Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system has two main divisions.
What are sympathetic and parasympathetic?
This system activates body processes that help you in times of need, especially times of stress or danger. This system is responsible for your body’s “fight-or-flight” response.
Sympathetic Nervous System
We respond to threats aggressively when the body activates this response. This reaction is often a last resort, as our autonomic response system believes we cannot overcome the adversary.
Signs and symptoms of a fight response include:
Fight
These simple actions are a scientific way to activate the parasympathetic system to provide both immediate and long-term relief from stress and anxiety.
What are deep breathing and a ten-minute walk?
Deep breathing is the key to relaxation. Be sure to not breathe too fast though, or you might feel dizzy.
Steps for deep breathing (repeat 3 times):
Leaving, changing the subject, refusing to talk about certain issues, pulling away emotionally, agreeing without expressing personal feelings is this type of stress response.
What is flight?
This is believing you can escape the fear by running away. This can create a cycle of emotional distancing and detachment.
What parts of the body does the Autonomic Nervous System control?
The autonomic nervous system controls internal body processes such as the following:
Blood pressure
Heart and breathing rates
Body temperature
Digestion
Metabolism
The balance of water and electrolytes (such as sodium and calcium)
The production of body fluids (saliva, sweat, and tears)
Urination
Defecation
Sexual response
This part of your autonomic nervous system does the opposite of your sympathetic nervous system. This system is responsible for the “rest-and-digest” body processes.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
This response occurs when the brain thinks we can avoid a threat by running away. For example, you may instinctively duck or move aside if someone kicks a soccer ball at you. The body responds by increasing your heart rate to prepare you to flee the situation.
Signs and symptoms of a flight response include:
Flight
This exercise reduces stress in the body by slowly relaxing each muscle. When practiced regularly you will become increasingly aware of when you are feeling body tension, and have this skill to relax.
What is progressive muscle relaxation?
We divide the body into eight muscle groups. You will tense and relax each group twice, as follows:
Steps for tightening and relaxing your muscles (repeat 2 times):
Muscle groups:
Verbally attacks, defensiveness, controlling behavior, yelling, physical agression are this type of stress reponse. .
What is fight?
When you feel in danger and believe you can overpower the threat, you are in fight mode. Your brain sends signals throughout your body to rapidly prepare for the physical demands of fighting.
This part of the brain is involved in logical responses and reasoning and can be shut down by fear and anxiety.
What is the Prefrontal Cortex?
This automatic physiological reaction to events perceived as stressful or dangerous activates the sympathetic nervous system and triggers an acute stress response.
What is “fight or flight”?
The response is an automatic physical reaction that happens in your body when you feel scared or think you are in danger.
• Heart beats faster
• Digestion slows
• Pupils get bigger
• Breathing gets faster
This response (tonic immobility) is when we become rigid, alert, and on guard in situations without a feasible escape route. During this response, we involuntarily become immobile and feel frozen. Our minds and bodies work to conserve resources until we see a possible moment of escape. Research shows individuals with higher levels of anxiety-related traits are more likely to experience immobility when perceiving a threat.
Signs and symptoms of a freeze response include:
Freeze
Grounding techniques help control these symptoms by turning attention away from thoughts, memories, or worries, and refocusing on the present moment.
What are 5-4-3-2-1
What are 5 things you can see?
What are 4 things you can feel?
What are 3 things you can hear?
What are 2 things you can smell?
What is 1 thing you can taste?
Shutting down, avoidance, dissociation, passivity, numbing during emotionally charged interactions is this type of response.
What is freeze?
It's a survival mechanism where the person becomes temporarily immobilized, unable to respond or engage effectively. This can lead to communication breakdowns and difficulties in addressing underlying issues.
This part of the brain is responsible involved in processing emotions, particularly fear and anxiety, and plays a role in the "fight or flight" response
What is the Amygdala?
These are practices that calm the parasympathetic system.
What are practicing deep breathing, mindfulness techniques, engaging in calming activities: meditation, yoga, spending time in nature.
This response (appeasement) is when a person responds by attempting to pacify a threat. For example, a person may give into the emotions or wants of the aggressor despite their feelings toward them. This response can occur in abusive relationships (i.e., between a child and their caregiver or a female and their partner), coercive situations, or after sexual assault.
Signs and symptoms of a fawn response include:
Fawn
Use this technique instead of assuming your negative thoughts or someone else's are true.
What is Examine the Evidence?
Struggling to say no to requests when it's not in your best interest, prioritizing the needs of others over your own is this form of stress response.
What is fawn?
Fawning refers to consistently abandoning your own needs to serve others to avoid conflict, criticism, or disapproval. Fawning is also called the “please and appease” response
This part of the brain acts as an interface between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex, integrating the emotional and cognitive processes. It is strengthened by intentional focus, without judgment, allowing the "hard thing" to be accomplished.
What is the Anterior Cingulate Cortex?
These practices gargling, massaging the outer ear, short term exposure to very cold temperatures, singing, deep breathing, interpersonal engagement, laughing, cardio activity help this nerve activate the parasympathetic system.
What is the Vagus Nerve.
Practicing these simple activities will stimulate the Vagal Nerve for life-long benefits.
What are:
Deep breathing, meditation (stay in the present), exercise, full body laugh, hum a favorite song, splash cold water, gargle, massage your outer ear
Seeing things in black and white with no room for middle ground.
What is all or nothing thinking?
This distortion happens when we experience something good, or even neutral, and we convince ourselves that it is not actually positive. We find ways to reject these experiences, insisting that they don't “count.” This often looks like turning compliments or words of praise from others into negatives
What is discounting the positive?