Sharing my thoughts on regulating our nervous systems, and why a regulated nervous system is so powerful

The phrase ‘regulated nervous system’ is bandied about a lot! In this blog I want to share my understanding of what regulating our nervous system means, and what the benefits are of doing the work so that we spend more time with a regulated rather than dysregulated nervous system.

But firstly, I’ll share a brief insight into my experience of a dysregulated nervous system. 

For me it was about being stuck in the ‘flight or flight’ response, being stuck in a stressed state, hypervigilant to threats. You might be familiar with that feeling of ‘being wired’ or with a mind that is constantly churning through problems, or catastrophising. And I was so practiced at operating in that state, that I was able to mask it well. People would often comment on how calm I was! 

Over the years, yes YEARS, of operating in that state my health took a massive toll. 

But I found my way out of that stuck state, and into a regulated nervous system. And that doesn't mean I live a life without stress. What it means is I can have a stress response, I notice it, and then I can switch back out quite quickly. Essentially using the stress response as it was intended; to give a kick of adrenaline, to fire me up for something, or to flag that something is wrong.  But I don’t stay there. 

And if I find that I can’t switch back out of that stressed state, I know there will be a reason. And that I have the power to explore, to work through it, and to take action.  

So what is the Nervous System: It’s the command centre for your body, it sends signals throughout your body. 

A Regulated Nervous System is one that can flip between different states based on need easily.  For example, if you have a fright your nervous system will switch into survival mode, then once the fright passes your nervous system switches back into rest and digest mode. 

A Disregulated Nervous System is one that gets stuck. For optimum health (physical, emotional and mental), we want to live with a Regulated Nervous System as much as possible.

There are 3 states of the Nervous System:

• Sympathetic (Fight or Flight)

• Parasympathetic Dorsal Vagal Complex (Freeze or Fawn)

• Parasympathetic Ventral Vagal Complex (Rest and Digest)

Each of these states has a purpose, and it’s not ‘wrong’ to be in any one of these. But we find in modern society that many of us spend a large amount of time in the first two states; Sympathetic or Parasympathetic Dorsal Vagal Complex, and can get stuck there, we become dysregulated. 

Here’s a little overview of the 4 states that we can often get stuck in.

The first two states are when we may feel we’re wired, or stuck on, and can’t calm down. 

Fight - often associated with anger, frustration, irritability, reactive, loud, confrontational, or aggressive. A classic example is road rage. 

Flight - often associated with worry, anxiety, catastrophising, defensiveness, avoidance, rushing, desire to run away, avoidance, perfectionism, or continuously pushing forward. A classic example is overworking.

These next two states are when we may feel stuck off and shut down.

Freeze - often associated with procrastination, chronically fatigued, burned out, numb, spaced out, or struggling to listen or interact with others. A classic example is being unable to get out of bed, or off the sofa. 

Fawn - often associated with people pleasing, hypervigilance, lacking boundaries, not saying no, codependency, or feeling overly responsible for others. A classic example is doing what people say even when you don’t want to.

You may already spot which is the state you find yourself most stuck in. 

Now I could go into all the health conditions and chronic illness that having a dysregulated nervous system can contribute to. 

But instead I’m just going to leave it with the simple message; that being stuck in these states FEELS BAD. 

And instead I’ll focus on what having a regulated nervous system can bring you. Here are some of my personal examples:

• Perspective

• Clear thinking

• Energy

• Optimism

• Opportunities

• Resilience

• Confidence

• Capability

• Peace

• Calm

• Glimmers (little moments of joy)

• Appreciation

• Gratitude

• Connection

• Friendship

• Love

And it is these qualities that make training ourselves to have a regulated nervous system worth the work. 

What is the work; the training?

It’s about training ourselves to switch out of those 4 states, reminding our bodies and minds that they are able to switch out of those states. And what switches us out will be unique to each of us and may change over time. 

Although what we need to do will be unique to each of us, there are many tools and techniques that have been shown to work. So it’s about finding the best that work for you, and this may include creating your own tools.

Listed below are common examples:

• Meditation

• Breathwork

• Walking in Nature

• Laughter

• Movement

• Shaking

• Essential Oils or Remedies

• Journalling

• Visualisation

• Restful activities (reading, bath, a movie)

• Gardening

• ............

And within each of those there can be many variations.

So if as you’ve read this blog, you’ve recognised that you’re stuck in one of those 4 states, then a good starting point could be starting to explore some of the ideas above. Or thinking back to what has worked in the past for you, and starting to explore from there.

In closing

I want to leave you with a few closing thoughts. 

Having experienced a dysregulated nervous system for many years, and being stuck often in Flight, but sometimes in Fight, Freeze and Fawn, I know its challenges. 

I also know the power of practices like Yoga, Meditation, Breathwork, and Nature Bathing (being in nature and taking it in) to help switch out of those states. 

But to really re-train our nervous system it takes Work, so don’t be discouraged if what you try doesn't work at first. Experiment and find the tools, techniques, and experiences that work for you. It takes time.

And for some it may also require deeper work. For me it required a wholesale change in my life, exiting a business and starting again. And it also required a hell of a lot of work on myself. 

But the benefits of spending more time within our regulated nervous system is worth the Work. 

Those wholesale changes I made have led me to a place where I now get to share what I learned. Through my Yoga teachings I enable Yogis to practice many of the tools I mentioned above and through Coaching I get to empower people to do the deeper work. 

If this blog has made you curious to find out more about what I do, then you can find out more about my Coaching Programmes and Yoga offerings on my website. And if you want to find out first about new offerings and releases then sign up to my Newsletter (a twice a month sharing of wisdom and an inspiration boost).