The Real Secrets to Healing a Dysregulated Nervous System

I just finished reading dozens of stories from our program members who are successfully healing their dysregulated nervous systems right now.

Before joining us, most of them had been struggling for years with symptoms of burnout, chronic anxiety, and trauma. 

Many spent thousands on diet and supplements, visited multiple practitioners, and were often told to start (or just increase) medication. They were struggling to find real answers on how to heal a dysregulated nervous system.

But after being in The Nervous System Solution for just a couple of months, they are already getting relief. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the “secrets” of this success.

I want you to be successful in healing your nervous system dysregulation, regardless of whether you do it with my help or not.

Secret # 1: Follow a specific sequence.

In martial arts, you become a black belt only after passing through a sequence of nine stages. Without completing each of the lower-level stages, you will never be able to reach the more advanced ones, no matter how much money and effort you pour into it. You may even hurt yourself!

The same is true for healing a dysregulated nervous system: if you don’t follow a specific sequence, it can backfire on you. I have developed a 5-stage sequence that I use and recommend.

I call these stages:

• Awareness
• Regulation
• Restoration
• Connection
• Expansion

Secret # 2: Time matters.

We live in a culture of instant gratification, and there are many quick fixes out there that cash in on the false promise that you can solve all of your symptoms in just one session, or even in one or two months. Well, I hate to break it to you – but it is simply not true. It’s taken your nervous system years to develop dysregulation, and it will take time to reverse it.

How long? Everyone is different, so I can’t promise how long it will take you.

What I can say, though, is that with the right support and strategy, you can significantly accelerate the process by years, avoiding the pain and sense of failure that comes from doing this alone and without an effective strategy.

On average it takes our Members about 1-2 months to get relief, feel calmer, and respond differently to triggers. In 4-6 months these results become more anchored and long-lasting, as new neural pathways emerge. 8-12 months is a good time to resolve deeper issues like trauma, attachment, and chronic conditions from years of dysregulation.

Secret # 3: Have a structure in place.

Nervous system change only happens when there’s discomfort, and that progress takes time and effort to maintain. That’s why many people experience failure on this journey to regulate the nervous system and start losing hope they’ll ever heal their dysregulation. I have seen people with dysregulated nervous systems improve significantly when given structure in the form of easy-to-digest training, coaching, and community support to keep them accountable.

Being in a community with people who are going through the same journey and are willing to share openly about their challenges and successes is invaluable. Having the freedom to move at your own pace is also crucial for success. This is one of the reasons I decided to opt for a membership instead of a course so that people can take their time and not feel overwhelmed, but still have access to the support they need when they need it.

Secret # 4: Show up with your “Plugged-in Part”.

From my experience, being successful in this journey ultimately comes down to a choice. It’s a choice about how you show up. There are always different parts of ourselves: one part is what I call the Plugged-in Part, and one part is what I call the Disconnected part.

The Disconnected part has been hurt by previous experiences and failures, and it wants to protect you at all costs from experiencing the sour taste of disappointment and failure. It’s suspicious and always looking out for things that could go wrong. Its way of protecting you is to give you reasons to pull away.

The Plugged-in part is the part of you that has a growth mindset and is fully committed and focused on the journey. Even if you fall off track for a while, the Plugged-in part knows it doesn’t have to be perfect to be successful. And so when you experience setbacks, the Plugged-in part picks you up with compassion and encourages you to keep moving forward. Just one step forward is all it takes. That’s why we spend a lot of time coaching our members to intentionally choose to show up as their Plugged-in part. It makes a heck of a difference.

If you are serious about healing your dysregulated nervous system, I’d advise taking the route that puts the solution in your hands. Take responsibility and take action.

One way of taking action is to join us when we reopen enrollments for The Nervous System Solution. It’ll give you a shortcut to the best practices and support you need to develop a healthy nervous system.

Frequently Asked Questions about Nervous System Dysregulation

What is the nervous system?

The Autonomic Nervous System

The autonomic nervous system, which is part of the central nervous system, is the body’s unconscious control center. It consists of two interconnected branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which regulate homeostasis in regard to psychological and physiological states. Both work together to maintain balance within the body.

The Sympathetic Nervous System

When faced with urgent or stressful situations, our bodies are equipped to help us survive these ordeals. Our sympathetic nervous system kicks in and activates the fight or flight response. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline surge in order to raise heart rate, breathing speed, and blood pressure levels – all invaluable resources needed for escape or confrontation.

The Parasympathetic Nervous System

The parasympathetic system is responsible for relaxation and recovery. This system is activated when we engage in activities like yoga, meditation or deep breathing. It helps with digestion, immune response, and tissue repair.

What is the vagus nerve?

The vagus nerve is a cranial nerve that originates in the brain and extends into the stomach and other organs of the body. It helps control many bodily functions including heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, sweating, and even vocalization. The vagus nerve also plays a major role in regulating emotions by sending signals from the brain to other parts of your body. It works with your autonomic nervous system to balance feelings such as stress, relaxation, pleasure, etc.

What is nervous system regulation?

Nervous System Regulation is, at its core, the ability to move flexibly between different states of arousal in response to stressors.

This means that when we encounter a change in our environment, like a stressful situation, we can adapt so that we are not overwhelmed. It also means we completely recover after the stressor has been removed. 

This ability to be flexible and adapt to the circumstances gives us a sense of agency; it makes us feel confident and secure because we can understand and navigate the world in the ways we choose. When our nervous system is regulated, being in our bodies fosters a sense of safety.

What is nervous system dysregulation?

On the contrary, we could say that Nervous System Dysregulation is, in essence, overwhelm and translates into a sense of powerlessness. We feel we have no control over how we respond to triggers, and we remain stuck in that response even after the trigger is removed.

When our nervous system is chronically dysregulated, our bodies develop various symptoms and conditions. Being in our body may feel painful, uncomfortable, or even terrifying. Trauma, depression, burnout, illness, and chronic pain all stem from an overactive nervous system.