Is Your Nervous System Stuck? How to Know and One Thing You Can Do to Change it.
Use this chart to learn more about your Nervous System and locate what state you often find yourself in. We all have patterns that our Nervous System defaults to when we are stressed or feeling unsafe. Below shows what are nervous system is doing under threat and also what it does in safety. Somatic work is really helpful for bringing more understanding, compassion and choice to our states. The following are for immediate and short term relief and do not replace therapeutic support.
Nervous System State
Body Sensations
Emotions/Mind
One small somatic choice/ movement to help restore saftety
Fight
muscle tension/bracing, tightness in jaw, increased heart rate and faster breath
irritability, anger, impulse to move towards the threat, "flipped lid", ruminating thoughts
Press your hands gently into something solid; a wall, the ground, your thighs, or a table. Take three deep breaths. Stop. Notice and Feel. Repeat if necessary
Flight
restlessness,
fidgeting, increased heart rate and faster or shallower breath,
"too much" energy, muscle tension
avoidance, impulse to move away from the threat, anxiety, rumination, catastrophic thinking
March slowly and mindfully in place for several seconds. Breathe. Rest. Notice and Feel. Repeat if necessary
Freeze
muscle bracing, holding the breath, little movement in eyes, expression, or body, "deer in headlights"
mind goes blank, unable to find words, feel "stuck", on auto-pilot or "going through the motions", "analysis paralysis", procrastination
Stand up, Change Position
Fawn
Muscle Bracing, smiling even though it doesn't match inner feeling,
Anxiety, unable to feel self or act in the way we want, feel performative, feel scared. Befriending the threat in order to try to find safety
Practice "Standing in Your Own Shoes"
Numb, heavy, exhausted, "lights are on but nobody's home", Disconnected to self and others
Collapse
"Wind has left the sails", lack of motivation, apathy, Hopelessness, Helplessness, Isolation
Find one small movement towards connection: sit in nature, pet your pet, call a friend
Kerri Neild Relational Somatic Therapist
Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (RTC)
Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada (ACCT)
Registered in the Province of BC -ID 2403