10 God-Given Signals Your Body Uses to Communicate With You (and How to Finally Understand Them)

10 God-Given Signals Your Body Uses to Communicate With You (and How to Finally Understand Them)

A Christ-Centered Guide for Christian Women Who Want to Break Free From Food Anxiety & Build Body Trust

Ever wish your body came with a flashing neon sign that said:

“HEY GIRL, HERE’S EXACTLY WHAT I NEED RIGHT NOW”?

Same.
If God had handed over a user manual at birth, we’d all have saved a lot of stress, tears, diet books, and Target-braless-meltdowns in our 20s.

But here’s the beautiful truth:
Your body does come equipped with a communication system. God built it in.
Diet culture just trained you to ignore it. 😵‍💫

In episode 188 of the Faith-Filled Food Freedom Podcast, I sat down with Dr. Brooke Sheehan to unpack the exact signals your body uses to speak to you… and why so many Christian women struggle to hear them.

So today, we’re going full listicle-mode.
Simple. Practical. Biblical.
Just the way we like it. 😉

Let’s dive into the 10 major God-given signals your body uses to communicate, plus how to interpret (and actually trust) them.

1. Hunger: Your Body’s “Hey Friend, We Need Fuel” Signal

Ah yes… hunger.
The signal diet culture tried to convince you was “dangerous,” “sinful,” or some test of your holiness.

Spoiler alert:
Hunger is morally neutral. It’s simply biology.

What hunger might feel like:

• stomach growling
  
  
• headache or foggy thinking
  
  
• irritability (aka hanger 😅)
  
  
• lack of focus
  
  
• warm, empty sensation in the belly
  
  

What hunger is communicating:

“I need energy. Please don’t leave me hanging.”

Hunger is never a sign of failure.
It’s a sign of LIFE.

2. Fullness: Your Body’s “We’re Good Here” Signal

Fullness is not a stop sign sent to punish you.
It’s your body’s way of saying:

“We’ve had enough for now. Thanks for caring for me.”

But if you’ve been disconnected for a while, fullness can feel scary or unfamiliar.

What fullness might feel like:

• heavier breathing
  
  
• stomach expansion
  
  
• slowing down your eating
  
  
• sighing
  
  
• food stops tasting as good
  
  

What fullness is communicating:

“You can pause. Your needs are met.”

Not perfection. Not rules. Just information.

3. Cravings: Your Body’s “Pay Attention, Something’s Up” Signal

Cravings get a bad rap.
Diet culture told you cravings = weakness.
But actually…

Cravings = wisdom.

What cravings might mean:

• a nutrient need
  
  
• a desire for comfort or pleasure
  
  
• emotional need
  
  
• hormonal changes
  
  
• a sign of restriction
  
  

Cravings aren’t rebellion. They’re a request.

And you’re allowed to answer it without guilt.
(Yes, even the chocolate craving. Especially the chocolate craving. 🍫😉)

4. Fatigue: Your “Rest Isn’t Optional” Signal

If you’ve ever pushed through exhaustion because “everyone’s counting on me,” hi, welcome to the burnout club.

Fatigue is one of the most misinterpreted signals for Christian women who’ve been conditioned to hustle for worthiness.

Fatigue might feel like:

• droopy eyelids
  
  
• trouble concentrating
  
  
• irritability
  
  
• heavy limbs
  
  
• emotional sensitivity
  
  

What fatigue communicates:

“Pause. Slow down. Rest is holy.”

Jesus Himself rested (Mark 6:31).

Why do we think we can out-hustle the Savior? 😬

5. Stress: Your Body’s “Something Feels Threatening” Signal

Stress isn’t weakness.
It isn’t a lack of faith.
It isn’t “failing at peace.”

It’s simply your nervous system reacting to perceived danger—physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Stress might feel like:

• tight chest
  
  
• rapid heartbeat
  
  
• tense neck/shoulders
  
  
• irritability
  
  
• stomach knots
  
  

What stress communicates:

“I need grounding… and maybe Jesus, too.”

This is where somatic awareness and faith beautifully intersect.

6. Anxiety: Your “I Don’t Feel Safe Yet” Signal

Unlike stress, anxiety often sticks around after the danger has passed, or even when no actual danger exists.

It’s not you being dramatic. It’s your nervous system saying: “I’m confused and need reassurance.”

Anxiety might look like:

• a racing mind
  
  
• tightness in the belly
  
  
• trouble sleeping
  
  
• shallow breathing
  
  

Your body isn’t trying to sabotage you. It’s trying to protect you, often from old wounds that haven’t been healed.

7. Digestive Issues: Your Body’s “Something Isn’t Sitting Right” Signal

Digestive issues tell a story.
Bloating. Constipation. Pain. Nausea.
They all communicate something important.

Brooke says this ALL the time:
Your gut doesn’t lie.

Digestive discomfort might mean:

• eating too fast
   
• food intolerances
  
  
• stress responses
  
  
• lack of adequate nourishment
  
  
• hormonal shifts
  
  

Good digestion is the fruit of safety, presence, and support (emotionally AND physically).

8. Emotional Reactions: Your “Notice This” Signal

Ever snapped at your husband over something teeny tiny and thought, “Okay wow… that was not about the dirty sock on the couch.”

Yeah.
Same. 😅

That spike of emotion is communication.

Big emotions might mean:

• unmet needs
  
  
• past wounds resurfacing
  
  
• feeling disconnected from self or God
  
  
• lack of boundaries
  
  
• chronic depletion
  
  

Your body isn’t dramatic. It’s expressive.

And those emotions are invitations to pause and get curious.

9. Physical Pain: Your “Slow Down & Look Deeper” Signal

Pain is never random.
Whether it’s a headache, tight jaw, lower back tension, or full-body heaviness…

Pain is the body’s siren song saying: “Something needs your attention.”

Not punishment.
Not failure.
Not weakness.

A messenger.

And ignoring pain (especially chronic pain) doesn’t make you strong. It makes you disconnected.

10. Intuition: Your “Holy Spirit + Nervous System Working Together” Signal

Yes, this one might surprise you.
But your body has a wisdom that often moves faster than your brain.

Christians sometimes fear intuition, thinking it’s “unreliable.” But intuition, paired with discernment, is often how the Holy Spirit nudges you.

You might feel intuition as:

• uneasiness around certain people
  
  
• immediate peace about a decision
  
  
• a “pull” toward or away from something
  
  
• goosebumps when truth hits you deeply
  
  

This is not woo-woo.
It’s co-created wisdom ➡️ God-designed biology meeting Spirit-led guidance.

How to Actually Start Interpreting These Signals (Without Overthinking It)

Dr. Brooke shared a simple, four-step rhythm that helps rebuild body trust:

📌 PAUSE → CONNECT → ASK → ADJUST

Let’s break it down briefly:

1. PAUSE

Create space before reacting.

2. CONNECT

Ground yourself in your body.
Hand on your chest or stomach. Deep breath.

3. ASK

Ask ONE simple question:

• “Do I need rest?”
  
  
• “Am I hungry?”
  
  
• “Is this stress?”
  
  
• “Do I need comfort?”
  
  

4. ADJUST

Try something. Evaluate how it feels.
No shame. No “getting it wrong.”

Healing is trial and TIME, not trial and error.

3 Reasons Christian Women Struggle to Hear These Signals (It’s NOT Your Fault)

Let’s normalize this for a sec, okay?

1. Diet culture teaches you to distrust your body.

• “Ignore hunger.”
  
  
• “Don’t trust cravings.”
  
  
• “Push through fatigue.”
  It trains you to disconnect.
  
  

2. Trauma or hard seasons force the body to numb out.

Sometimes disconnecting was the safest option you had.

3. Church culture sometimes confuses flesh (sarx) with body (soma).

Your physical body is NOT sinful.
It’s God-designed. Good. Loved. A home for the Holy Spirit.

So… How Do You Build Trust With Your Body Again?

By starting small.

Slow.

Curious.

And by remembering this:

Your body is not your enemy.
Your body is not a project.
Your body is not a problem to fix.

Your body is a partner in your healing.
A messenger.
A collaborator with the Spirit of God.

When you listen:

• You reconnect.
• You rebuild trust.
• You find peace.

Want Support Rebuilding Body Trust? Here Are Your Next Steps

 

✨ 1. Join the Free Faith-Filled Food Freedom Facebook Community

Come hang out with women who GET IT and want the same healing you do.

✨ 2. Subscribe to the Faith-Filled Food Freedom Podcast

Get weekly Christ-centered encouragement, practical tools, and honest conversations.

✨ 3. Ready for the deeper work? Explore The Joy-Filled Eater Course.

It’s where Christian women finally break free from food rules, body anxiety, and guilt.

Final Encouragement

You don’t have to get this perfect.
You don’t have to interpret every signal flawlessly.
You don’t have to trust your body 100% starting tomorrow.

Just begin.

One pause. One question. One signal at a time.

And watch what happens when you treat your body not as an enemy to be controlled…
but as a God-designed companion to be understood.

I’m cheering for you, friend.
Always. 💛

Brittany Braswell, RD