5 Fresh Tips: Learning How to Regulate Your Nervous System with Nervous System Clinician Jessica Addeo

03/01/24 • 5 min

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How to Regulate Your Nervous System with Nervous System Clinician Jessica Addeo

Learning how to regulate your nervous system can be overwhelming, but you’re not alone! Check out these 5 Fresh Tips to help you regulate your nervous system with nervous system clinician Jessica Addeo.

Jessica Addeo is an occupational therapist and specializes in the nervous system. Her role involves guiding women in understanding their nervous system in their daily lives, helping them feel more present, connected, and less burdened by guilt.

You can learn more about Jessica Addeo on her Fresh Starts profile.

5 Fresh Tips to help you regulate your nervous system:

Being calm is not the goal, that is not what regulation means (to me). Regulation is a verb not a state. It is a set of tools that you can call on to help you when you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, burnt out, etc. The goal is to feel "in control" and resilient in the face of daily stressors. For many people the goal is to slow down and feel safe enough to even define "calm" for them. But no one is regulated all of the time. The goal is feel good about your life, which you can't do without your nervous system being regulated.
Nervous system reframe is EVERYTHING! When you are dysregulated your thinking brain goes offline (that is just plain science). So if you aren't your best self in one of those moments, it isn't a character flaw, you aren't an awful human. You got dysregulated (basically you can drop the guilt!). What can you do about this? Start to learn your signs of dysregulation.
Knowing all the states of your nervous system is super helpful. What do you look like when you are super activated (a fight or flight response), what do you look like when you are regulated or in your "window of tolerance", what do you look like when you are in a freeze or shut down response? Being inside our window of tolerance often feels best, but it isn't necessarily the "superior" nervous system state. It's about knowing how your nervous system communicates with you so you can grab the right tools. And sometimes being dysregulated is the APPROPRIATE response.
We all have different thresholds for sensory input. And we actually have 8 sensory systems, not just the 5 outward facing ones we think of. Sight, taste, touch, sound and smell are your exterior facing senses. Proprioception, Vestibular and Interoception are the senses that tell you about the inner state of your body and where you are in space (two things that are really important for survival and therefore important for your nervous system). Finding your just right level of these different sensory inputs is SUPER regulating for a nervous system. It is also really important to know your thresholds, maybe a certain space is too loud or bright for you. That doesn't mean you don't go that space (unless you don't want to), but it does mean you plan accordingly for YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM. I teach something called the "nervous system bank account"- where you basically learn how to balance the input going in and out of your nervous system.
Nervous system regulation is about communication. Your nervous system is always communicating with your brain, we often miss the messages (because we haven't been taught to listen in this way) and then the nervous system speaks louder. The louder could be things like panic attacks, adult temper tantrums, elevated heart rate, difficulty taking a deep breath, chronic inflammation, chronic stress, difficult sleeping and so on. When you live in a chronic state of fight/flight you often end up feeling like one misstep and you will came crashing off a cliff. Your nervous systems job is to keep you safe and alive, so it is trying to protect you. Learning to speak this language is a game changer. So next time you "freak out", afterwards, instead of judgement get curious. What is your nervous system saying to you in those moments?

How to Regulate Your Nervous System with Nervous System Clinician Jessica Addeo

You can learn more about Jessica Addeo on her Fresh Starts profile.

5 Fresh Tips to help you regulate your nervous system:

Being calm is not the goal, that is not what regulation means (to me). Regulation is a verb not a state. It is a set of tools that you can call on to help you when you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, burnt out, etc. The goal is to feel "in control" and resilient in the face of daily stressors. For many people the goal is to slow down and feel safe enough to even define "calm" for them. But no one is regulated all of the time. The goal is feel good about your life, which you can't do without your nervous system being regulated.
Nervous system reframe is EVERYTHING! When you are dysregulated your thinking brain goes offline (that is just plain science). So if you aren't your best self in one of those moments, it isn't a character flaw, you aren't an awful human. You got dysregulated (basically you can drop the guilt!). What can you do about this? Start to learn your signs of dysregulation.
Knowing all the states of your nervous system is super helpful. What do you look like when you are super activated (a fight or flight response), what do you look like when you are regulated or in your "window of tolerance", what do you look like when you are in a freeze or shut down response? Being inside our window of tolerance often feels best, but it isn't necessarily the "superior" nervous system state. It's about knowing how your nervous system communicates with you so you can grab the right tools. And sometimes being dysregulated is the APPROPRIATE response.
We all have different thresholds for sensory input. And we actually have 8 sensory systems, not just the 5 outward facing ones we think of. Sight, taste, touch, sound and smell are your exterior facing senses. Proprioception, Vestibular and Interoception are the senses that tell you about the inner state of your body and where you are in space (two things that are really important for survival and therefore important for your nervous system). Finding your just right level of these different sensory inputs is SUPER regulating for a nervous system. It is also really important to know your thresholds, maybe a certain space is too loud or bright for you. That doesn't mean you don't go that space (unless you don't want to), but it does mean you plan accordingly for YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM. I teach something called the "nervous system bank account"- where you basically learn how to balance the input going in and out of your nervous system.
Nervous system regulation is about communication. Your nervous system is always communicating with your brain, we often miss the messages (because we haven't been taught to listen in this way) and then the nervous system speaks louder. The louder could be things like panic attacks, adult temper tantrums, elevated heart rate, difficulty taking a deep breath, chronic inflammation, chronic stress, difficult sleeping and so on. When you live in a chronic state of fight/flight you often end up feeling like one misstep and you will came crashing off a cliff. Your nervous systems job is to keep you safe and alive, so it is trying to protect you. Learning to speak this language is a game changer. So next time you "freak out", afterwards, instead of judgement get curious. What is your nervous system saying to you in those moments?

Previous Episode

5 Fresh Tips: Helping You Reclaim Your Time with Life Coach Abby Furey

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5 Fresh Tips to Help You Reclaim Your Time with Life Coach Abby Furey

Learning how to reclaim your time can be overwhelming, but you’re not alone! Check out these 5 Fresh Tips to reclaim your time with life coach Abby Furey.

In her private practice, Sincerely with Abby Furey, Abby offers Life Coaching and Business Mentoring services. She helps women stop waiting for things to slow down - because they never do - and take control of their time and priorities now, while they’re living their full and precious lives. Additionally, she supports small businesses through monthly and quarterly business strategy sessions, providing structure to business foundations and progress.

You can learn more about Abby Furey on her Fresh Starts profile.

5 Fresh Tips to help you reclaim your time:

Prioritize: The best way I've found to bring clarity around priorities is to 1. get specific about your current season of life and 2. keep your time horizon short. 3 months tops. I might ask you to tell me about your season of life by asking questions about the ages and stages of the people and activities that make up your days. What is the rhythm of your life? What are you walking through right now? Our season is always changing, so do what you can to sum it up in a few sentences. T
Plan: when it comes to time, you should always start with a plan. I'll spend the rest of my days shouting from the rooftops that structuring your time is the key to unlocking time freedom and making space for what matters most to you. I know it may sound counterintuitive. A plan for your time and tasks serves as home base. It is not rigid and bossy, but supportive and functional.
Prepare: Moving away from living in urgency is a necessary gift we can only give to ourselves. When we tend to the necessary before it is urgent, we are relieving future stress, worry, disappointment and plenty of overnight UPS charges! Here is another way preparation can help you reclaim time. When your time and your priorities are aligned, you will experience more opportunities for work flow sessions, staying closer to deadlines and creating efficiencies that you would overlook if you were stuck in catch up mode. It's powerful stuff. So yeah, fill your coffee maker tonight.
(Be) Present: there's no way around it, we have to take ourselves off auto-pilot to reclaim our time and feel better about our days. Distraction rules our lives and no matter our intentions, it is not serving us. Be where your feet are. Pick your head up. And my best tip for staying present: always have a notebook nearby. When your genius idea for a preschool fundraiser comes up in the middle of finalizing tomorrow's leadership retreat, jot it down, and get right back to the task at hand, or at plan.
Protect: finally, be a fierce protector of your time. To the extent to which you have privilege and resources to do so, enforce limits and boundaries that support your priorities. There are so many threats to our time (you're most likely listening to me on one of the worst offenders). If you truly want to reclaim your time for what matters most to you right now, you are going to have to implement some time boundaries.

Next Episode

5 Fresh Tips: Growing an Online Business with Intuition with Business Strategist Chelsea Fournier

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5 Fresh Tips to Help You Grow a Business Online While Embracing Your Sensitive Nature & Intuition with Business Strategy & Marketing Agency Owner Chelsea Fournier

Learning how to grow a business online while embracing your sensitive nature and intuition can be overwhelming, but you’re not alone! Check out these 5 Fresh Tips to help you grow an online business while embracing your sensitive nature and intuition with business strategist and marketing agency owner Chelsea Fournier.

Intuitive Business By Design supports healers, coaches, creatives & change-makers who are amazing at what they do serving clients, but the tech, software, and back end side of running their online business makes their eyes burn and their soul hurt.

We offer tiers of support for the beginning business owner (such as templates, community coaching, courses, and consulting sessions) and offer impeccable and intuitive support for done-for-you services relating to launching your website, funnels, email marketing + back end support & systems.

You can learn more about Chelsea Fournier on her Fresh Starts profile.

5 Fresh Tips to help grow your online business with intuition:

Embrace Sensitivity & Authenticity as Your Superpower. So many entrepreneurs are highly sensitive, neurodivergent, or just looking for a way to create something outside of the box. Instead of feeling like that will hold you back, it's empowering to explore how that will help you stand out, embracing your unique ability to have an authentic brand (without oversharing your life) can help you form deeper connections in your community and audience as a refreshing presence in their life and business.
Embracing Healing As Part Of Your Business Journey. If you are a recovering people pleaser, then healing those wounds will be huge for your long-term success in setting boundaries. If you are triggered by rejection, then releasing trauma that triggered that will be part of your path. I am not a healer myself, but I support so many amazing healers and see that those who are doing the work (myself included) of physical, mental, emotional & energy healing alongside the business strategy get further faster.
Design Thoughtful Offers in Alignment With Your Mission. Designing how you package your services or sessions up into a package, program, course or membership can feel daunting. Start with having a clear mission of why you do what you do, the feeling you want clients to experience and feel, and then consider the different formats or containers, and get really good at one first (marketing, selling, onboarding & serving). Then you can branch out to other methods of support.
Welcome Your Intuition Into Your Business. There are so many decisions to make daily, weekly, monthly and ongoing as a business owner. Taking time to tap into your body, your intuition, your spiritual guidance...whatever will best serve you to make authentic and aligned decisions will make a difference in the long run. Blending intuition with strategy for decisions that feel right and align with your business vision and ethical standards will help you feel empowered and in charge of your business.
Insist on Authentic Marketing & Lean Into Automations. Create & implement marketing strategies that reflect your genuine self, drawing clients who value and seek what you uniquely offer. And don't be afraid of automations. The more you can map out and automate as far as marketing, selling & onboarding your ideal client, the more you can reserve your energy for truly serving and holding space and support. Funnels, email marketing, and sequences can still represent you, your voice and your energy...just mapped out and written in advance so that you can sit back and let the magic happen in the back end.