For eleven years, I worked with people experiencing homelessness.

Some days the conversations felt less like healthcare and more like hostage negotiation.

When someone’s nervous system is already in full-blown emergency mode, you don’t begin by arguing with them. You don’t force change. You learn to slow down, build trust, and help them feel safe enough to take the next step.

Over time, I noticed something that stayed with me long after those conversations ended.

And it’s this: many of us have a similar relationship with our own body.

We wait until it’s shouting before we listen.

A panic attack.

A migraine.

An upset stomach.

Burnout.

By the time we finally pay attention, we’re trying to negotiate with a nervous system that has been asking for our attention for months—or years.

The best health outcomes I witnessed didn’t come from fear or force.

They came from relationship.

From helping people feel safe enough to notice what was happening before the crisis.

That realization changed the way I think about healing.

I no longer believe the body suddenly turns against us.

I think it whispers.

It nudges. It asks. It waits.

And when those whispers go unanswered long enough, it finds louder ways to get our attention… not to punish but to protect us.

I wonder how many conversations our bodies have tried to start long before we realized anyone was speaking.