03/27/2024
Never in the history of dysregulation has saying, "Calm down" resulted in achieving a state of regulation. And there's good reason for that!
The vagus nerve is a main component of your parasympathetic nervous system and it's job is to help the body create healthy homeostasis (including communication, safety and connection, digestion, and survival responses).
I like to describe the vagus like an interstate highway, where most of the traffic is traveling north. 80% of the information communicated through this cranial nerve runs from the body to the brain, leaving only 20% to move from the brain down to the body.
It's *this* reason why regulation must first be experienced in the body--a genuinely felt sense! Feeling regulated enough to think clearly begins in the body, rather than the other way around. This process explains why we can't reason our way out of distress. Rationality alone simply can't disrupt activation.
This probably won't surprise you if you've tried to convince someone else to calm down or if someone has told you something similar. But it's good to have this visual reminder the next time you're seeking regulation--focus on resetting the body and the brain will follow.
