What is the Nervous System?
The nervous system is your body's internal safety system. It's made up of the brain, the spinal cord and nerves throughout the body. It sends signals between the brain and the rest of the body and is responsible for how we move and respond to situations. The nervous system is constantly scanning your internal and external environment and asking one simple question, “am I safe right now?” It does this automatically, beneath our conscious awareness.
At its core, your nervous system has two main branches:
- The Sympathetic Nervous System (the fight or flight response)
- The Parasympathetic Nervous System (rest, digest, and restore)
There is another important part of the parasympathetic system called the dorsal vagal response, which is more commonly known as the freeze response.
Think of the nervous system like an internal safety detector whose main job is to keep you alive. When your nervous system senses safety, your body settles. You feel more present, grounded, and able to connect with yourself and others. But when your system senses danger, even if that danger doesn’t exist anymore, it shifts you into protection (fight or flight response).
The 4 F’s, Trauma Response
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Fight: Someone with a fight response might use anger, confrontation, and aggression to seek safety again.
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Flight: Someone with a flight response might try to escape the situation by fleeing, running away, or avoiding the situation altogether.
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Freeze: Someone with a freeze response might become numb, withdrawn, and emotionally shut down making it difficult to make decisions.
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Fawn: Someone with a fawn response attempts to avoid the danger by people-pleasing, breaking personal boundaries and putting others above themselves.
Our bodies remember when we experience danger and therefore, our nervous systems often learn to stay in these protective states for too long. This can happen after chronic stress, past trauma, emotional overwhelm, or even just long periods of not feeling safe. Over time, your system responds to present day situations as if you are in danger, even when you are not.
It’s important to understand the way your nervous system learned to react in dangerous situations. For those who have been exposed to childhood trauma, these responses are often deeply ingrained in our systems and have been reinforced ever since the traumatic event(s).
Part 2 will discuss the signs of a dysregulated nervous system and introduce ways to become more regulated, grounded and well.
Therapy is a wonderful tool for better understanding the way your own nervous system has learned to survive and start to feel safe in your body again. Contact us to learn more and get paired with a therapist who can support you to further healing.
