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Why Your Nervous System Might Be at War With Modern Life
A viral TikTok video is striking a deep chord with viewers who say it perfectly explains why they're exhausted, anxious, and burned out. The message? It's not just you—your nervous system may be in survival mode all the time.
Brittany Piper, a 36-year-old Somatic Experiencing® practitioner and author of Body-First Healing, posted a video in March that's now racked up nearly half a million views. In it, she argues that our modern lives are fundamentally out of sync with what the human body—and especially the nervous system—was built to handle.
'It is my personal and professional belief that the drastic rise we are seeing in chronic physical and mental illness can be attributed to this one thing,' Piper says. 'We have created a world that our nervous system no longer wants to live in.'
Piper compares the nervous system to a security alarm, constantly scanning for danger. In our fast-paced, hyper-connected world, it's often triggered, not just by traumatic events, but by everyday stressors like digital overload, political division, economic uncertainty, and social disconnection. The result? Our bodies stay locked in survival states like fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown, flooding us with cortisol and adrenaline.
She told Newsweek that this ongoing activation can lead to anxiety, fatigue, pain, and other chronic issues.
'Many of the symptoms we face today at alarming rates,' she said, 'are not random symptoms, but the body's intelligent responses to overwhelm.'
Piper's video has struck a nerve with thousands of viewers who say they've been desperate for answers, and her explanation finally makes sense of what they've been feeling.
Her advice? Healing doesn't mean pushing harder. It means slowing down, grounding yourself, and building awareness of what your body is trying to tell you.
Piper suggests starting with small actions: feel your feet on the ground, notice your breath, or identify something comforting in your environment. These steps, she says, can build a sense of internal safety and help regulate the nervous system.
'Healing is less about doing more,' Piper adds, 'and more about doing less, with more attunement.'
As conversations around mental health, trauma, and somatic therapy gain mainstream traction, Piper's viral theory offers both validation and a practical path forward, especially for those who feel like they're stuck in overdrive.
Why Your Nervous System Might Be at War With Modern Life first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 5, 2025
