When life feels overwhelming—when anxiety spikes, sleep is restless, or emotions feel impossible to manage—it’s easy to think something is “wrong” with you. But often what you are experiencing is not a flaw, but a nervous system out of balance.
The nervous system is our body’s internal compass. It constantly scans for safety or threat, shaping how we breathe, think, and feel. Understanding it is the first step to healing.
(→ Learn more about how I work with the nervous system through breath, body, and awareness on My Approach.)
The Nervous System Explained
The nervous system has two main branches:
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Sympathetic Nervous System – mobilises us for action, the “fight or flight” response.
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Parasympathetic Nervous System – calms and restores us, often called “rest and digest.”
When these systems flow together, we move through life with resilience—able to rise to challenges and then return to calm. But trauma, stress, or long periods of insecurity can disrupt this rhythm. Instead of flexibility, we get stuck in survival states.
Signs of Dysregulation
When the nervous system struggles to regulate, you might notice:
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Constant anxiety or hypervigilance
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Emotional overwhelm or panic
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Numbness, exhaustion, or shutdown
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Physical symptoms like headaches, gut issues, or tension
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Difficulty connecting in relationships
This isn’t “all in your head.” It’s your body trying to protect you.
Why Regulation Matters
Healing isn’t about avoiding stress or erasing the past. It’s about giving your nervous system more capacity and choice. A regulated nervous system can:
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Respond to stress without getting stuck in it
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Support emotional resilience and flexibility
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Restore balance after overwhelm
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Deepen your sense of safety in the world
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Improve connection with others
When regulation returns, life feels less like survival and more like living.
How to Support Your Nervous System
1. Breathwork
Conscious Connected Breathwork works directly with the nervous system. The rhythm of connected breathing helps soften survival responses and invites balance.
(→ Read more in How Conscious Breathwork Supports Trauma Healing.)
2. Somatic Experiencing (SE)
SE uses pendulation and titration—gentle movements between activation and rest—to build regulation without overwhelm.
(→ Explore more in Somatic Experiencing Explained.)
3. Mindfulness and Core Process Psychotherapy
Bringing awareness to present-moment experience allows protective strategies to soften. With compassion, old patterns loosen and space for new choices emerges.
(→ Learn about Core Process Psychotherapy.)
The Path Back to Balance
Your nervous system is not broken. It may be tired, overworked, or carrying too much from the past—but it can relearn safety and resilience.
Through breath, body, and presence, healing is possible.
I offer 1:1 nervous system support sessions in Frome and online, weaving together Breathwork, Somatic Experiencing, and Core Process Psychotherapy. Every session is tailored to your pace, your story, and your body’s wisdom.
(→ Explore Working With You or Contact Me to book a free 30-minute call.)
