Feel into it before we are able to deal with it💥🫶🏼
Let’s come curious and get to know our parts / nervous system before we jump to needing a fix/tool/skill.
Skills are wonderful and supportive, but let’s hold space for the first step and build internal awareness.
Let’s chat: ANGER + GRIEF (ft. the nervous system). These emotions were forefront during this stage of my life.
Anger and grief are emotional states deeply connected to the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
Anger: typically activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which prepares the body for a “fight or flight” response. This activation heightens arousal, increases heart rate, and focuses energy on survival, which can make it challenging to access feelings of compassion for others. The body is primed for self-preservation, not connection.
Grief: on the other hand, often engages the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), particularly the dorsal vagal complex. This can lead to a hypoarousal state, characterized by numbness, withdrawal, and a sense of shutdown. In this state, it can be difficult to connect with others emotionally, as the body is conserving energy and focusing inward to cope with the overwhelming sense of loss.
In both states, the ANS is focused on the individual’s survival and emotional regulation, making it harder to extend compassion towards others. Compassion requires a balanced ANS, where the ventral vagal system is active, promoting safety, connection, and empathy 🫶🏼💞
The central governor model suggests that the brain acts as a safety monitor to regulate physical exertion. This can also influence how we manage emotional distress. Just as the brain limits physical output to protect the body, it might similarly moderate emotional responses to prevent overwhelming stress. By engaging in regular physical activity, individuals can potentially retrain this internal monitor, increasing their capacity to handle both physical and emotional challenges more effectively. This connection highlights the potential of movement-based therapies to enhance emotional resilience and well-being!🫀💥🧠
References:
- Noakes, T.D. (2009). Brain over brawn: why the central governor model accounts for exercise limits better than the classical models.
British Journal of Sports Medicine.
- Szabo, A., Griffiths, M.D., & Demetrovics, Z. (2015). Effects of Physical Activity on Emotional Resilience: A Neurobiological Perspective*. European Psychologist.
- Morgan, W.P., & Pollock, M.L. (2004). *Exercise as a Mediator of Psychological and Physical Stress: Central Governor and Beyond. Psychosomatic Medicine.
Hey - I’m Tori! I talk a ton about how we can use movement as a tool for our nervous system and overall emotional + physical health.
I love movement for our brains and bodies, but I know it’s not everything … so I’m committed to creating empirically supported psychoeducational content that provides value and a space to cultivate curiosity and connection to
… you 🫶🏼
Fun facts:
I’ve lived all over Canada bc I love to move, but Kelowna feels like home.
I played college hockey - and I was spicy/ aggressive on the ice (lots happening at this point in my life as I was navigating living in survival while trying to perform)
I’m obsessed with my family and friends. Community and connection are everything.
I am so passionate about creating space for people to know their internal world and how they can show up in an way that deeply aligns with their core self.
Thanks for your trust and connection 🫶🏼🧠🌻
You know when you don’t move your body and then you feel stuck, frozen, numb, insecure, low energy? Ya. Let’s chat about this.
Movement X Dorsal Vagal Branch:
1. Stimulates the Sympathetic Nervous System: Movement can help activate the sympathetic nervous system, counteracting the shutdown effects of the dorsal vagal branch.
2. Enhances Vagal Tone: Regular physical activity improves vagal tone, which helps regulate the balance between the parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous systems.
3. Those Yummy Endorphins: Exercise releases endorphins, which improve mood and energy levels, helping to lift you out of the hypoarousal state.
Reference
- American Psychological Association. (2020). The exercise effect. Retrieved from [https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/12/exercise](https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/12/exercise)
@read.moorebooks created an incredible book to support kiddos with understanding the concepts of self regulation and normalizing our human experience 🫶🏼🌻🌸
You can order this book off Amazon // see @read.moorebooks
GAS = sympathetic, mobilization, activation in the body
BREAK = vagal break swooping in and brining us into a blended state of parasympathetic + sympathetic.
The vagal break allows us to come back down and rebound after intense emotional experiences (or even road rage ;).
The goal is to rewire and rebalance the patterns of “stuckness” we find ourselves in.
How to do this? Just NOTICE where you’re at and what you need to ground your body.
Ps - insta is not therapy (but it’s a helpful tool to learn more about yourself) 🫶🏼🌻🫀🧠
I wonder - why do we fight ourselves while trying to manage tough situations? Why do we make it harder?
The more we fight it, the louder and more demanding it becomes.
This message come from a reoccurring theme in client and personal work 💞 give yourself grace as your feel the feels.
Self compassion is your armour.
Reminder: we are human. Let’s hold ourselves accountable to our own emotional dissonance and check in with how we engage in community / our social circles that can cause more pain and disruption. Can you have feelings? YES. How do we manage our own dysregualtion in a way that honours what’s coming up for us, and not engage in harmful projection.
Notice:
-yourself engaging in conversation that holds judgment or harmful comments
- the state of dysregulation in the body (sensation, urges)
Name: what’s actually happening for me that I am not acknowledging in myself? Am I feeling hurt by this person I’m talking about? Am I feeling threatened? What is the emotion that is driving this behaviour? Do I need to directly deal with them? Am I engaging in triangulation to feel safety?
Can you have negative feelings about someone - of course. But a check in regarding own emotions and behaviour needs to be accounted for before we engage in a way that goes against our value system.
🫶🏼🍃🌼🌻
Psssst: there is more going on behind the scene…
In ADHD, dysregulated levels of cortisol and norepinephrine contribute to heightened anxiety. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is often elevated in individuals with ADHD due to the chronic stress associated with managing symptoms. Norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter involved in attention and arousal, also plays a role, as its irregular levels can disrupt the brain’s ability to regulate emotions, leading to increased anxiety. This imbalance in cortisol and norepinephrine can exacerbate feelings of stress, worry, and restlessness commonly experienced by individuals with ADHD.
As always, reach out with questions.
Please note that Instagram isn’t therapy 🙃🫶🏼💞
What’s in our play room - part 1
The physiological sigh & PLAY: The physiological sigh involves activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers heart rate and releases calming neurotransmitters. It also reduces cortisol levels through the HPA axis, promoting overall relaxation and calmness in the child.
Try this before bed, after a bug cry, or anytime you think you and the kiddo need a little moment to down regulate 🫶🏼💞
Whats actually happening in those moments?
Neuroception involves subconscious neural processes assessing safety and danger, while mirror neurons activate during both action and observation, influencing social cognition. These processes affect how we respond to others around us and pick up others emotional / physiological states.
References:
Porges, S. W. (2022). Polyvagal theory: a science of safety. Frontiers in integrative neuroscience, 16, 27.
Rizzolatti, G., & Sinigaglia, C. (2010). The functional role of the parieto-frontal mirror circuit: interpretations and misinterpretations. Nature reviews neuroscience, 11(4), 264-274.
