Emotional Wellness: Inner Peace & Strength
Emotional Wellness: Inner Peace & Strength
Bringing Balance to Our Nervous System During a Pandemic
The month of September marks 6 months of distancing and disinfecting, mask wearing and hand sanitizing, not to mention isolating and reintegrating into schools or places of employment. Talk about a whirlwind to our minds, bodies, and spirits. How do we bring clarity to what we have experienced?
First, how about recognizing and putting some definitions to the most common problematic Covid-19 responses? Just to name a few: irritability, anxiety, anger, inability to concentrate, struggling to sit still, distress in relationships, scanning environments for danger, zoning out, shutting down, becoming very quiet, experiencing loneliness and depression, as well as feeling isolated. With Covid-19 being a spotlight in our worlds, it is important to recognize our reactions and understand why we are experiencing them.
The answer to this big WHY “we are experiencing what we are experiencing question” has everything to do with our biological human makeup when under stress and when undergoing a trauma. Which, let’s face it, a pandemic is definitely a trauma, across the board. Our biological makeup - more specifically, our nervous systems - have been rocked and unrooted.
Our nervous system exists within the confines of our mind. There are 3 branches to our nervous system and unconsciously/consciously we function from all three branches daily, weekly, and monthly.
The top branch (ventral vagal) is located right behind our forehead. If we are functioning from this branch, we are socially connected to others and our experiences, we view the world as safe, we are happy, interested, creative, and peaceful, we are organized and follow through with plans, and we have a general sense of well-being.
The middle branch (sympathetic branch) is located right in the center of our brain. If we are functioning from the middle branch, we experience anxiety, fear, panic, irritability, the urge to move, a sense of uneasiness, and most commonly “the fight or flight” response. Some common internal dialogues, if we are functioning from this middle branch, are: 1) The world is dangerous and I need to protect myself from harm, and 2) fear is present and whispers in our ears: move, take action, escape, nobody can be trusted, no place is safe.
The bottom branch (dorsal vagal) is located at the base of our skull and connects to our spinal cord. If we are functioning from this branch, we experience little energy, a lack of hope, feelings of unimportance, depression, isolation, an automatic shutdown response, and loneliness.
If we visualize our nervous system as a ladder, the top rung of this said ladder is the “ventral vagal branch ” representing social connection. The middle rung of this ladder representing the “sympathetic branch” or the “fight or flight” response. Lastly, the bottom of this ladder representing the “dorsal vagal branch” or the shutdown response. It is important to gain insight and awareness of where you are on this said ladder and then strive to climb it.
Let’s talk about specific ways to climb this ladder, starting from the bottom up. If you find yourself functioning from the bottom (dorsal vagal) branch, you want to think MOVEMENT. Slight movements, stretches, changes in posture and slowly shifting your body can have a direct impact on moving you up the ladder. In transitioning to the middle branch, if you find yourself functioning from the (sympathetic branch) “fight or flight” response system, you want to think BREATH. With inhalation and longer exhalations in mind, you want to begin moving that adrenaline out of your system in a healthy way. Whether that be running, doing jumping jacks, playing an instrument, marching in place, dancing, singing, lifting weights, walking your dog, etc. Lastly, if you find yourself functioning from the (ventral vagal) top branch, you want to think about NOTICING just that. Awareness of functioning from the top branch enables top level functioning or social connection to occur more often.
Our nervous system is all encompassing and is directly impacted by our environment and our experiences. With that said, all of us have the ability consciously to “climb up the ladder” and strive for top level (ventral vagal) functioning. During this pandemic, we can view this time as having a decision to make … We can consciously choose social connection and engagement. We can choose to lean into others, we can choose to see the bigger picture, we can choose to take care of ourselves, we can choose to take time to play and find the joy, we can find and choose gratitude.
Douglas E. Harding once said, “Peace is our very nature, not something we come across. It’s where we are, nearer than all else. We don’t come to it; we come from it. To find it is to allow ourselves to go back to the place we never left. “
Laura Widger is a NY State Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 15 years of experience in the field of emotional wellness and mental health. She currently works for CCA-Connecting Communities in Action and specializes in trauma healing with children and adults. She lives in Cattaraugus County with her husband, children, and German short haired dog. Laura personally and professionally strives to promote internal self leadership and the discovery of true genuineness and balance within.