What is Nervous System Regulation?
Our nervous systems are designed to know how to flow, but sometimes — they get stuck.
Stress and trauma impact our bodies on a cellular level that disrupts our nervous system’s innate knowing of flowing. When we’re in flow, our nervous systems can seamlessly shift from states of moving+mobilizing, resting+digesting, and socially connecting.
However, when the overwhelm of stress or traumatic shock are experienced, our nervous systems can become stuck in physiological patterns of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn — AKA nervous system dysregulation.
And if our systems stay stuck, nervous system symptoms* can show up:
Fight or Flight Symptoms: Panic attacks, hyper-vigilance (being “on guard” all times), acute and persistent muscle tension or bracing patterns, anxiety, digestion issues, difficulty sleeping, persistent feelings of rage or hostility, inability to relax, exaggerated emotional and startle responses, flashbacks, nightmares or night terrors
Freeze or Shutdown Symptoms: Chronic fatigue, somatic dissociation (feeling “floaty” or disconnected from ones physical body), persistent lack of energy, feeling collapsed / frozen / numb, difficulty accessing emotions, spaced-out feelings, memory challenges, difficulty concentrating, low blood pressure
Fawn Symptoms: “People-pleasing”, challenges with setting boundaries or saying “no”, conflict avoidance, disconnection from own needs, hyper-attunement to others’ emotions, feeling responsible for others’ actions or moods, shame or guilt in asserting own needs
Left stuck, this can also lead to syndromes*, such as:
Chronic pain, migraines, headaches, vertigo, rapid heart rate, heart arrhythmias, POTS (rapid heartbeat and fainting), regional complex pain syndrome (CRPS), fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), asthma, certain auto-immune conditions.
And…
Somatic Experiencing can help with getting unstuck by working with the physiological effects of such symptoms and supporting our nervous systems to return to their innate knowing of flowing — AKA nervous system regulation.
*While nervous system dysregulation can be a result of stress conditions and trauma, a medical professional should always be consulted when experiencing such symptoms or syndromes to rule out other possible causes or influences.