mental Health

14/10/2025

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Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 12pm