5 Things I’ve Been Doing To Regulate My Nervous System
Here’s what has worked for me.
Life is not easy when you’re constantly anxious and apprehensive, yet this is how many of us feel every day.
Living with a dysregulated nervous system means you’re stuck in fight, flight, or freeze mode. It means your body is so used to external threats and/or stimulation that it spends its energy trying to protect you at all costs.
There’s also the fawn mode, the fourth type of response that was first mentioned by Pete Walker, a psychotherapist and trauma expert who describes fawning as “seeking safety through appeasing the needs and wishes of others”. Essentially, people-pleasing.
In my case, I’ve spent most of my life fawning, and now that I’ve managed to stop that pattern, my body is usually in fight/flight/freeze mode — because my nervous system still doesn’t know how to feel safe.
After living with a dysfunctional family for so long, my subconscious mind is so familiarized with the chaos that it has no idea how to find a stable sense of peace, even when there’s no immediate threat.
Here’s what I’ve been doing to change that.
(Note: I’m simply sharing what has worked for me. We’re all different.)
1. Prioritizing sleep.
The most frustrating thing about having a dysregulated nervous system is dealing with intrusive thoughts.
Every time I go to sleep, my mind starts overthinking every detail of every situation I went through that day, and even worse, it starts imagining destructive scenarios in the future (like an airplane crash on my next vacation). Next thing I know it’s 8 am, the alarm goes off, and I haven’t slept anything because my mind can’t shut off.
After trying all kinds of supplements and relaxation techniques, here’s what has worked for me:
- having a night routine that makes me feel calm and grounded;
- not going anywhere after dinner (not doing things that overstimulate my nervous system);
- being careful about the content I consume right before going to bed (not watching crime docs or anything too “aggressive”);
- making sure I take the right supplements — which brings us to the next point.
2. Taking care of my nutrition.
One of the things I’ve learned after spending more than a year trying to find ways to regulate my nervous system was that there are specific nutrients whose job is to help us deal with stress.
This doesn’t mean they’re a magical cure — it means they might make your life easier if you combine them with other habits.
Personally, two things that have helped me are Magnesium and medicinal mushrooms. No, I’m not talking about magic mushrooms — I’m talking about mushrooms that have medical properties like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, or Turkey Tail. If you’re new to this topic, I highly recommend watching Fantastic Fungi on Netflix!
The mushrooms I’m currently using are Reishi and Lion’s Mane. I buy them in powder form and mix them with my coffee every morning. I notice massive changes since I’ve been taking them!
Magnesium is amazing for the nervous system. Research shows that it plays an important role in regulating neurotransmitters and improving brain function, which decreases anxiety symptoms. There are different types of magnesium, so do your own research to understand which one is better for you. I’ve been using Magnesium Glycinate.
3. Making time for small things that give me pleasure.
When we have a dysregulated nervous system, our brain is wired for danger. We spend our energies anticipating threats and imagining the worst possible scenarios — and, ironically, that’s what makes us feel somewhat safe.
This means that if we want to regulate our nervous system, we need to train it to seek safety in pleasant things rather than unpleasant things. We need to reprogram it. We need to let it know that we don’t have to be super prepared for everything all the time.
In my case, I’ve been making time for “unproductive things” that make me feel good and don’t overstimulate my senses, like writing, painting (which makes my inner child feel very happy), reading, meditating, and doing yoga.
4. Journaling.
Journaling has also been a beneficial tool on my healing journey. There are many different journaling techniques, and my favorite are:
- Stream of consciousness journaling: writing without pausing to edit or revise your thoughts. This helps you take everything off your chest and process your emotions.
- Gratitude journaling: writing down up to five things for which you feel grateful so that you remind yourself of the good things you have in your life;
I have also been using my own Self-Healing Workbook.
5. Walking.
It’s not always easy for me to make time for walking, but I’ve noticed my mood improves significantly when I do go for a walk, even if it’s just for 15 minutes.
There’s a correlation between physical inactivity and anxiety symptoms:
“Walking provides the best of both worlds. It offers the physical benefits of exercise while also boosting your emotional well-being. In fact, walking regularly can help ease symptoms related to chronic mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
You can walk anywhere without equipment or a special membership. The more you do it, the more positive effects you’ll experience.”
Healing your nervous system can be a complicated process. The more trauma you have experienced, the more complicated it will be.
I hope you find the tools that align with you.
Never forget that you deserve to break free from whatever happened to you.
