How harmonious is your nervous system?
A regulated, and therefore harmonious nervous system is one that can move flexibly between different states of arousal proportionately to the stressors in the environment. Once a stressor has ceased, the nervous system returns easily to safety, security and social engagement.
If dysregulated, the arousal responses will be out of balance, resulting in hyper-sensitive, or chronic activation of ‘fight/flight’ or ‘freeze/collapse’ responses.
Everybody’s nervous system is unique. The question is, how well do you know yours? And what can you do to support a harmonious system?
Cultural influence
In our cultural (and in my opinion, unhealthy) norm of being switched on 24/7 with an incessant onslaught of information coming our way, it is no surprise chronically dysregulated nervous systems (and therefore chronic stress) are on the rise. According to the NCBI, 75-90% of human disease is related to the activation of the stress system.
But it’s not just our day -to-day stresses that lead to dysregulation. It is often rooted in unresolved trauma and unprocessed emotions. Without processing and integration, these past experiences remain stored in the body, creating subconscious reactivity patterns and disturbances in our day-to-day lives, but it becomes so normal to us, we cease to notice.
How does my nervous system work?
Your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is one branch of the nervous system, regulating the things you do without thinking about them. They are automatic, meaning you have no conscious control over them. This includes interpreting and responding to signals of safety and danger.
Everyone responds uniquely to these signals. What is perceived as dangerous to one person, may feel safe to another. By learning to understand your unique responses, you are empowered to make choices that support your nervous system, creating harmony.
It’s important here to make a distinction between real and perceived danger. This article focuses on perceived danger – where logically, you know you are safe, but your nervous system has interpreted otherwise, activating you into a fight, flight or freeze response, to defend you.
What is fight, flight and freeze?
When danger is perceived, you are conditioned to either fight the danger, or flee from it. Adrenaline courses through your body, emotional reactivity is heightened, and your heart rate increases, whilst non-essential bodily processes are placed on hold.
Where fighting or fleeing are not available, we freeze or collapse – the last line of defence your nervous system has. Freeze or collapse looks like overwhelm, powerlessness, and ‘shut down’. Procrastination, feeling stuck, burned out, and even depression, are all part of this response.
Remember, the main role of your nervous system is safety and survival – to do what is necessary to survive. It is a marvellous and incredible ‘built-in’ protection system that has evolved throughout human history.
The challenge is, when our programming becomes dysfunctional, we experience sustained activation of fight, flight and freeze meaning our window of tolerance is small, we are easily activated into these responses.
What triggers my fight, flight and freeze?
Your ANS is always scanning for cues of safety and danger, any perceived or real threat will trigger a response. Potential triggers come from people, places, situations and experiences. How they are interpreted depends greatly on your past and your core belief system: Is the world a safe or dangerous place?
You are subconsciously filtering the world through your unique lens of experience. As your ANS scans the environment, it references your memory bank and interprets what has been detected, before choosing an automatic response. Your past is influencing your present moment – not always for the better.
Awareness is empowerment
If your ‘filter’ (as mine was) is distorted by trauma and painful emotional imprints, you might spend more time in fight/flight/freeze, and less time in safety.
For many, chronic stress and dysregulation has become so ‘normal’ it goes unnoticed until a crisis point is reached. For me, it was a major burnout. Whilst it ultimately became my breakthrough, I would not wish it on anyone. Of course, recognition and awareness are empowering. Once you know better, you can learn to do better.
Turning things around
Increasing evidence shows sustained activation of fight/flight/freeze responses can dramatically affect your wellbeing, with long term health implications, but it IS possible to make impactful changes. It’s like turning a very large ship. With consistency and patience, it will eventually turn around.
Here are some simple suggestions to get you started:
Lifestyle changes:
Stop trying to keep up with the modern pace of life. Yes really – change the busy-culture. Ask yourself if you can:
- Ditch it?
- Delegate it?
- Do it?
Ditch or delegate as many of the things that feel detrimental to your wellbeing as possible. Begin to experience JOMO – the joy of missing out!
Claim the first 30-minutes of the day as your own. Have a ‘Do Not Disturb’ policy in your household (except for emergencies and unavoidable responsibilities). During these 30-minutes:
- Keep your phone switched off or on silent, and avoid media of any kind
- Move your body (stretch, dance, shake it out) or try meditating
- Take some time outside to breathe in fresh air
Regulation tools
There are a lot of regulation tools that can support you. I share several of them in a ‘Know your Nervous System’ journey, which is a one-to-one personalized nervous system mapping process.
One of my favourite breathing techniques can be used reactively, which you can use reactively (when you feel activated) and proactively (to help build resilience).
Voo Breathing
Step 1 – Deep breath: Take a deep breath in, fill your whole belly and chest.
Step 2 – Make a ‘Voo’ sound: As you exhale, make the sound ‘vooooooo’ so that you feel the vibration in your throat and chest. Keep going until all breath has been expelled from your belly and chest.
Step 3 – Repeat: Do this at least 3 to 5 times. Incorporate it daily to build resilience. You will probably start to yawn as your nervous system calms.
Perhaps you can try these suggestions for 30-days and notice how you feel. Consistent practice is best, and if you keep a brief journal to monitor the changes you experience you might be surprised by what you find!
Remember, your nervous system is simply trying to keep you safe, and your role is to facilitate that happening in the healthiest and most harmonious way.”
Article by More to Life Elder – Carli Thorpe
Article published in More to Life – Edition 68
