In this episode, Sarah takes you through the different states in your Autonomic Nervous System, likening it to a special ops team constantly working to protect you. She explains how, through a process called neuroception, the system is constantly monitoring for internal and external threats. Sarah then delves into the three states of dysregulation—Sympathetic, Dorsal, and Freeze—and how each state has brilliantly adapted to protect you, as well as your primary state of regulation—Ventral—which is where we experience much of the “good” in life.

You’ll also go through practical steps to begin creating a “toolbox for regulation” and learn about the importance of consistently engaging in neural exercises, which is the key to rewiring the nervous system and improving your overall quality of life. Whether you're dealing with anxiety, depression, or everyday stress, this episode is filled with actionable tools to help you get into the driver’s seat of your experience and gain control over how you feel.

Episode Highlights

00:00 Intro

01:33 Neuroception - The Threat Detector

04:33 3 States of Dysregulation

11:46 Long-Term Dysregulation

13:21 Mirror Neurons - Nervous Systems Affect Each Other

15:58 #1: Sympathetic: Your Mobilized State of Fight/Flight

20:50 #2: Dorsal: Your Immobilized State of Shutdown

29:24 #3: Freeze: Your Blended State of Tonic Immobility

36:38 Ventral: Your Primary State of Regulation

40:51 Vagal Tone

46:35 The Connection Between Your Nervous System and Sleep

56:30 Your Pace is Exactly Right

01:04:10 Healing Shame 

Free Workbook:
Want to learn more about your nervous system? Grab a FREE copy of Sarah’s trauma-informed workbook, “How to Gain Control Over How You Feel.”

This downloadable PDF will equip you with somatic tools to get into the driver’s seat of your experience so that you can step toward a life filled with more freedom and ease.

Click here to download your copy:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-workbook

Connect with Sarah on:

Email Community - https://bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletter

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahbcoaching/

Website - https://www.sarahbaldwincoaching.com/

Submit a Question: https://sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast

Important Keywords:

• Autonomic Nervous System: The self-protective system within the body that is responsible for our thoughts, feelings, sensations, behaviors, and perception of self, others, and the world around us, as well as regulating involuntary functions, such as your heart rate and digestion, and playing a central role in how you react to stress or calm.
• Neuroception: This is your threat detector, which looks out to the world (and within) to decide whether you are in safety, danger, or life-threatening danger. It does this by resourcing an internal database that holds all your past lived experiences.
• Sympathetic Nervous System: This is your self-protective state of mobilization or fight/flight. This state is all about the “doing” and can be experienced as: anxiety, stress, worry, fear, terror, rage, agitation, frustration, or panic.
• Dorsal Vagal Complex: This is your self-protective state of immobilization or shut down. This state is all about leaving our bodies and can be experienced as: depression, hopelessness, apathy, disinterest, disconnection, a general sense of “blah,” or dissociation.
• Freeze: This is your self-protective blended state of tonic immobility, which is made up of equal parts Sympathetic and Dorsal. These equal and opposite forces come together to render us stuck and can be experienced as: feeling trapped, urgency met with the inability to take action, or a lot of energy in our bodies we can’t do anything about.
• Ventral Vagal Complex: This is your primary state of regulation, which can be experienced as: connection, joy, ease, flow, relaxation, rest, or aliveness.

In this first episode, Sarah dives deep into the foundation of all healing: nervous system regulation. She explains how your Autonomic Nervous System creates every sensation, feeling, and behavior you've ever experienced, from anxiety, worry, and depression to joy, presence, and flow, and how it influences your ability to connect with others and pursue your life’s purpose. By harnessing the power of your nervous system, you can begin to get unstuck and step toward your desires.

Sarah shares her own personal journey, having lived through chronic dysregulation and its associated struggles—panic attacks, depression, and even chronic illness. Through years of training and somatic healing work, she has not only transformed her life but also helped thousands do the same. 

Episode Highlights

00:00 Intro

01:16 The Foundation of All Healing

05:06 The Nervous System

06:40 Dysregulation and Stuckness

09:53 The Limitations of Talk Therapy

13:59 The Vehicle of Your Life

17:50 Autonomic Nervous System

22:18 You Are Not Broken

23:21 Dysregulation

25:09 Reasons Why We Become Dysregulated

29:01 The Special Ops Team

33:24 How the Threat Detector Works

38:39 Befriending Your Nervous System

41:24 Similarities in Human Experiences

43:40 How to Deal with Your Emotions

46:58 The Language of the Autonomic Nervous System

53:32 Confusion

01:00:16 Attachment Theory and Relationships

Free Workbook:
Want to learn more about your nervous system? Grab a FREE copy of Sarah’s trauma-informed workbook, “How to Gain Control Over How You Feel.”

This downloadable PDF will equip you with somatic tools to get into the driver’s seat of your experience so that you can step toward a life filled with more freedom and ease.

Click here to download your copy:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-workbook

Connect with Sarah on:

Email Community - https://bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletter

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahbcoaching/

Website - https://www.sarahbaldwincoaching.com/

Submit a Question: https://sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast