18/02/2026
There’s so much noise right now around nervous system regulation and emotional regulation.
Most people are using the terms interchangeably.
They’re not the same thing.
Your nervous system regulates your state.
Your emotions regulate your experience.
Nervous system regulation is physiological.
It’s the state your body is in - safe, settled, activated, or overwhelmed.
It determines:
• whether your body is holding tension or at ease
• whether your system feels safe or on alert
• whether you can rest or stay stuck in survival mode
This happens beneath conscious thought.
Emotional regulation is your ability to feel emotions without being controlled by them, suppressing them, or becoming overwhelmed.
It determines:
• whether you can stay present with difficult feelings
• whether emotions move through or get stuck
• whether you react automatically or respond consciously
Here’s the part that’s often missed:
You cannot consistently regulate emotions if your nervous system is dysregulated.
Because the body drives the response.
This is where somatic therapies become essential.
Somatic approaches work directly with the body - where emotional experiences are held.
Practices such as EFT tapping, body-based awareness, gentle breathing and other somatic therapies help the nervous system process stored emotional responses safely.
They allow the body to complete stress responses that were never fully resolved.
Not by forcing release.
Not by talking endlessly.
But by allowing the system to update its sense of safety.
As the nervous system settles, emotional regulation becomes easier and more natural.
You’re no longer fighting your reactions.
You’re no longer suppressing what you feel.
Your system has more capacity to experience emotion without becoming overwhelmed by it.
This is the difference between temporarily calming yourself and building true regulation.
Somatic therapies don’t just soothe the surface.
They help the body resolve what it has been holding - so emotional stability becomes your baseline, not something you constantly work to maintain.
This is the work I do - helping you build regulation from the body up.
Reach out if you’d like to explore more. 🌿
Donna x
📸 the psychology mum
