What Is Survival Mode?
What is survival mode? Is it just one bad day, or is it something more?
Maybe you heard another working mom say she is in survival mode and you weren’t quite sure what she was talking about.
You are not alone. While survival mode is common among working homeschool moms it is not a topic often discussed.
If you find yourself questioning, “Why am I in survival mode?” it’s crucial to begin by understanding what survival mode actually entails.
In this post, I’ll break down what survival mode is, its definition, and what being in survival mode might look like for you.
Before I started working and homeschooling, I had never heard of the term survival mode because no one was talking about it.
Moms were struggling just to make it through the day exhausted and overwhelmed, blaming themselves for not being enough.
But after experiencing survival mode myself, I’ve learned to recognize the signs that I might be in survival mode.
I’m talking about what survival mode is because I feel it’s a conversation worth having. The more you know about survival mode, the easier it is to understand what you are experiencing and make a plan to get out!
Survival Mode Meaning
“Survival mode” is the term I use when I’m overwhelmed by difficult life circumstances, managing my job, homeschooling my kids, and I just can’t seem to get everything done.
The truth is only some moms experience this shift. If you managed to skip survival mode, that’s great!
You may find this information about survival mode helpful if you see a friend who looks like she is surviving survival mode.
When we are talking about survival mode, we mean trying to survive the moment we are living in.
When life feels so hard, you can’t think of anything else but making it through the day.
Survival Mode Definition
When it comes to searching, “what is survival mode?” you’ll get a few different definitions.
According to Collins Dictionary, the definition of survival mode is:
“…survival of something or someone, you mean that they manage to continue or exist in spite of difficult circumstances.”
Let’s break down the definition of survival mode into practical terms.
Being in survival mode means that when you are in those “difficult circumstances” and are stressed, worried, or anxious your brain and body take notice.
At that moment, you switch from a thinking brain to a survival brain.
This means you (and I) stop being able to make rational decisions, self-reflect, or be intentional with our thoughts and actions. We can’t figure out how to find the time to work and homeschool the kids.
Instead, our brains are focused on keeping us alive. This is great in emergency situations but not great for long-term situations.
Causes Of Survival Mode
As a mom who works full time and homeschools full time, I have many different responsibilities on my plate.
I’ll never forget the day I broke down in my living room, sobbing my heart out because I could not do one more thing.
It was intense, unnecessary, but very real.
Survival mode can be caused or triggered by significant shifts and added stress in our lives, such as losing a job, losing power for weeks, moving, or having a baby, just to name a few examples.
As you can see, survival mode can be triggered by various things, including losing a loved one in death, experiencing trauma, loss, or changes in our life.
Changes, both big and small, impact us differently, and we may find ourselves acting, saying, and doing things we never thought we would.
Whether you are already working and adding homeschooling to your life or you are already homeschooling and entering the workplace, this change can activate survival instincts pushing you right into survival mode!
What Does It Feel Like To Be In Survival Mode?
If you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off and drowning in everyday tasks of doing too much while working and homeschooling, you might be experiencing survival mode.
Or you might feel like you are running through a long congested tunnel with no end in sight. You are totally focused on making it through the next 24 hours.
When you’re living in survival mode, you feel like you’ll never dig yourself out of the hole.
We’ve all been there. Kids to homeschool, lessons to plan, a boss or client to juggle, a house to run, food to shop for and prepare, sickness, moving, and a host of all kinds of other stressors can push a working homeschool mom into survival mode.
And for some of you, living in survival mode becomes a way of life. It is what you do.
You go to work, you homeschool the kids, you make sure the kids stay alive, and it becomes “normal” for you to live in this cycle.
Survival Mode Resources:
If you are in survival mode, I want to encourage you with these resources to help you find encouragement and hope:
If you find yourself living in survival mode, one thing that can help you while you are in this moment with overwhelm is to create a daily cleaning schedule that keeps up with the day-to-day mess.
When the spaces we work in are cluttered, it makes it harder for us to mentally to handle the task.
What Is Survival Mode? And What’s Next?
What is survival mode, you ask?
Simply put, survival mode is when something like trauma, prolonged grief, or even burnout causes our brains to enter survival mode.
We end up focusing on surviving the moment, unable to make intentional decisions or choices.
While survival mode is caused by various things and looks different for everyone if you find yourself in survival mode, the next step is to create an action plan and learn how to get out of survival mode.
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Hi, I’m Jen. I help working moms juggle their career and homeschool their kids by providing support, systems and tools. You are warmly invited to Join the Online Community Here!
