You might have heard this term out and about. Or perhaps the phrase "fight or flight".
But what is it?
What does it mean?
How do I do it?
I hope I can answer those questions and more in this post.
But firstly, please note: "Relaxing is not the same thing as regulating your nervous system". You can be laying on your sofa and still be in fight or flight. Or you can be walking your dog, and still be overthinking and causing stress for your body and mind.
In fact, if your body has been running on autopilor for years, or even decasdes, it actually won't know even how to relax, how to truly relax. Isn't that a crazy thought?
You see, your nervous sytem is like a muscle. You need to train it. And any muscle that we do train, gets stronger. If you have been in a constant state of fight or flight (or freeze), the sympathetic branch of our nervous system grows stronger and more dominant.
For example, if you experienced trauma 10 years ago and you've been anxious ever since then... then it's as is you've spent ten years exercising and strengthening that "fight or flight" muscle. That pattern and biais in the body.
So how do you break out of this? It takes practice to strengthen the other branch of your nervous system, called the parasympathetic nervous system, or "rest and digest" as it's known. Why is it called that? Because that's what your body is able to do in that state .. to rest and digest. And in the 'fright or flight' state, it shuts off digestion and shuts of healing and repair of the body too - one of the reasons that being in that state long term is so damaging to mind and body.
However, it's important to note, that it might actually feel "unsafe" at first to practise "rest and digest" and that's simply because the body and mind aren't used to it. They're used to being in a hypervigilant state, the "fright, flight, freeze" state.
9 Ways to Regulate your Nervous System:
Deep breathing exercises
Meditation
Spending time in nature
Yoga, pilates, stretching
Try a weighted blanket
Journaling eg. Gratitude Journal
Visualisation
Setting boundaries / Learning to say no
Therapy / Coaching and putting learnings into practise
It is by practicing these techniques regularly that you can begin to feel more in control of your body and your emotions. If you have chronic symptoms or chronic illness, you might even notice a reduction in bothersome symptoms.
Are you dealing with a Chronic Illness?
Your nervous system helps regulate your body's stress responses, so when you're dealing with a chronic illness, your nervous system can very easily become dysregulated. This can lead to symptoms including: stress, anxiety, depression, pain, fatigue. Try the techiques above, regularly, to help reguate your nervous system again and reduce those symptoms.
For further help on how to do this, the benefits and for a personalised approach, please book a 1:1 Consultation today.