3 States of Your Nervous System (And Why They Matter) (E12)

The state of your nervous system affects your internal and external experiences.

1. Sympathetic State

The sympathetic state is related to fight or flight. If our body perceives a threat, it takes us here. This state feels anxious and restless. It's often sparked by fear, so worry is common here. You might be feeling angry and a lot of times it's difficult to sleep in this state. If we're in this state for too long, we often end up in the dorsal vagal freeze.

2. Dorsal Vagal Freeze

This is where it's been too much for too long and it's REALLY difficult to do anything from here. This state feels exhausting and overwhelming. You can sometimes feel heaviness and depression here, where you just want to sleep a lot of the time. If you're in the freeze state, your body is basically shut down, and it's very difficult to take any external actions.

3. Parasympathetic State

Then, there's the parasympathetic state, where creative possibilities are abundant. Here, you feel grounded and present. You're living in the moment, where you can be curious about things, and have ideas that help you come up with creative solutions about what you're doing and where you're going in life. You feel connected to yourself and the world in this state.

So, why does this all matter?

Because if you're feeling stuck in life, knowing what state your nervous system is in can help you understand why. Everything I create is about helping people shift more into the parasympathetic state so they can move forward.

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