Embracing Your Body's Wisdom with a Nervous System Reset
Learn how to regulate your nervous system
Trusting Your Body: A Path to Nervous System Reset
If you’ve ever felt anxious, overwhelmed, shut down, or disconnected, you’re not alone, and you're certainly not malfunctioning.
These are biological responses deeply wired in all of us.
Yet, our individualistic culture has moved so far away from practices that support regulating the nervous system that when responses from our nervous system arise, we’re taught to suppress or ignore them.
We spend most of our time in our minds, ignoring the wisdom of our bodies. Overcomplicating the simple messengers that provide generational wisdom.
Instead, what we often need is a relationship with our nervous systems, helping the wisdom of our bodies and minds to begin syncing back up in rhythm.
Why Nervous System Regulation Matters
According to the CDC, between 2015 and 2018, 13.2% of U.S. adults used antidepressants, with significantly higher rates among women (17.7%)—especially those over 60 (24.3%)—and among non-Hispanic white adults (16.6%) compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
While medication can be a helpful bridge for some, it often masks messages your body is sending. Normal cues of danger, overwhelm, fatigue, and anxiety get dulled.
You might feel better for a bit, but often when you stop taking the medication, those same bodily signals return, and the cycle repeats.
True healing begins when we stop fearing our symptoms and start listening to them.
Regulating your nervous system isn’t about fixing what’s wrong with you. It’s about reconnecting you to your body’s inherent wisdom.
The Science of the Nervous System: A Polyvagal Perspective
Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges and popularized in therapy by Deb Dana, helps us understand how the three main states of the nervous system impact our well-being and how they operate in conjunction with one another.
The Three States of Your Nervous System According to Polyvagal Theory
1. Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown/Freeze)
Located at the bottom of the Polyvagal Ladder, in this state, we feel collapsed, numb, or disconnected (think scrolling on the couch in a daze). It's a protective response to overwhelm or danger.
2. Sympathetic (Fight/Flight)
The middle state, located in the back of the spinal cord, is one of activation. It’s our alarm system, increasing heart rate and breath to help us survive perceived threats. While essential in short bursts, chronic activation can leave us stuck in anxiety, hyper-vigilance, and exhaustion.
Most people experience sympathetic activation as anxiety.
3. Ventral Vagal (Safety/Connection)
At the top of the ladder is our state of calm, connection, and presence. This is where healing and integration happen. It’s our ability to be with ourselves and others in a grounded, regulated way.
Your nervous system moves fluidly throughout these three states every day.
A healthy nervous system doesn’t mean you’ll stay in ventral all the time. But it does mean you have the tools to return there with greater ease.
Tools for Nervous System Reset
Mapping Your States: Begin tracking what pushes you into dorsal, sympathetic, or ventral. Is it too many meetings? A certain tone of voice? Over time, you’ll build awareness of your patterns.
Grounding Practices: Use breath, movement, or touch to help shift your state. Even placing your feet on the ground or touching something soft can send safety signals to your body.
Co-Regulation: Our nervous systems are wired for connection. Whether through a friend, therapist, pet, or even nature, being with a calming presence helps us regulate.
Finding Ventral Anchors: Identify the people, places, objects, or times in your life that help you feel safe and present. Return to them often.
Window of Tolerance: Developed by Dr. Dan Siegel, this concept helps you understand your emotional bandwidth. A wider window means you can stay regulated even during life’s ups and downs.
It’s Okay to Leave Ventral, Just Know How to Find Your Way Home
Life is full of transitions. We all move out of connection, feel anxious, get shut down. But with practice and support, you can learn how to regulate your nervous system and find your way back to safety again and again.
Let’s stop pathologizing our biology and start honoring it.
If you're feeling the call to deepen your understanding of your nervous system, the Nervous System Reset is a great next step. Guided by a Licensed Mental Health Therapist and grounded in science, this journey will help you listen to your body, map your nervous system states, and build the tools to return to safety.
More notes on regulating the nervous system:
Julie Goldberg is a licensed therapist and the founder of Third Nature Therapy. Her practice focuses on helping individuals better understand their inner world, befriend their nervous system (instead of working against it), and navigate changing relationships. She offers somatic therapy, EMDR intensives, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in Brooklyn, NY.