the states
bringing awareness + finding support to interrupt + switch thru mapping your terrain
ventral
Regulated + Flexible - you will dip into the below states but you easily bounce back into Ventral. You feel for the most part: resilient, grounded, full of vitality, you manifest with a fair amount of ease, you feel social and relaxed, connected to self + other, you are adaptable, curious mind, compassionate, inner calm, receptive, open, you have good organ function and increased HRV (heart rate variability) and increased recovery.
Support yourself to spend more time in Ventral with any of the practices as well as activities that bring greater mindfulness, presence/connection, relaxation to your body and joy in your life.
I’ve broken up the dysregulated states into mobilizing and immobilizing for finding bottoms up love when you are in acute/chronic states of dysregulation and need help pulling yourself out. Most of us are chronically a combination/blend of all the things with one we mainly default to and can benefit from ANY of the practices in the portal to work with on a daily basis to cumulatively bring greater safety, capacity and flexibility so we can spend most of our time marinating in Ventral. The Foundations and Tune Ups will build your capacity and help you marinate in Ventral more often. AND we often need to discharge energy first (see below) before focusing on the Ventral, Vagal toning, Breath practices.
fight
Dysregulation, anger, irritation, frustration, hypervigilence, anxiety, muscle tension, headaches/migraines, annoyance, hyper-aroused, high blood pressure, weight issues, insomnia, overly sensitive to stimuli, aggressive/reactive, hard to concentrate, hyperglycemia, cancer, chronic pain, feeling stuck, etc…
flight
Dysregulation, hyper-aroused, anxiety, fear, worry, sensitive to environment + stimuli, muscle tension, GI issues, headaches/migraines, low immune system, panic, high blood pressure, weight issues, low libido, insomnia, hard to concentrate, anti-social, feeling stuck, etc…
Fight and flight are both mobilizing states.
Dysregulation, numb, social withdrawal, sad, feeling overwhelmed, apathy, speech issues, loss of motivation, long term physical discomfort/tension/pain, avoidant, really tired, appetite changes, low energy, feeling hopeless, hard to set boundaries, intrusive thoughts, feeling stuck, collapse, etc…
Functional freeze is still living your life and ‘adulting’ but a huge part of your nervous system is shutdown. It’s like a foot on the break and the gas at the same time.
freeze
shutdown
Dysregulation, numb, sensitive to pain, shame, shutdown, desire to isolate, overwhelm, depression, dissociation, apathy, disengages, loss of interest in hobbies, trouble making decisions, chronic pain and/or tension, memory issues, procrastination, hopelessness, feeling stuck, fainting, etc…
*Freeze and shutdown are both immobilizing states/energy. Fawn is also a dysresgulated parasympathetic state of appeasing to avoid conflict, etc…