Wednesdays With Watson: Faith & Trauma Amy Watson- PTSD Patient-Trauma Survivor

When the World Feels Unsafe: How to Protect Your Peace While Living with PTSD

• Amy Watson: Trauma Survivor, Hope Carrier, Precious Daughter Of The Most High God • Season 7 • Episode 19

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The world often feels fundamentally unsafe for those of us living with PTSD, even before we turn on the news. When global events like military conflicts, mass shootings, and political turmoil dominate headlines, our already sensitive nervous systems go into overdrive, confirming what trauma has already taught us – that danger lurks everywhere.

Yet finding peace isn't about pretending the world is safe when it isn't. Rather, it's about creating micro-sanctuaries where your nervous system can reset amid chaos. This episode offers practical tools for navigating global uncertainty while protecting your mental health. We explore vagus nerve regulation techniques like the 4-4-4 breathing method (four seconds inhale, four seconds hold, four seconds exhale) and gentle self-massage along the vagal pathway. The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise engages your senses and activates the logical part of your brain, pulling you away from emotional flooding during anxiety spikes.

Connection proves essential despite our tendency to isolate when triggered. Having trusted people who understand your specific needs without judgment provides crucial safety. Rather than consuming news directly, consider having these trusted individuals filter important information for you. Alternatives like faith-based news summaries can provide necessary awareness without the cortisol-inducing presentation of mainstream media. Remember, we weren't designed to bear the emotional weight of global suffering – only to care well for our immediate circles of influence.

Throughout your healing journey, hold tight to this truth: you aren't broken – you're healing. You aren't weak – you're surviving. The path to peace comes through small, intentional choices: one boundary, one breath, one moment of presence at a time. As Psalm 91 reminds us, even when thousands fall around us, we can find refuge. You are seen, known, heard, loved, and deeply valued, both by the God of the universe and by those who understand the unique challenges of living with trauma in an uncertain world.

You ARE:
SEEN KNOWN HEARD LOVED VALUED

Speaker 1:

And then I shall not want for anything and finally be at peace again.

Speaker 2:

Hey everybody, and welcome back to the Wednesdays with Watson podcast. It is July of 2025 and, after a short break, we are back. We are back to talk all things mental health, all things trauma, all things PTSD. If you don't know by now, my name is Amy Watson and I am your host. Today's episode was born out of something that I felt was missing when I went looking for it, and so, as many of you know, I am a patient with complex post traumatic stress disorder, and over the next couple of weeks, we're actually going to or the next podcast drops, I should say we are going to dive into a little more of the depths of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and something that I'm real excited to bring to you is something that I enjoy, and I'm so grateful for being able to enjoy post traumatic growth, and that is possible for us friends, if you are living with a history of trauma, ptsd or CPTSD, this podcast dedicated to all things trauma and helping you know the hope that is there for those of us who live with PTSD or any of its cousins.

Speaker 2:

So a couple weeks ago, I was scrolling on Instagram I believe it was and got the news of the United States, bombing of Iran and the nuclear power plants, and I don't watch the news, which is why we are doing this episode today, because I want to talk to you about what it means to live with post traumatic stress disorder in a world that often feels unsafe, and so there are some things that I do. One of those is avoid all things news unless something like this happens. And then what do we do? What do we do when we are living with PTSD in an unsafe world, and so we are going to talk about that today. So let and as I wrote this episode, the news cycle was full of the United States exercising essentially its will on Iran. When the news cycle is completely full of things like this of uncertainty, full of things like this of uncertainty, those of us that live with PTSD have to pay special attention to taking care of ourselves and protecting our peace, and there's this need to both take care of ourselves, protect our peace and be informed. Today, I will share how I do this, and it involves all the things that we talk about on the Wednesdays with Watson podcast. It involves Jesus, the star of all of our stories. Community right, I needed to go to some of my community to help me know what was going on in the world, instead of getting that first degree. And then, of course, we know we always talk about church in this episode and hopefully you can find some hope in an unsafe world in the community of your church, because, you see, maybe your trauma is in the rearview mirror, but your body is telling a different story. Your body is still reacting like that trauma is happening right now.

Speaker 2:

This, by definition, is post-traumatic stress disorder. Maybe your trauma is actually what's going on in the world. Maybe the sheer out of control-ness of that makes you feel some anxiety and your PTSD begins to give you symptoms, often played out somatically in your body. Maybe you are somebody that watches the news all the time and the chronic injustice of the news, all of the things going on globally. Right, we are not meant to know all of these things going on in every single corner of the earth. And when these things come upon our purview not just things like what happened in Iran, but, as I'm actually recording this, something that just happened in Idaho was a sniper who took the lives of of the news maybe even your physical environment doesn't feel safe. We never know anymore when we might be part of an active shooter situation. But whatever it is for you, you are not alone, and you know that if you've been hanging around the Wednesdays with Watson podcast at all.

Speaker 2:

Today's episode I've entitled when the world feels unsafe PTSD and practical peace. We're going to explore what you can do when you can't control the chaos around you and how you can still find these moments of safety, moments of healing and moments of hope, especially in a world that doesn't always offer it. So let's start here. Ptsd isn't just about what happened to you in the past. It is how your brain and your body remember those events and how they try to protect us from them ever happening again. Because you see, as the famous book by Dr Wessel van der Kolk says, the body keeps the score, and so many of your friends may not understand why the news affects you like it does, but your body is remembering periods of unsafe, periods where you are unsafe, remember, by definition, when your safety has been compromised.

Speaker 2:

That, potentially, is a traumatic event for you, and your body is remembering. Your brain is remembering If you've ever been triggered by a sound, a smell, even the way somebody looks at you, even the way somebody looks at you If your body floods with what feels like oh gosh, what's the best way to explain? A cortisol dump to you? Just like an adrenaline cortisol dump, where your heart is racing, it's hard to catch your breath, it's hard to sleep, it's hard to put your mind at ease. You live in this hyper alert state. If this is you, you know what I'm talking about. And then, without your permission, right so you, because you are a child of the most high God made in his image and you're the only one like you, right so? You're dealing with your own response to trauma. You're dealing with your body's remembering your trauma, your brain remembering your trauma.

Speaker 2:

And then here comes this world, this big, unsafe world. It is loud, it is violent. In this country, guys, we are so divided it is scary. So what do we do when the outside world confirms what our trauma has already taught us? See, our trauma wants you to believe that you are not safe. What do we do when the world backs that up? The first thing you need to do, guys, is acknowledge the reality. This world is broken. It's broken. Pretending that it isn't broken is not going to help you. Jesus told us in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, because I have overcome the world. We see that in John 14, six. So step one is this you are not crazy for feeling unsafe. You're simply a human being, and sometimes humans like you and like me, who have seen too much ick and unsafeness we've experienced in this world.

Speaker 2:

You need to build your own internal sanctuary. How do we do that? Eternal sanctuary? How do we do that? Well, we remember that safety doesn't always come from the outside. It often comes from within. When we think of micro sanctuaries, the world will tell you that it's so many things, but I am telling you that it is found in the person of Jesus. Isaiah 26, three tells us I will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on the. Did you know that there are 365 verses, one for every single day, in the Bible that says that begins with the words fear not, because those of us living with PTSD I'm never going to teach you that the goal for you is to pretend that the world is safe. The goal for you is to create tiny moments and spaces where you and your nervous system can simply exhale. Right as I'm recording this, one of my I call her part of team Amy her name is Lauren Starnes has a program that I've spoken to about before on this podcast, and we will link the episode in the show notes of when the body talks right.

Speaker 2:

And so when your body is talking to you as a result of an unsafe world, as the things that are going on in the news, the things you hear at work when it's responding, there's some things you can do to create a micro sanctuary for yourself so that you can reset and not feel as panicked when panic or fear hits. Your breath is your favorite, is your most valuable and my favorite way to calm down the nervous system. It's four seconds in, four seconds hold and four seconds out. See, that resets the vagus nerve. So I want you to take a breath in, I want you to close your eyes, pretend like you are smelling the roses One, two, three, four and hold two, three, four out through your mouth like you're blowing out the birthday candles Two, three, four. This sets your vagus nerve, which is a large nerve in your body that goes from your head to your toe, and when you have anxiety reactions, when you have fear reactions, your vagus nerve is overstimulated. It is telling your body we're at war, fight. And when you do this, breathe in through your nose two, three, four, hold two, three, four out two, three, four, you're resetting that vagus nerve.

Speaker 2:

Let me tell you a couple of other ways to reset the vagus nerve. When you're feeling unsafe, when you're feeling panicky, when you're having PTSD symptoms, you can put your right under your ear is where your vagus nerve connects and it goes all the way through your body. But you can literally follow that bone in the side of your neck all the way down and massage the nerves right there, and that too will calm down the vagus nerve. Another way is for you to anchor yourself with a grounding technique. One of my favorites of this, because it absolutely engages the left and linear side of your brain and gets you out of the panic, is what we call the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method and basically you're using the five senses and you're engaging the left, linear, listing part of your brain and you're getting out of the emotional brain, which is where we feel panic.

Speaker 2:

You are looking for five things you can see four things, you can touch three things, you can hear two things, you can smell and one thing you can taste or that you're grateful for if you don't have anything right there in terms of tasting. This engages the senses. Five things you can see, and you're listing these five things. You can see four things. You can touch three things. You can hear two things. You can smell, one thing you can taste or that you're grateful for. You can also use some when, then language to reclaim control.

Speaker 2:

If you're feeling panicky in a world that is unsafe, I'm safe Instead of if this happens again. So if I turn on the news again and I see something like the United States has has bombed another country, I won't survive. Try when, when, not if, because you will get triggered. If you have PTSD when I am triggered, then I can take a walk, I could text a friend, I can breathe, I can pray or use my tools, because, you see, post traumatic stress disorder takes away your right to choose. Your job is to take that back. Instead of saying if it happens again, say it when it happens again and what will you do when it happens? Part of the issue, too, guys, is I know this is especially true for me is when I began to feel the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. I isolate, I'll go into a dark room and watch silly things on YouTube or something like that, but I don't necessarily. It's not my first instinct to reach out to somebody, but, guys, isolation breeds fear. Connection breeds safety, and so I say this all the time and I'll say it again Healing happens in community.

Speaker 2:

Find your people, call them, have a code word hey, I'm not doing well. This means come grab me for coffee. This means call me Okay. This means I need eight minutes of your time. Scientifically proven eight minutes of a connection will get you out of some of these symptoms. So, whether you've lived through trauma, I understand, though I should say, when you've lived through trauma, I understand that trusting people feels like playing with fire. But you got to find your safe people, those people who see you, those people who honor the rate in which you need to move in life, those people that hold space, hold time for you to tell your story. They, my friends, are part of your way to healing. They, my friends, are part of your way to healing, whether it's a therapist, a trusted friend, a support group.

Speaker 2:

Ptsd does not heal in a vacuum. Maybe you won't feel safe anywhere right now, and you know what that's fair in this world. But you can start small and you can ask yourself who makes me feel the most calm. You need a 9-1-1. Do not pass go, do not collect 200. Access to that friend who respects when you say no, who can sit with you in silence without trying to fix you. You see, these are your people right.

Speaker 2:

When you think of a world that feels unsafe, you need to remember that you can't control the world, but you can shape your response to the things that are going on in the world, and I'm going to end this episode with practical ways to stay informed and not be immersed in the news. But the fact of the matter is is that you are not powerless in your own story. You have the power of choice, and I want to speak to those of you who feel defeated. The news is hard Every day. You're never going to turn it on and go. You know what I was glad I did was turn on the news today to turn it on and go. You know what I was glad I did was turn on the news today. The news is hard. The global trauma is heavy. Maybe you're raising kids in this world and wondering how in the world are you supposed to teach them hope when you can barely feel it for yourself.

Speaker 2:

Well, as John Eldred says and I've said this so many times on this podcast we are not meant to bear the burdens of the whole world, but of our own village. Because, my friend, you cannot change the whole world, but you can change how you show up in yours. I'll say that again you cannot change the whole world, but you can change how you show up in yours. Some things this is how this looks right Log off of social media when it gets too hard. And, guys, we could do a whole episode about social media and what it's doing to our nervous systems and I am preaching to myself with this because I am addicted to TikTok and Instagram reels and all the things but it jacks up your nervous system, it dumps cortisol, it dumps adrenaline. Limit screen time.

Speaker 2:

Practice Sabbath rest you need a day a week when you're putting down your phone. Right, you need an hour a day when you're putting down your phone. Divert daily, withdraw weekly and, at least once a year, you need to put down your phone for a week. No social media Practice Sabbath rest. Guys and this doesn't mean that the to-do list just changes you need to practice one day a week where you're resting, one day a week where you're not watching the news, one day a week where you're not consuming all of this on social media, your nervous system will thank you.

Speaker 2:

You have to feel free and able to say no, to trigger that, the environments that trigger you that might be watching the news. You have to let God keep you in the quiet. We don't like quiet, but, man, if we get alone before an almighty God, will he ever bring that perfect peace? Let him meet you in the quiet. You need to be smart about your news consumption. There's a line from Psalms that I keep coming back to God is our refuge and our strength, the very present help in trouble, not a distant help, not a someday help, but a very, very present help. That is your safety. It is not in the absence of pain, but in the presence of the Prince of Peace. So if you're listening today and thinking I do not feel safe and I don't know where to start, I see you and I hear you and I want you to hear me say this you are not broken, you are healing and you may heal until the day you see Jesus. You are not weak, you're surviving, you are not alone, you are loved and in a world that feels unsafe, you still have the agency to cultivate peace inside One breath, one boundary, one brave yes at a time.

Speaker 2:

And so one of the things that I wanted to talk to you guys about is some practical solutions, some practical ideas for news consumption. So when all of this went down, I texted my friend and I said Did you hear the news? And she said, and she responded, and, and over the next couple days I did consume quite a bit of news, more news than I like. But I knew that because of that intense news cycle, and I wanted to know what was going on in the world and I wanted to try to get it from the most dependable place that I could, and that is not social media. And so I understood that there were some things that I needed to do after that immense consumption of the news cycle. And it did include some of those things like breathing exercises. It included taking a walk, it included getting out in the sun, it included finally turning off the TV and saying to a trusted friend okay, I think the world is safe from nuclear war right now.

Speaker 2:

So I'm going back to not watching the news, which, by the way, is my position Almost always. I don't watch the news. I talk to people who do trust the news or watch the news. I trust people who watch the news and they tell me if it's something I need to worry about. Prime example is I'm in Florida, this is prime hurricane season. I don't even watch it then. I only watch it when my eminent life is in danger, like a hurricane warning, a hurricane watch, or the world is on brink of nuclear war. Other than that, I trust somebody else to give me my news, and that has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made, another one that I just came upon.

Speaker 2:

Another idea that I just came upon with this recent news cycle was poor over news, and that is a Christian based kind of no must, no fuss, no, no drama. Just here's the news and here is the Bible's take on it and here's how you can pray. It's called poor over news and so that is also an option. The the bottom line, guys, is I understand more than anybody the presence of post traumatic stress disorder and the desire to stay informed in the world. You can't necessarily be informed as you would like to be if you have PTSD and these things re trigger you.

Speaker 2:

You just kind of have to understand that this is something that is a result of your post traumatic stress disorder and because of that, you have to be careful about the news that you consume, because you will immediately, your brain and your body will immediately remember those times when you were unsafe and you will have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. You'll get the cortisol dumps, you'll get the adrenaline dumps, your serotonin and dopamine will be affected and it just isn't good for you. And so, if you have a history of trauma, you have post-traumatic stress disorder. You need to consider not consuming the news all the time. You need to consider limiting social media. You need to consider who you follow on social media, because this is an unsafe world and it will be until the day that we walk into heaven. And you have a history of trauma, a history of being unsafe, and your body is always going to remember, it's going to trigger you.

Speaker 2:

But, guys, you are not broken. Like I said, you are healing, you are not weak, you are surviving, you are not alone, you are loved. And if the world feels unsafe outside, remember you still have the choice to choose safety. You can do that, one boundary at a time. One brave yes at a time, one brave no at a time. Guys, you got this. You can get through this. This world is unsafe. That is a fact.

Speaker 2:

Jesus told us in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world. He also, god, told us I will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on the. And. So, guys, as we close this episode, one of the things that I love is Psalm 91. And I call it the PTSD prayer, and so I just want to read that Psalm for us today, and I hope that you will hear me reading the words over you and you will know the the just, the truth of Psalm 91. And I am reading this out of the Christian Standard Bible.

Speaker 2:

Psalm 91, one, the one who lives under the protection of the Most High, dwells, in the shadow of the Almighty, I will say, concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust, he himself will rescue you from the bird trap, from the destructive plague. He will cover you with his feathers. You will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield. You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the plague that stalks in darkness or the pestilence that ravages at noon, though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, the pestilence will not reach you. You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord my refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place. No harm will come to you, no plague will come near your tent, for he will give the angels orders concerning you to protect you in all of your ways. They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent, because he has his heart set on me. I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor. I will satisfy him with a long life and I will show him my salvation.

Speaker 2:

Guys, I hope that you will take the truth of Psalm 91 to heart as you try to process the things going on in the world right now, because the fact of the matter is, as I always tell you on this podcast, not only to God of the universe, but to people who love you, people like me who do podcasts like this you are seen, you are known, you are heard, you are loved and you are so, so valued. Guys, go take care of yourself today. Limit your social media consumption, limit your news consumption. Find somebody you trust. Remember that you have control. Find yourself some grounding techniques, breathing techniques. Remember that he will keep you in perfect peace when your mind is stayed on him. We will be back in two weeks and we will be talking about post-traumatic growth. I hope that you will join us Until next time. Say it again you are seen, you are known, you are heard, you are loved and you are so, so valued.

Speaker 1:

What if all my life I wrestle with my worry and anxiety? What if the thorn deep in my side is only there to help me see that, though I never asked for it, the desert is God's gift to me? What if the world doesn't end when the fears come true? What if we have what we need to make it through? There is manna from heaven and mercy's new. What if God is still here in the desert? God is still here in this desert. Oh,

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Amy Watson

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