Autonomy survival style: “I just need more space”

I’ve been reading a book by Laurence Heller called, “Healing Developmental Trauma,” where he talks about four different strategies around connection – we can develop depending on needs that may have gone unmet for us.

This post is a summary, in my own words, of what he shares about “autonomy survival” strategy.

If you struggle with this “Autonomy Survival Style,” you are in a bind.

You feel pressured from all sides.

You feel torn.

You often feel victimized by people’s demands.

And you don’t feel that she can speak up directly about your needs or feelings without endangering love. But the anger at feeling like you can’t be who you are must go somewhere, and it often comes out sideways.

If this sounds like you, you came by it honestly.

Here’s how it probably went down…

You reached an age when you were little when you could start speaking, and walking, and exploring. You had the natural impulses all little kids do: You needed to explore.

You needed to say “No!”

You needed to test the boundaries and find out what your body and your words were capable of.

You needed to develop a sense of your own voice, and your own space.

And then you were stopped.

A parent or caregiver, maybe without meaning to, stopped you. So, you were not allowed to explore. Or you did not get to say “no,” did not get to test the boundaries, did not find out what your body and words were capable of.

You did not develop a sense of your own voice, your own space.

So, you did what any child would do in that situation, what you had to do: You stuck close to the parent.

You smiled, you cuddled, maybe you said “I love you” more times than you wanted to. Or maybe you left your toys behind to stay close to Mommy or Daddy, because they needed you.
So, it looked like you never developed your own independence, your own individuality, your own preferences.

But not really. It was there. You hid it deep inside. On the outside, you were loving, compliant. But on the inside, a part of you stayed separate. This part is isolated, hidden from the world, and perhaps hidden even from your own conscious awareness. The needs and behaviors driven by this part of you can seem uncontrollable, and like they come out of left field.

Suppose you had this history and this problem.

What would you notice after you’re no longer a child, and you’ve grown up now?

Probably, some of these:

  • You are good at figuring out what other people want.
  • You are intensely aware of other people’s needs and feelings.
  • You find it hard to say no.
  • You procrastinate.
  • You find yourself feeling inexplicably tired, fatigued, and ill.
  • You experience chronic pain or repeated injuries.
  • You are lonely, even in a relationship.

So why is this?

Let’s look at it this way – you have two parts that developed out of your childhood experiences:

  1. The part that learned to live up to expectations. This part probably to learned to read other people. In fact, this part learned to stay one step ahead of others, perceiving what they want, what they feel, and what they need. This part imagines that its sleuthing and pleasing is the only thing that makes you acceptable to others. Your self-concept may include only this part and leave out this next part.
  2. The part that protects your independence. This part is fiercely protective of your space. This part is often hidden and may feel guilty that it even exists because it is working at cross purposes to the “good child” part. Yet this part is essential. This part is trying to maintain your sense of self but has never been allowed to do this directly. This part sometimes sabotages the first part’s efforts to help others. This part sets boundaries indirectly, for example, through telling half-truths, through procrastination, through fatigue. If you’re not aware of the job this part has, you and people close to you can feel constantly blindsided.

These parts are both doing their very best to protect you.

One wants to protect your relationships and holds a deep fear that no one will really care about you or like you if you aren’t scrambling to always please other people. This doesn’t leave a lot of space for you!

The other part wants to make a space for you. It is often (quite understandably!) angry at the situation it finds you in, though you may not be aware of this anger.

And then, there’s you. You are more than the sum of these two parts. Much more. While both parts of you have something they contribute, they sometimes obscure how sensitive, caring, and perceptive you truly are.

When I work with someone with this style, I get very interested in helping you find out who you are. How do you do that?

You resolve the conflicts between these two parts, recognizing that they’re ultimately working toward the same goals. This, in turn, will give you your own authentic voice, neither a pushover nor pushing away.

You discover your sensitivity and your creativity.

You discover that there’s more room for you within relationships.

You discover a new softness and a new strength.

You also get my encouragement to be yourself: to say no!

To disagree. To protest all the times you spend pleasing others.

People with this style discover more and more authenticity in our work together as they experience welcome and the repeated encouragement to have a voice, to speak up for what they really want, feel, and need.

If you developed this Autonomy Survival Style, I know it hasn’t been easy. But along the way, you’ve picked up some tremendously valuable skills that most people don’t have, including an accurate sensitivity to others.

You learned to bury your deepest gifts and your depth and your passions deep inside. Maybe you’ve been pleasing, placating, distracting, “shoulding” yourself, and feeling angry and stuck for years.

But who you are has been protected.

Now you can find who you really are.

Easy? Well, it takes time, encouragement, and play.

Liberating? Very much so!

Moving? Definitely.

I love when people who’ve been hiding behind these defenses for years start to peek out and show who they are.

I value their “no’s” as they flow genuine; I value their “Yeses” as increasingly trustworthy.

They learn to value alone time and relationships, and to stop pleasing and start connecting.

You can do this, too.

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