50 - NERVOUS SYSTEM - Nervous System Regulation, Co-Regulation, Self-Regulation & Healing Ft. Dana Doswell
Aug 29, 2022
56:32
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Quick takeaways
Safe and secure relationships regulate the nervous system, promoting feelings of safety, support, and empowerment.
Traumatic experiences and environmental changes can disrupt nervous system regulation, affecting daily well-being.
The pandemic has had a significant negative impact on many individuals' nervous systems, leading to dysregulation, overwhelm, and disconnectedness.
Deep dives
Importance of Relationships and Connection
Having safe and secure relationships and connections with others can profoundly impact our nervous systems. Partnerships and deep connections help regulate our nervous systems, providing a sense of safety, support, and empowerment. These relationships offer a space to be vulnerable and authentic, leading to healing and regulation. Loneliness and disconnection, on the other hand, can have a significant negative impact on our nervous systems, leading to feelings of stress, anxiety, and even depression.
The Impact of Trauma and Environmental Changes
Traumatic experiences, such as sudden breakups, can have a profound impact on our nervous systems, pushing us into fight, flight, or freeze responses. These responses are natural survival mechanisms, but they can disrupt our daily lives and well-being. Environmental changes, such as transitioning from a calm and supportive environment to a more stimulating or stressful one, can also impact our nervous system regulation. Awareness of these changes and their effects is important for promoting resilience and finding ways to regulate our nervous systems.
The Pandemic and Nervous System Regulation
The pandemic has had a significant impact on many individuals' nervous systems. The disruption of social connections, prolonged isolation, fear-mongering messages, and constant stress have led to dysregulation and increased feelings of overwhelm and disconnectedness. It is crucial to acknowledge the traumatic and dramatic experiences people have gone through during this time and offer understanding and support. Communities and safe relationships can play a vital role in helping individuals regulate their nervous systems and navigate through challenging times.
Uncovering Unconscious States and Patterns
Many individuals may not even realize they are in dysregulated states, such as fight, flight, or freeze. Patterns and coping mechanisms developed during childhood or past traumatic experiences can subconsciously influence our current state. Becoming aware of these patterns and tendencies is an essential first step. Therapeutic approaches like talk therapy and somatic therapy can help individuals explore and understand their subconscious patterns while providing tools to heal, accept, and love themselves.
The Journey of Healing and Self-Love
Healing and self-love are courageous and transformative processes. By embracing self-care, self-acceptance, and self-love, individuals can find deep healing and nourishment for their nervous systems. It involves understanding and accepting past experiences, embracing vulnerability, and developing compassion for oneself. Safe and supportive relationships, whether with therapists, coaches, friends, or partners, can be instrumental in this healing journey.
Ever feel like everything is just a little too much and that you feel more sensitive than most people? Or that you are either hyper stressed out, with 101 things on your to-do list that all need to be done at once? Or, alternatively, do you not feel much at all? Are you lethargic and struggling with motivation and can think of nothing better than lying on your sofa, never leaving the house & eating take out and binging netflix? Has the pandemic changed you as a person and the outside world doesn’t feel as good as it used to?
In today’s episode, Louise sits down with nervous system coach and somatic therapist Dana Doswell to discuss how our relationships, community, city and even the pandemic can either hurt or heal your nervous system.
Dana & Louise get into:
What is somatic bodywork;
How and why emotions show up in the body;
Louise’s personal tendency to shift into fight & flight as opposed to rest & digest or freeze; and
How so many of us are disconnected & numb to what is really going on around us and inside of us.
The pair also discuss the impact that coming back to London has had on Louise’s nervous system as well as discussing how other big changes, like the pandemic, are deeply distressing to so many people’s nervous systems (even if you didn’t realise it) and how it has shifted the entire way that your body (and mind) may function.
Dana also runs through the three ‘states’ of the nervous system and how these are supposed to work in a healthy functioning and resilient nervous system, as well as discussing the impact that loving and stable relationships can have on your biology and physiology vs. those that are unhealthy
And so much more!
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