Nervous System Regulation: Your First Response to Trauma
If you’ve experienced any kind of trauma or other types of experiences that still intrude or interrupt your everyday life, this article offers some basics on how past trauma influences the present body-mind - and introduces you to some effective ways to bring yourself back into physical/emotional/mental balance when you’re in the midst of struggle.
WHAT IS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM?
The nervous system is an organized and sophisticated network of nerve tissue (brain, spinal cord, nerves) that transmits signals between the brain and the rest of the body. It’s like a vast information highway that allows us to perceive and interpret our environment.
The activity of the nervous system controls our ability to breathe, move, see, digest - and maybe more significantly - these electrical signals are brought together to create sensations, to produce thoughts and feelings, and to learn and shape memory.
Last month, I shared how trauma actually alters the brain in a way that - when one is reminded of the trauma in some way, even unconsciously - an echo of the emotional feeling-state of the trauma is re-lived -
And past and present become muddied (which supports Gabor’s Mate’s definition of trauma which is essentially when a person responds to a present moment as if it were the past).
The Elevated Nervous System and Higher Level Brain Function
Strong emotions, which are in essence past emotional memories like fear, anger, and helplessness all influence our nervous system in potent ways (fight-flight, freeze, fawn). Even more acceptable emotions like joy can be disruptive to the nervous system by “revving our internal engine” and stealing our focus.
When our nervous system becomes triggered by strong emotions or traumatic emotional memories, we lose access to certain higher level brain functions, most notably the areas that control our ability to judge, reason, or communicate maturely and effectively.
Luckily, there are ways to support yourself when your nervous system becomes elevated (or collapsed) which, especially for those who have experienced trauma, is vital to maintaining long term health and vitality.
Let’s learn about the various nervous system states, how to identify them, and how to help ourselves move between them.
REGULATED OR DYSREGULATED
The nervous system has two states: regulated and dysregulated.
REGULATED: THE WINDOW OF TOLERANCE = SAFE & SOCIAL
The Window of Tolerance is the sweet spot within our nervous system where we have access to all of our emotional resources, allowing us to think or feel clearly, to make informed decisions, and to communicate effectively with others.
We're able to be present, engaged, and adaptable.
When our nervous systems are engaged within the sweet spot of our Window of Tolerance, we are in a regulated nervous system state. We feel emotionally safe and motivated to engage with others.
When we are regulated, our sympathetic nervous system (responsible for our fight-or-flight response) and our parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for our rest-and-digest response) work in harmony to allow us to adapt to our environment with ease and confidence.
It's like finding the perfect temperature for a bath. Too hot or too cold and you're uncomfortable, but when the temperature’s just right, you feel soothed and relaxed. The wider our Window of Tolerance, the more we have access to that ease and confidence, which means we feel more capable of responding to life’s twists and turns.
When we're outside of our Window of Tolerance – either too high or too low in arousal – this makes it harder to control our emotions and actions.
DYSREGULATED = MOBILIZED OR IMMOBILIZED
When we are outside of our Window of Tolerance, we are in a dysregulated nervous system state.
Essentially, we go from connection to protection.
A dysregulated nervous system can cause us to react inappropriately by overreacting (mobilized) or underreacting (immobilized) to stressors. When left untended, this state can manifest with both mental and physical signs and symptoms, some of which include:
Anxiety
Panic
Lack of concentration
Depression
Sleep disturbances/Insomnia
Irritability
Exhaustion
Addictive tendencies
Appetite fluctuations
Digestive problems
Chronic stress, high blood pressure, feeling on high alert
Immune system changes
Other common expressions or behaviors of a dysregulated nervous system are lying, aggressiveness, shutting down, being argumentative and vindictive, and outbursts of rage.
HYPER- and HYPO-arousal
When the nervous system is dysregulated, it will either express as a state of hyperarousal or hypo-arousal.
Hyperarousal refers to a state of being overly aroused or activated (mobilized) in the nervous system. It's characterized by one or more of the following: a state of high alertness, increased heart rate and blood pressure, warmth in the face, heat or vibration in the hands and/or feet, and/or difficulty calming down or relaxing.
People who experience hyperarousal feel constantly on edge and struggle to relax. The fight-or-flight response is a classic example of hyperarousal.
Hyperarousal can be caused by stress, trauma (including echoes of past trauma), medical conditions, or mental health conditions.
Hypo-arousal is another form of dysregulation and refers to the nervous system being under-aroused or under-activated (immobilized).
People who experience hypoarousal may feel sluggish, detached, and disconnected. They may struggle to concentrate or make decisions.
Hypoarousal can be caused by depression, trauma, chronic fatigue, or medical conditions like fibromyalgia, dysautonomia, or chronic pain.
[NOTE: It’s important to note that when we talk about hypoarousal, we aren’t talking about “zen relaxation.” Hypoarousal is not the same thing as being calm and relaxed (that’s the Window of Tolerance). Hypoarousal is when we have too little energy and alertness in the body and is characterized by low energy and difficulty becoming aroused or motivated.]
Have you ever experienced one of these dysregulated states? Does one seem more “familiar” to you?
RE-REGULATING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: RETURNING TO YOUR WINDOW
“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do so has increased.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Once you are able to recognize your own dysregulated nervous system state, there are a myriad of ways to respond in order to guide yourself back into your Window of Tolerance, or to re-regulate your nervous system.
The most readily available and effective ways to re-regulate the nervous system are through breath, touch, sound, and movement.
Downregulating
When you are in a hyperaroused state, you want to calm or down-regulate the nervous system.
Some strategies for downregulation include deep breathing, meditation, soothing touch (hand on heart, hugs including self-hugs), and intuitive movement.
Upregulating
When you are in a hypo-aroused state, you want to stimulate or up-regulate the nervous system in order to return to your Window.
Some strategies for up-regulation include physical activity, cold water on your head or neck for 30 seconds, vigorous touch (tapping, skin grabbing, massage), making yourself physically or energetically “bigger” (ex: standing in a Wonder Woman pose for 2 minutes), and rapid breath work.
Humming, chanting, and laughter can be a support to either state.
Learning to recognize when you are out of your Window of Tolerance and which re-regulation techniques work for your specific nervous system response takes time and experimentation.
The good news is that, with intentional practice, nervous system regulation can become almost automatic - and even more powerful - you can learn to interrupt the dysregulation process altogether, widening your Window of Tolerance, which creates a snowball effect that makes emotional processing more efficient, effective, and gentler on you.
I’m sharing more details and offering detailed, guided practices of these nervous system regulation techniques in The Woo Underground Membership this month.
If you’re ready to become empowered by past trauma instead of ruled by it, I encourage you to join us here in the only online community that offers alternative healing for people in alternative lifestyles.
In wholeness,
Sharon
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