Do you have a dysregulated nervous system?
Last week I made my annual trip to Arizona to visit my parents and get a break from the winter cold.
The night before I was feeling super anxious and didn’t get much sleep as my brain spent most of the night trying to figure out how I would fit everything for 11 days into my carry-on suitcase (I managed) and if I would have enough time to get everything done before I left (I did).
My anxiety, and the adrenaline it produced, caused me to wake up earlier than I needed to so I ended up having what felt like worlds of time before I had to leave. So much time in fact, that I accomplished even more than I anticipated and set myself up for an easier transition upon my return.
Despite all my extra time and accomplished tasks I couldn’t relax.
I kept racking my brain thinking there was something I was forgetting to do.
Why did I have so much time?
Was I missing something?
Did I make a mistake in my planning?
Despite my surface anxiety, I knew that this was just a case of my nervous system being in a dysregulated state and that in reality everything was totally and completely fine.
What is a dysregulated nervous system?
It is when the two parts of our autonomic nervous system: the sympathetic or fight/flight response and our parasympathetic or rest/digest response, become out of balance in the direction of our sympathetic response becoming the dominate response. Our nervous system is then so used to being on high alert it therefore thinks that stress is the "normal" response.
While the fear or anxiety may not feel comfortable to us, it is the state our nervous system is most familiar with and it can actually feel uncomfortable to our nervous system when things seem safe and calm.
So it starts to look for things to be anxious about or create scenarios that increase our stress levels (like being chronically late), even if that's not consciously what we desire..
Common things can dysregulate our nervous system like stress, poor sleep, traumatic events (like a global pandemic), chronic anxiety and relationship conflict.
In addition, interacting with others who are in a dysregulated state can dysregulate our own nervous system.
How do you know when you’re in a dysregulated state?
Being in a dysregulated state could look like difficulty focusing, trouble sleeping, digestive problems, physical pain or tension and having a hard time regulating your emotions.
In the car to the airport I could certainly notice multiple dysregulated signs in myself.
A monkey-mind that made it hard to focus ✅
Feeling wired and having been unable to sleep ✅
A disproportionate amount of anxiety for the situation ✅
The good news is that there are a lot of quick techniques to easily bring the nervous system back into a regulated state and so I used my time in transit to put this knowledge into practice.
When we use the support of these tools it can help change how our nervous system responds to our experiences, how our brain perceives them and the physiological reaction our body has to them, which can greatly impact our health, wellbeing and the overall joy we are able to experience in our lives.
Stress is a part of life, but it doesn’t have to rule it.
When I learned that simple fact, it changed my life.
It empowered me to feel confident in being able to handle any situation in my life and I’m always grateful when those situations do arise and I know I have the tools to take care of myself.
My travel reminded me that you can never go back to the basics too many times.
So that’s what I wanted to do for you today.
Here are 3 steps to help you regulate your nervous system:
Repattern your response: Stimulate neurovascular points by rubbing circles on temples with the tips of your fingers.
Relax your nervous system: Sedate the triple warmer meridian by placing hands palms down on opposite shoulders and running hands down the backs of the arms and off the backs of the hands.
Regulate your nervous system: Hold your head still while slowly moving eyes over to the right. Hold them there for 30 seconds and then slowly move them over to the left and hold for 30 seconds.
Remember, the more you practice the more quickly your body learns to respond in these new patterns. I would love to hear how it goes. Comment below or reach out to me via the contact page to share your experience.
