Does Your Nervous System Need a Reboot?
Since stress is a normal part of life, it’s important to know how to soothe your nervous system after trauma. As a bodyworker and energy healer, a big part of my job is helping clients give their body a reset from all the wear and tear. Most people who come for a massage or healing session are operating in fight-or-flight mode, and they don’t even know it. Since our bodies hold trauma, it’s a good idea to give our nervous systems a reboot once in a while.
My family recently experienced a traumatic incident that put us all in fight-or-flight mode — for real. It was interesting to observe our nervous systems kicking in to help us all deal with a scary survival situation. Our experience took my understanding of the complexity of our bodies’ fight-or-flight response to a whole new level.
As I helped my son, step-daughter and husband release tension after our traumatic incident, I had a big aha-moment. I had the opportunity to observe how each of us responded differently to extreme stress and various calming treatments. This real-time assessment was so revealing. It was clear to me that each of us had a distinct ‘best’ method for soothing ourselves, based on our unique energetic blueprints.
Fight-or-flight occurs when the sympathetic nervous system is activated.
Chances are, your nervous system needs some TLC due to the normal stressors of life. I’m going to show you three easy ways to give your system a reset. Try them all to discover what works best for you. If we don’t actively participate in flipping the switch to the parasympathetic nervous system (otherwise known as rest and digest), fight-or-flight can become our default setting.
Many clients in my healing practice have symptoms similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) even though they wouldn’t qualify anything that has happened to them as trauma. This is because post-traumatic stress can also come from typical life events such as a difficult breakup, divorce or financial hardships. The number of individuals who are dealing with the effects of PTSD is far greater than those who receive treatment for trauma. Most of us have some form of PTSD.
I’m so passionate about using simple self-healing techniques because the small actions we take every day empower us to care for ourselves and change the course of our lives. Small self-care actions can help us deal with the normal ups and downs of life. I often tell my clients if you live a full life, you will most likely experience some trauma. Thankfully, our stressful experiences don’t have to define us or control us.
3 Easy Ways to Reset your Nervous System
1 – Breathing practices to soothe and de-stress.
I sing the praises of deep breathing from the highest rooftops. I cannot emphasize enough that my life works best when I am breathing properly and letting the abundance of life flow through me. There is no way I could do the kind of deeply intuitive work that I do without taking time to focus on my breath.
When I am ungrounded and scattered, I need to stop and breathe.
When I am in need of a spiritual connection and inner peace, I need to stop and breathe.
And when I want to access my intuition and gain mental clarity? Yep, you guessed it! I need to breathe.
There are so many different ways to breathe and it’s free, so why not give it a try? I recommend that you give yourself permission to breathe in new and different ways and notice how your body responds. Reducing anxiety and treating the nervous system top the list of benefits of proper breathing. But I have observed with several of my clients that deep breathing is not a magical cure-all for everyone.
Deep breathing may not bring you all the good vibes it does me — or maybe it’s just the thing to reset your nervous system. If want to try breathing to soothe your nervous system, this article outlines simple breathing techniques to get you in chill mode.
2 – Natural plant oils protect and calm the nervous system.
Look no further than your kitchen cabinet for a nervous system reset. Got some olive oil? You’re in business! You don’t need to get fancy with this—and you won’t be dripping with oil, either. Simply take a small amount (like a couple drops) of an organic plant oil with good fats and apply it to your ears or soles of your feet anytime your nerves feel jangled. I like to use high quality olive oil or sesame oil, but there are many kinds of plant oils that will work.
One of my favorite resources is the Medicine Stories podcast. If you haven’t heard of Amber Magnolia Hill, you are in for a treat. In this episode, Amber interviews Kami McBride, who empowers everyone to make herbal healing oils.
Body oiling is like an etheric shield for highly sensitive people. Natural plant oils give the nerves a protective coating. Next time you have to be in a crowded place that overwhelms your senses, apply a small amount of olive oil to your ear lobes for some extra support, and watch what happens.
3 – Flower remedies can reduce anxiety.
I’m a huge fan of using flowers for emotional balancing. Flower essences are gentle and soothing to the emotional body — the second level of our energy field. Consider how we know instinctively to bring flowers when someone is healing, or going through a tough time emotionally.
Flower essences are a next-level pick me up, even better than a floral delivery. Ingesting flower essences is safe and gentle since they don’t interfere with medications. Check out this article on flower essences and anxiety and learn how keeping a bottle of Rescue Remedy with you can be a game-changer.
It’s easy to start working with flowers to treat emotions and stress. Flowers are gentle allies that want to help us. Stay open and trust your intuition if you are drawn to work with a particular flower. Healing with gentle plants is an excellent way to develop your intuition.
Another remedy that works well for me when my nervous system feels fried is Reishi Mushroom tincture. This powerful healing ally is known as the Immortal Healer. It may not work the same for you since our bodies are all different, but I am immediately calmed when I take Surthrival’s Reishi tincture. Since Reishi is my most powerful antidote to stress, I have tried every Reishi supplement I could find and I have yet to find one better than the one from Surthrival.
Review: How to Soothe the Nervous System After Trauma (3 Ways)
Permit yourself to try new things. When it comes to unwinding and finding inner peace, you owe it to yourself to explore different modalities or even a combination of the three:
deep breathing techniques
herbal body oils
flower and fungi tinctures
Don’t overthink these and by all means, don’t stress about trying to de-stress! The whole point of this article is to show you that there are lots of different methods available to manage the effects of stress. Have fun experimenting, and go easy on yourself!
For more information on breathing and calming your energetic body, check out Feeling Good is Free! 12 Free Ways To Feel Better Right Now. I’d love to know what method or combination works best for you to soothe your nervous system after trauma!
