How To Do A Nervous System Cleanse In 3 Steps And Heal From Nervous System Dysregulation?

There is no one answer to heal a dysregulated nervous system (nervous system will be referred to as nvs), since there are many things we can do to help bring back regulation. And it’s important to keep in mind that regulating the nvs is going to take a lot of time. And so, we need a lot of patience. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make progress rather quickly. In this blog you will learn a simple but profound practice that you can start with to heal from nvs dysregulation.

*As an alumni of SmartBodySmartMind, created by Irene Lyon, this blog is inspired by her work and from what I have learnt and implemented in my own life.

What Is Nervous System Dysregulation?

But first, what is nervous system dysregulation? Nervous system dysregulation is created due to survival stress (trauma) which causes us to stay in the fight or flight part (sympathetic state) of our nvs. It’s not healthy for our nvs to constantly be in an activated state, as well as a ‘freeze’ pattern, which leads to many chronic illnesses and physical discomfort.

When the nvs senses danger then the system stays activated and when it can’t come down from that activation naturally there is another solution, which is freeze. The nvs puts on the breaks of being in this high state of fight or flight when it is prolonged and becomes frozen.

This means the nvs is stuck in this fight or flight state which makes is really hard for the nvs to come down into the rest and digest state (parasympathetic state). A lot of people live in functional freeze, where it seems like they can still function and do lots of things in life, but underneath the nvs is actually in a state of freeze (stuck in fight or flight but on the breaks).

This is a chart from Peter Lavine that outlines how a dysregulated nervous system generally operates:

Instead of flow there is stuckness within the nvs that disrupts the natural flow. In short, nervous system dysregulation means that someone has a hard time switching from the fight or flight state to the rest and digest state (specifically the low tone portion of the rest and digest state) and vice versa. We do need stress and activation to do things (stress isn’t bad) but we don’t want to stay stuck there. If we do stay stuck we burn up our energy reservoir, because it can’t recharge when being in the fight or flight state.

Many people deal with nvs dysregulation and some more than others. And we can say that people with chronic illnesses, like chronic fatigue syndrome (which is an expression of being stuck in freeze) or any other chronic illness, physical discomfort or even not having motivation to do things, have nervous system dysregulation at its root.

How To Do A Nervous System Cleanse in 3 steps?

In order to bring back our nvs to a state of regulation we need to let the nvs know that it is safe. And therefore, we need to learn orientation. Orientation is normal for us to do since it’s deeply embedded in our biology but when we experience survival stress (aka trauma) that natural process of orientation gets disrupted. We essentially lose touch with the here and now. But we can relearn this natural orientation skill again.

Orientation: Look at the room that you are sitting in and scan your environment about 1 foot or more away from you. Slowly look at and connect with any object that pulls your attention and then go to the next object and the next object etc. As you do this notice the movement of your head, eyes and neck. Feel that movement in your body. Do this exercise for about 5 minutes and pause when necessary. By doing this you can resume your day with a sense of more safety. You can do this simple exercise as many times as you want throughout your day. The more pauses you implement throughout the day, the more you let your nvs know that it is safe. That you are safe.

Body Awareness: The next step we are going to add to orientation is body awareness. In this exercise you want to keep orienting to your environment while also feeling connected to your body. Notice your butt on the floor or surface that you are sitting on and feel the pressure and connection of your body against that surface. And then move your attention to your feet and feel your feet on the floor or the surface that you are sitting or standing on. As you orient (step 1) you also want to have an awareness of yourself and the sensations that are present within the body.

Natural Breathing: It is important to have a natural rhythm of calm breathing in our daily life. But we have to trust that the body knows how it should breath in every specific moment (even if that means shallow breathing). Your body is doing everything it can to regulate itself and it will change depending on the situation that you are in. So, for the exercise, sense your breathing without changing it. You just simple notice the inhales and exhales. Listen to the sound of the breath. Then bring in the awareness of the environment that you are sitting in (step 1) and bring in body awareness (step 2). Allow the intuitive rhythm of your breath without trying to control it and notice how the breath and body naturally will settle into a state of more calm.

Doing these 3 steps simultaneously is called multitasking with your awareness. And it’s looks so simple but it if you really try it, then you will see how difficult it can be to have an awareness of the pressure of your body on the surface, your breath and attending to the environment all at the same time! And it’s totally ok to switch with your awareness from your breath to your body and from the body to the environment and going back and forth like this. The more you practice the easier this orientation skill will become.

Bonus: Try this out while you are doing a yoga class or when you are doing a workout. You will come to see how more dept and connection you can experience to the environment and your body.

Find Your Self-Soothing Resources

The nervous system cleanse explained above is the first thing to practice when it comes down to healing nvs dysregulation. This could be a life time practice truly. But there are other resources that bring a sense of safety to our nvs and for that we have to figure out what works for us personally.

A resource is anything that you can do to help calm, settle or sooth yourself. Which can look like a coping mechanism. But the difference is that we consciously distract ourselves from difficult sensations in order to contain ourselves in the moment and built capacity. As we built capacity we will be able to sit with and process the more difficult and scary sensations and emotions that may arise within us. And we can move through those difficult feelings when we are not overwhelmed and when we are able to contain ourselves and hold space for ourselves (and/or others).

When we are in fight or flight and we don’t have the capacity to actually move through the distress we are only bringing in more stress (adding fuel to the fire). Which makes it less likely to naturally move the stressors out. This is why we want to stay connected to our environment, feeling our feet on the floor and have an awareness of the breath before we do any integration work.

You can create a list of resources for yourself for whenever you feel overwhelmed, upset or triggered and then pick something you feel called to do in the moment in order to calm yourself down and sooth your nvs.

There are more pieces to the puzzle to heal from nvs dysregulation that are needed to truly heal. This is not to only thing that we can do, but doing all the above is the entryway to slowly regulate and heal your nervous system and ultimately your entire being.

Until next time.

With Love, Naomi

P.s. you may also like to read my other blog ‘What Is The Difference Between Shadow Work and Somatic Work?’

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