Time is Not the Only Thing Needed for Healing!
It has been a year since Mark and I learned first-hand the destructive force of water. The storm surge was not what we had prepared for and worried about prior to Hurricane Ian. That changed on Sept. 28, 2022. We no longer underestimate the power of water. That is why we evacuated from Norfolk when we heard that there might be a 3–5-foot storm surge from Tropical Storm Ophelia. During the weather channel coverage of this event, I heard a statistic that water not wind causes most deaths in storms.
“Are the storms following me?” I have jokingly asked myself over the past week. Many of my friends and family have echoed this sentiment as they expressed concern for us. It is never a good sign when the Weather Channel sends a reporter to your neighborhood. While I was laughing on the outside, my insides were churning. My neck stiffened up and I started munching non-stop on salty popcorn—a true sign that my adrenals were in overdrive.
Recognizing Signs of Nervous System Dysregulation!
As a certified trauma sensitive HeartMath trainer and coach and Gentle Somatic Yoga teacher, I understand that trauma is not the event, but how your nervous system processes the event. Hurricane Ian was a major trigger for me as far as feeling safe in my body. When our bodies feel unsafe, we produce the hormone cortisol. Cortisol, over time, wreaks havoc on our bodies. In the short term,
- It creates salt and sugar cravings.
- It affects the sleep cycle (i.e At bedtime, you might feel wired and tired. In the morning, you might not feel rested.)
- It exacerbates the pain cycle in at least two ways.
- it increases the inflammatory cycle and
- your nervous system becomes even more sensitized to pain.
Silver Linings
We ended up having a pleasant visit with friends during our weekend evacuation and the best news was Norfolk was spared the brunt of this large tropical storm. So did we overreact? I don’t think so and this is why!
- When you have experienced a trauma in the past, your nervous system is primed to react in a similar way to a trigger. So while toughing it out might impress others, it may create more issues in your nervous system. There are methods to create a sense of safety through new neural pathways. I teach these methods in my Gentle Somatic Yoga classes and in private coaching and private yoga therapy sessions.
- Making the right decisions for yourself requires a few steps- pausing, slowing your breathing down and directing it to your heart center. This is called Heart Focused breathing and what it does is activate the neurons in the heart which then send messages through the Vagus Nerve to the higher functioning part of the brain. I teach this tool in my once-a-month FREE WeAddHeart meditation. Click here to sign up for the next one.
Because we are all wired differently and nearly all of us have experienced some kind of trauma to the nervous system, addressing nervous system dysregulation is a crucial step in health and aging vibrantly no matter what you are facing. Reach out for a 20 minute FREE consultation to see if I can help you re-regulate your nervous system and feel better today.
With Heart,
Andrea
