Our nervous system is made up of a profoundly intricate network of nerves that carry electrical impulses to various cells, tissues, and organs throughout the body. The way we receive and process information from the environment influences how we feel in our physical body. When we perceive a threat, our nervous system mobilizes to find safety, and we experience that as dysregulation. Dysregulation can be experienced as hyper-arousal, such as increased heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, restlessness, and irritability. It can also be experienced as hypo-arousal, such as decreased heart rate, slowing of breath, numbness, and lethargy.
When we hold unresolved trauma in our body, the baseline of our nervous system can be a hyper- or hypo-aroused state. When we do not have the inner or relational resources to move through our dysregulation to completion, we carry it with us into how we engage and interact with our daily life. This can be experienced as generalized anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, and insomnia. In some cases, unresolved trauma can be expressed through personality characteristics, such as narcissism (hyper-arousal) or borderline (hypo-arousal).
When the nervous system is activated, the brain of trauma survivors cannot register certain stimuli as belonging to the past. For example, an interaction with someone now can remind the brain of the past, and the individual will react as if the original trauma is occurring in the present moment. This is known as PTSD, and when these symptoms are honored and listened to, a person can learn to regulate their nervous system and return to a state of inner well-being and regulation.
The amygdala, which is the emotional center of the brain, is continually scanning the environment for threats to safety. In a person with unresolved trauma, the scan may be experienced as hyper-vigilance. However, this is the purpose of the amygdala, as it is designed to try to keep us safe.
There are four threats that the amygdala is scanning the environment for:
- Incongruence
- Judgment/shoulds
- Unknown
- Physical Threats
Incongruence is the state of being incompatible or out of place. In the environment, incongruence might look like a person smiling when they feel angry. It may look like a person trying to be nice when they have an ulterior motive. It may look like a person saying they feel fine when they feel burned out. The amygdala can sense these incongruencies, and when they go unnamed a person feels unsafe.
Judgment in the environment occurs when someone thinks someone should be different than they are. If a person is sad, and someone is trying to make sadness go away, this can be perceived as a should, “I should be happy.” If someone has a judgmental thought about another person’s appearance or personality, the amygdala can perceive that and feel unsafe.
Unknowns are a huge threat to the amygdala. When a person doesn’t know what’s to come, the mind often anticipates the worst. Making up stories about what might happen, nervous system dysregulation increases in intensity.
Physical threats can be immediate or anticipated. They can also be towards one’s self or one’s loved ones. Some examples of perceived physical threats are the climate crisis, news of school shootings, unwanted physical touch, and so on.
An important consideration when studying threats to the nervous system is that the person with a dysregulated nervous system is also part of the environment. This means that if a person is incongruent within themselves, they will feel unsafe and dysregulated. Similarly, if a person is looping in a story that they should be different than they are, they will feel dysregulated. If a person doesn’t trust themselves to meet the task of the unknown, they will feel dysregulated. And if a person harms their own body through self-betrayal, substances, and so on, they will feel dysregulated.
Knowing threats to the nervous system can serve as a pathway to regulation. Working towards inner congruency, a person becomes more regulated; working towards self-acceptance, a person feels safer; working towards self-trust, a person feels more secure; working towards non-violence towards one’s self, a person is a safe place for themselves.
Learn more about our Awakened Therapists Trainings: https://thespirituallyaligned.com/online/
Get started with a free training today: https://thespirituallyaligned.com/online/free-course/
Listen to consultation with transpersonal counselors: https://thespirituallyaligned.com/awakened-therapist-podcast/
References:
Dion, L. (2018). Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach for Integrating Intensity. W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition.
Miller, L. (2021). The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life. Random House.