Regulate Your Nervous System with Sarah Baldwin

If you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or exhausted, it might be due to a dysregulated nervous system. But don't worry, there are ways to fix it! Sarah Baldwin, a somatic experiencing practitioner, joined the Heal Squad team to share her expertise on how to regulate your nervous system and provide listeners with practical tips for regulating it. 

Regulate Your Nervous System with Sarah Baldwin

First, let's understand what a dysregulated nervous system is. Our nervous system is our protective system and directly impacts all our thoughts, feelings, actions, and behaviors. When our nervous system is in a dysregulated state, we might experience symptoms like anxiety, panic attacks, sleep problems, or difficulty concentrating. These symptoms can make it challenging to go about our daily lives and can negatively impact our overall well-being.

Orienting

One way to regulate our nervous system is through orienting. Orienting is a technique that helps us bring ourselves into the present moment by using all of our senses to engage with our surroundings. To practice this exercise look around the room you’re in and notice five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. By doing this exercise, we are using our senses to ground ourselves in the present moment, which can help us feel more calm and centered.

Take time for yourself

Another tip Sarah shared is to take time to regulate our emotions. When we're feeling overwhelmed or anxious, it's important to take a step back and give ourselves time to try to regulate our nervous system. This could mean taking a few deep breaths, going for a walk, or practicing mindfulness exercises. Even watching videos or listening to music that calms us down can help bring us back into a regulated state. 

Create thought maps

Sarah discussed the importance of creating thought maps. A thought map is a visual representation of our thoughts and emotions. By creating a thought map, we can gain insight into our thought patterns and identify any negative or limiting beliefs that might be holding us back. Once we identify these beliefs, we can work to challenge and reframe them, which can help us live a more fulfilling life.

Our nervous system plays a crucial role in our daily lives, and when it's dysregulated, it can negatively impact our well-being. However, by incorporating techniques like orienting, regulating our emotions, and creating thought maps, we can regulate our nervous systems.

---

Catch more by listening to the full episode!

For more episodes, check out Heal Squad x Maria Menounos. Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple.