Avoiding the fight or flight stress response is possible!

Stress is at an all-time high and the majority of people are stressed about inflation and global uncertainty. People are living in an ‘unpredictable state of prolonged hypervigilance and growing financial strain’. However, it's not all doom and gloom, there is a way to regulate our nervous system.

Research conducted by the American Psychological Association in 2022 found that two-thirds of adults felt that their lives had been changed by the pandemic, and stress over inflation to global uncertainty has increased. The symptoms of this stress have resulted in hypervigilance, panic, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness. However, if we can regulate our nervous system we can start to create change and take on the demands of the day.

The way to regulate our nervous system is through learning about the ‘Polyvaga’ theory, developed by Stephen Porges in the 1990s. It is the ventral vagal state as opposed to the activated sympathetic state in which we can feel calm, connected to others, and able to take on the demands of the day. When we are in a stressful situation we can experience dysregulation whereby we are in a sympathetic state, often known as fight/flight/freeze or fawn mode. Being aware of which state we are in is the first step to actively being able to choose and regulate our nervous system.

A few simple steps that can help to regulate and switch to a ventral vagal state is are:

• Conscious breathing
• Being in nature, picking a colour, and spotting as many instances of this colour around you
• Relaxing music and mindfully following the lyrics