Regulation vs. Healing

What is the difference between regulating and healing the nervous system?

Regulating the nervous system means that we use strategies to help us move between the fight/flight/freeze/fawn (sympathetic) and the parasympathetic sides of the nervous system. Because most people are shunted towards fight-or-flight physiology, regulation strategies are typically geared toward activating the parasympathetic side of the nervous system and calming the sympathetic side.  Think of deep breathing (even better, in-through-the-nose, out-through-the-mouth deep breathing with a longer exhale than inhale), nature walks, reading, restorative yoga, journaling, balanced eating, and working towards optimal sleep habits.  All of these activities, especially when built into routine and made part of lifestyle, help us manage stress and its physiological effects more successfully.

But here’s the difference between regulation and healing: I am going to use the example of a panic attack, which is a symptom of the nervous system being in a highly dysregulated state in which the sympathetic nervous system is very overactive compared to the parasympathetic.  If you feel a panic attack coming on, you may be able to use regulation strategies to help it pass more quickly and return to baseline.  This may look like using deep breathing or stepping outside to calm yourself.

But with healing, the panic attacks would no longer be an issue, meaning they wouldn’t happen. Still happening versus not happening is the difference. And realize, while healing is a journey, it is powerful, it will provide new awarenesses, create new connections, and rewire the patterns of the nervous system. This is called Reorganizational Healing, in which Network Spinal Chiropractic creates new pathways in the nervous system that can be utilized to increase resiliency, adaptability, and even better, help the body use tension as fuel for healing. This leads to new strategies, new ways of being, and new ways of existing in the world.  

This process has so much to do with your awareness of what is happening throughout the process of Network care.  The more you know, the more you understand, the more you engage in being AWARE of your mind and body, the more healing can happen.  

Regulation skills are important to learn, but don’t stop there.  Integrate those strategies into your daily routine but then engage in your healing process.  Let Network teach your mind-body new ways of expanding and increasing your healing.  

Let your quality-of-life soar and remember, Create Health by Choice, Not by Chance.