Nervous System Regulation
Free informative Talk
with Edel Swords
Monday 31st March via Zoom
7pm-9pm (irish time)
“ Feeling Safe is foundational to Health, Wellbeing & Connectedness”
Join us for this FREE informative evening all about our nervous system and how to regulate it
Do you feel anxious for no particular reason?
Do you get stressed easily?
Would you like to know more about how your nervous system operates?
Do you ever want to run away from a situation and hide?
Do you Smile when you want to cry ?
Do you get overwhelmed at times?
Do you refer to yourself as being anxious or stressed?
Do certain situations fill you with dread?
Do you notice when around certain people you feel anxious, sweaty palms, triggered and dont always know the reason?
Do you worry about things from your past or your future?
Do you hide how you really feel most of the time?
Do you get frustrated by your own procrastination or stuckness?
Do you find you have a short fuse with certain people or with everyone?
Do you get butterflies, knots in stomach, tight chest, heart racing, diarrhea before an exam, a meeting, date, game or important occassion?
Do you ever go completely blank when asked a question or feel a panic attack looming?
Does your breathing become shallow when you are worried?
These are just a few questions to ask yourself, if you have answered YES to most of them, I believe you will really find this FREE talk interesting
“Creating safety in our systems begins with recognising the state we are in presently”
Stress and anxiety are commonly used words these days. More than ever our younger generations are saying the suffer from anxiety. Our world has changed so fast in the past few years, this speed has set our nervous systems into a hightened state of disregulation. With little down time to switch off, rest, digest and refuel our new norm is far from comfortable or pleasant. In our current climate we are overstimulated, overburdened, overworked, burntout, exhausted and overwhelmed.
The polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges and taught by Deb Dana explains how our autonomic nervous system impacts our feelings of safety and social engagement. It identifies three primary states:
1. Safe and Social (Ventral Vagal State): This state is associated with feelings of safety and social connection. In this state, we are calm, open to communication, and able to engage with others. Our heart rate and breathing are regulated, supporting feelings of wellbeing.
2. Flight or Fight (Sympathetic State): When we perceive a threat, we enter this state. It prepares us to either confront the danger (fight) or escape (flee). Physiologically, our heart rate increases, breathing becomes rapid, and we may feel anxious, irritable, scared or triggered.
3. Freeze or Shutdown (Dorsal Vagal State): In extreme stress or trauma, we may enter this state, characterized by immobilization or dissociation. This can feel like a sense of hopelessness, numbness, or shutdown. The body's energy conservation mechanisms activate, slowing down heart rate and respiration.
Our systems are moving between these states all the time, its how we navigate the world and our relationships.
By understanding these states, we can better recognize our own responses to stress and develop strategies to move back towards safety and social engagement.
Our systems require a certain amount of stress, just to get out of beds in the mornings. Adrenaline motivates us to move, socialise, work and study. There is an invisible graph on which we fluctaute between these three different states during our day as we navigate our daily tasks.
All of our Systems are different and this is so important to understand because we need to see what works for us as individuals. We will be open to your personal questions about this
Take aways from this talk
We will take you on a very interesting journey of your own different states whereby you will
Learn what regulating the nervous system means and how it will benefit your health and relationships
Notice all the different cues your body shows you when it feels unsafe or threatened
Learn what is happening within your body when the athmosphere or environment changes
Bringing awareness to how your body keeps you safe
Learn, How, When and What is happening in your body during the three different states
Learn How and What we can do about it
How and why the body stores old wounding and trauma
Learn breathing techniques to move you from one state to another
Learn the difference between defensive & responsive behaviour
We will be open to questions, so please bring pen and paper to be prepared.
“Behind the darkest clouds is a shining sun or a glowing moon and sparkling stars”
Edel
Edel incorporates nervous system regulation with all of her clients. Teaching them how to navigate their own disregulated system & guiding them towards feeling safe in their own body