The Autonomic Nervous System: your body’s internal smoke alarm
Your nervous system is a beautifully complex thing—broken down into two main branches, then more branches within those branches, and so on. But when we talk about nervous system healing, we are focusing in on a “sub-branch” called the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
Its job? To constantly scan your environment for cues of safety or danger (remember that smoke detector I talked about last week)? And depending on what it detects, it activates one of two modes. Cue…your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): The Accelerator
This is your “GO” mode.
It's the part that prepares your body for action when danger is perceived. When it is activated (think the burnt toast from last week) you're in a state of fight (aka movement towards the threat) or flight (aka movement away from the threat) …useful when you're escaping a tiger (or if you’re me, a spider). That snapping you do at your children or spouse over “nothing”, or the ruminating thoughts you have laying in bed at night? Yup, that’s the sympathetic nervous system yelling “this situation is not safe. We must protect!!!”
But here’s the catch: when your body has lived through chronic threat or unresolved trauma, this mode can become overly dominant. Even subtle triggers—a raised eyebrow, a memory, a sound, a smell—can activate this system as if the danger is happening now. (Much like the smoke alarm in the tiny house).
The sympathetic nervous system increases:
heart rate
pupil size
blood pressure
adrenaline
maybe causes you to shake or sweat
And decreases:
ability to connect
immune response
saliva production
fuel storage
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): The Brake Pedal
This is your “rest and restore” system. It helps the body slow down, digest, repair, and feel secure.
When the parasympathetic system is dominant (aka NOT in the state of fight or flight), you're more grounded, present, and capable of deeper connections—physically and emotionally.
However, when the parasympathetic system is dysregulated, it can lead to states of shutdown or immobilization. This might manifest as feelings of numbness, disconnection, or extreme fatigue. Like that time you had “too much” to do so you just didn’t do any of it? Or all of the mornings you just couldn’t get out of bed after getting enough sleep? Well, instead of promoting relaxation, the body may become stuck in a state of hypoarousal, where energy and engagement are significantly reduced.
The parasympathetic system:
slows heart rate
activates digestion (think of all tummy struggles)
promotes relaxation
invites and allows connection
decreases defensiveness
Healing = Balancing and Becoming
Balance plays a central role in mental health and trauma recovery — not by eliminating dysregulation, but by transforming how you respond to it. It’s crucial to remind yourself that:
Recovery isn’t about staying perfectly regulated, but developing awareness and capacity to move between states with flexibility.
When someone falls into hypoarousal (shutdown) or hyperarousal (fight/flight), the healing comes through the return, not in avoiding the descent.
Just as walking requires small, constant readjustments, healing unfolds between opposing forces—between stillness and momentum, clarity and confusion, detachment and emotional presence.