Nervous System Resilience

I just read this quote in a book by @yung_pueblo “don’t trust the way you see yourself when your mind is full of turbulence” and it got me thinking about how when we are dysregulated, our brain produces thoughts that match the state of disharmony that our body is experiencing. In a state of dysregulation, our mind tends to filter it’s perception through a lens of fear, negativity, or catastrophizing. This is why it’s important not to trust the thought processes that take place when the nervous  system is dysregulated.

How to know when you’re dysregulated? On one end of the spectrum of dysregulation we may experience hyperarousal: fight or flight in the nervous system, anxiety, panic, racing thoughts, feeling keyed up, restless; and on the other end we may experience hypoarousal: freeze mode in the nervous system, numbness, shut down, dissociated.

We can also experience a mix of some of these internal experiences at the same time.

So when the mind is turbulent, it can be indicative that the nervous system is dysregulated.

. Once the nervous system finds relief and comes back to its “chill” zone, the mind follows suit, producing calm thoughts and allowing for clarity in perception. THIS is now the time for decision making. It’s like polishing a dusty mirror 🙏🏽

The goal of nervous system repair work in somatic therapy is not to feel calm and zen all the time. The goal is to have a relationship with dysregulation which includes compassion and curiosity, and to develop a resilient and flexible nervous system.

A resilient nervous system does not stay stuck in a fight, flight or freeze mode. It may go into these survival states temporarily and then it’s able to bounce back to being in its window of tolerance. A flexible nervous system is able to tolerate a wide range of emotions and hold difficult sensations.