Understanding Your Nervous System Responses
Your nervous system is the control center of your body. It processes everything around you — from your environment, to people around you, to micro facial expressions, sounds, and sensations. Your body is constantly scanning for threats, a process known as neuroception, which happens automatically, even when you aren’t aware of it.
When we experience a moment of trauma (no matter how big or small), if we are unable to resolve our feelings, thoughts, beliefs and emotions in that moment - the memory of that trauma is locked into our cellular body. What also gets locked in is how our nervous system responded - no matter how helpful or unhelpful that response was at the time. When our body perceives an external threat (again, no matter how big or small) our nervous system gets tripped into either fight, flight, freeze or fawn.
Unfortunately, our past stored trauma messes with our neuroception. This means that our nervous system is reacting in one of three ways:
Our body is over reacting to our current environments
Our body is in a heightened state for long after the threat has gone
Our body is reacting to a threat that is not there, merely the memory or trigger of a threat was enough to set it off
Living with a dysregulated nervous system has huge impacts on our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Understanding your nervous system, your triggers and ways to regulate can help you regain control of your body and mind, and shift towards a state of peace, safety and balance.
What Happens When the Nervous System Is Dysregulated?
A well-regulated nervous system allows you live in what they call "rest & digest" and be able to move through states of stress smoothly. However, when dysregulated, you may get caught in a persistent state of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. These are survival responses that were originally meant to keep you safe but can become problematic when they persist long after the threat has passed or if they are persistently reoccurring without a real threat present.
The Four Stress Responses:
Fight – The urge to confront or control the threat to stay safe
Signs: Irritability, anger outbursts, frustration, defensiveness, self preservation, inability to think rationally
Physical symptoms: Clenched jaw, tight muscles, increased heart rate, verbal outbursts
Flight – The impulse to escape or avoid danger to stay safe
Signs: Restlessness, anxiety, perfectionism, avoidant attachment style, trying to distract yourself or avoid the present situation
Physical symptoms: Racing thoughts, rapid heartbeat, feeling unable to relax, fidgeting
Freeze – The sensation of shutting down or making yourself small or invisible to stay safe.
Signs: Feeling numb, dissociation, memory black outs
Physical symptoms: Holding your breath, feeling physically stuck or immobile, unable to speak, difficulty making decisions
Fawn – The instinct to appease others to stay safe.
Signs: People-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, self-sacrificing and self abandoning behaviour, hyper vigilance to others needs
Physical symptoms: Tension, racing thoughts, shallow breathing, feeling disconnected from self, hyper focus on the other person
If you recognize yourself in one or more of these responses, your nervous system may be stuck in survival mode. The good news is that it is possible to rewire these patterns in session and use quick hacks to help you in the moment.
How to Regulate Your Nervous System
Regulation is about helping your body feel safe so it can return to its natural state of rest and digest. Here are some effective techniques:
Deep breathing – Activates the parasympathetic nervous system and reduces stress
Grounding techniques – Walking barefoot on the earth, holding a cold object, or using your senses to reconnect with the present moment
Vagus nerve stimulation – Humming, singing, chanting “Om,” or gargling water
Gentle movement – Yoga, stretching, or shaking off tension
Nature therapy – Spending time outdoors to calm the nervous system
Somatic practices – Allowing the body to express stored trauma through movement
Limiting stimulants – Reducing caffeine, sugar, and excessive screen time
Journaling – Writing down emotions and thoughts to process them
Listening to frequency music – Check out my blog here for more info
Healing the past trauma - Breaking the patterns in session and removing the cellular memory of the trauma
Healing Trauma Responses with Energy Work
If your nervous system is stuck in a cycle of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, Holographic Kinetics and energy healing can help you break free. These powerful modalities work on the cellular and energetic level to release trauma stored in the body, so you no longer have to live in a state of hypervigilance or emotional reactivity.
Book a session today and begin your journey to breaking the cycles and finding safety in your body.
Jess x
I’m Jess Dunn, a Holographic Kinetics practitioner, Reiki master, and energy healer based in Springwood, Queensland. I specialize in helping clients regulate their nervous system, release emotional blocks, and restore balance in mind, body, and spirit.