From Chaos to Calm: Strategies for Healing and Resilience Post-Crisis

Feeling overwhelmed by the aftermath of a crisis and seeking ways to restore balance? Welcome to another profound episode of the Realized Empath Podcast, where we'll guide you on the path to understanding your body's physiological reactions, especially your nervous system's response to stress. We'll identify the signs of dysregulation that can occur post-crisis and discuss how to cultivate resilience through the practice of mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-reflection.

Ready to harness the power of nature and scientific breakthroughs to your advantage? This episode navigates the restorative benefits of eco therapy and somatic experiencing, and how they can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. We'll explore how creative expression through art therapy can help release pent-up emotions, and we'll delve into the neuroscience behind gratitude practices, shining light on their positive impacts on our nervous system. Together, let's embark on the healing journey, using practical techniques to build emotional well-being and inner harmony. So tune in, as we navigate this path to healing and resilience.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

You're listening to the Realized Empath Podcast, where we get real about loving and stumbling through our sensitive lives with your host and holistic counselor, Kristin Schwartz, who helps redefine what's possible for an empath who embraces a path of self-healing.

Speaker 2: 0:22

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Realized Empath Podcast. I'm so happy you're here. I am Kristin Schwartz, and today we are going to talk about a topic that speaks to the hearts of many Bringing your nervous system back into alignment after a crisis or after extreme stress or after being around someone's energy that gets you and your energy all in a tizzy. So life's challenges can leave us feeling disoriented and overwhelmed. But fear not, because we can restore harmony within ourselves. And this episode explores the science behind our nervous systems and crisis response, and we're going to discover practical techniques together and therapies to help us promote healing and resilience. So the first segment I want to talk about understanding the nervous system and crisis response. So, to set the foundation, let's talk about the intricate workings of our nervous system and its response to a crisis. So we're going to explore the atomic nervous system, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branches and how they regulate our body's reactions to stress. Understanding our fight and flight responses and the role of our stress hormones are also going to help us understand why we feel the way that we do during challenging times, when we become aware, when we understand a little bit better about the physiological mechanisms and we can gain insights into our nervous systems and balances after the crisis. So the nervous system is a complex network of nerves and cells that transmit signals between different body parts. It plays a vital role in regulating various body functions, including our movements, sensations and also our response to stress. When we encounter a stressful or triggering situation, what happens is our nervous system activates a response known as the fight or flight response, which I know all of you have heard of. This response is an evolutionary survival mechanism that we all have that prepares us to deal with perceived threats. So we have the stress or perception. When we first encounter a stressor or triggering event, our brain's amygdala responsible for processing emotion detects that threat. Then we have the sympathetic nervous system activation. The amygdala sends signals to the hypothalamus, which activates the sympathetic nervous system, and this triggers the release of stress hormones, particularly adrenaline and cortisol. Next we have the physiological changes that stress hormones can cause, and the physiological changes in the body are there because it's helping the body prepare for action. So the heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, breathing becomes rapid to provide more oxygen to our muscles, who are about to act right, and then blood flow is redirected from our non-essential functions, like digestion, to the muscles. Then we go to an enhanced awareness and alertness. So the heightened alertness allows us to react quickly to their perceived threat, making us more focused and vigilant. And next we have preparation for action. So the body is totally primed to either fight or flee and, depending on the situation, will depend on what the body decides to do. So once the threat or the triggering event has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system is supposed to take over, and that's often called the rest and digest system. This system helps to bring the body back to a state of balance, promoting relaxation and calming the stress response. So now that we know how the nervous system responds in a state of crisis, let's talk about the actual impact of crisis on the nervous system.

Speaker 2: 5:16

Stress and troubles and crisis and trauma they all take a major toll on our nervous system and it can lead to emotional, mental, physical challenges and there are more common symptoms of dysregulation after a crisis. So the first one we have is physical symptoms headaches, digestive issues, muscle tension and chronic fatigue and you may notice that these physical ailments persist even after adequate time and rest and care. We can also get emotional distress, so feelings of anxiety, depression, irritability may become more prevalent when dealing with prolonged stress and trauma, you might find it even challenging to manage your emotions, experience more mood swings, and it can reduce your ability to cope with daily challenges. Another common symptom of dysregulation is sleep disturbances. So often stress and trauma can disrupt our sleep patterns and that leads to that can be difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or experiencing even just experiencing an arrestful sleep. You might toss and turn a lot, so you may frequently wake up, also at night, and feel tired when you wake. Another common symptom is social withdrawal. Challenging in social situations may be challenging and you might withdraw from family and friends, experience a sense of isolation or detachment from others. It's kind of like we go into this cocoon to lick our wounds. And, lastly, a heightened startle response. What happens is we can become more susceptible to an exaggerated startle response or more easily startled by unexpected noises or movements, and our body might remain in that hypervigilant state what we just talked about hypervigilant a couple episodes ago. So we know in life that stress is inevitable.

Speaker 2: 7:31

So how can we cultivate resilience for our nervous system? For nervous system healing? Resilience is basically the beacon that guides us through dark times. So some techniques that I've really depended on over the years to help build resilience and emotional strength in myself, have been practicing mindfulness and self reflection. So mindfulness involves staying present at the moment, even when energy around you feels intense, and observing your thoughts and emotions without judging yourself. Without judging your thoughts, you're just going to be the watcher. So you're regularly engaging in mindfulness practices such as meditation. You can do it through meditation or deep breathing exercises, because it can help build emotional awareness and develop a more balanced perspective on challenging situations. Self reflection also allows us to understand our reactions and thought patterns, enabling us to make more conscious choices and how we respond to a situation, to a difficult situation.

Speaker 2: 8:50

One of the most important ways to build resilience and one that I would scream from any mountain top is nurturing self compassion, so being kind to yourself and treating yourself with the same compassion and understanding that you would offer to any friend facing a difficult situation. Self compassion involves acknowledging your struggles without criticizing yourself, and recognizing that everyone experiences challenges. So embrace imperfections as part of being human and practice self compassion. Practice curiosity in those moments of stress or failure, knowing that self compassion is essential in building emotional strength, having a social network, building a social network, having deeper connections, which is one of the main reasons why I have the realized empath retreat that we're doing in January and Costa Rica is because it's so important to surround ourselves with supportive, caring individuals who uplift, understand how it is for us, how it is you know how we experience the world and encourage us encourage you want someone to encourage you during challenging times, so sharing your feelings with trusted friends or families or support groups can provide a sense of validation and belonging, and a strong support network offers a safe space to express emotions and seek guidance and also to enhance emotional resilience.

Speaker 2: 10:33

You also want to make sure that you cultivate flexibility and adaptability, and this is like you want to make sure that you're also willing and open to expand your willow window of tolerance. So life is full of uncertainties and change, and building emotional strength involves cultivating flexibility and embracing the idea that you may not have control over external circumstances you don't have control over other people's energy but you can control your response to it. This embracing change and view challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. It's like fostering resilience in adversity. Lastly, you want to make sure that you're setting realistic goals and you're celebrating your progress. So you can do this by breaking larger tasks into smaller ones, more manageable steps that can help prevent overwhelm and boost your confidence as you achieve each separate milestone and you want to celebrate your progress, no matter how small. Consistently showing up for yourself and consistently celebrating your progress and acknowledge your efforts as this positive, like positive reinforcement helps strengthen your emotional resilience and motivates you to keep moving forward. Nobody wants to keep moving forward if they're constantly reminded that they're not moving fast enough, like eventually you just stop. Like what's the point? There's no motivation to keep doing it when you're constantly told you're not doing enough, and we do that to ourselves. Remember that building emotional stability is a journey and taking steps toward growth and self improvement is okay and it's okay to take small steps.

Speaker 2: 12:27

I can't say enough about mind body practices and how much they have helped me bring my nervous system back into alignment. So our nervous systems respond wonderfully to mind body practices the mind body practices that help promote relaxation and healing and calm, and there's so many different techniques to choose from so I know you can find one that feels right to you. No need to force anything, but there's things like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, breath work and all of these practices help regulate our nervous system, reduce stress and help to promote that sense of inner peace that we're all striving for. So I'd love to take this moment and let's do a mindfulness exercise together. A reminder if you're driving right now, maybe just kind of listen along. No need to put yourself into like a meditative state or close your eyes. So only do this exercise if it's in your best interest and those around you. So this exercise is called the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 grounding technique.

Speaker 2: 13:45

So I want you to find a comfortable seated position, or you can stand with your feet flat on the ground, and I want you to take a deep breath through your nose and, as you exhale through your mouth, I want you to let go of any tension in your body. Now I want you to look around and I want you to find five things that you can see. Notice the colors, shapes and textures in each item, and I just want you to take a moment to fully observe them. Now I want you to shift your attention to four things that you can feel. It can be the sensation of your feet under the ground, it can be the texture of an object in your hand or the feeling of the air on your skin, and I want you to pay attention to the physical sensations, without judgment. You're just noticing. Now I want you to move on to three things that you can hear and listen carefully to the sounds around you, whether it's the hum of a distant conversation, the birds chirping For me, I hear the a cata bugs outside. It can even be your breathing.

Speaker 2: 15:25

Now I want you to focus on two things that you can smell. It can be the scent of nature, it could be food, any fragrances around you. I want you to take a deep breath through your nose and just want you to savor the aroma, the things that you're smelling, that you're noticing. Finally, I want you to bring your attention to one thing that you can taste. If you have something to eat or drink nearby, take a mindful bite or mindful sip and just notice what it feels like on your tongue. Notice what it tastes like. I want you to pay attention to the taste and the texture. Maybe you have dry mouth right now. Maybe that's what you're noticing Kind of weird, but it's the same thing. Just notice what you're the texture and the taste in your mouth if you don't have food or drink nearby.

Speaker 2: 16:34

Now I want you to take a moment to appreciate the present moment and the grounding effect of this exercise. Just embrace the sensations and the awareness of your surroundings. So what this grounding technique does is it helps us anchor our mind to the present moment. It promotes a sense of calm and clarity and presence. It can be super useful in stressful or overwhelming situations and I want you to practice this exercise whenever you need a moment to reconnect with the present and find inner peace. Ah, the healing power of nature.

Speaker 2: 17:27

My favorite place to be and one of the primary reasons why I chose Costa Rica for the location of the next retreat the realized empath retreat in January was because of eco therapy, or immersive rainforest therapy sessions, which we're going to be doing when we're there. So nature is an incredible source of healing for our nervous system, from eco therapy and the grounding effects of spending time in natural environments, from forest bathing to grounding exercises, connecting with nature can soothe our souls and bring us back into alignment after a super stressful situation. So what is eco therapy, you ask? I'm glad you asked. It's also known as nature therapy or green therapy, and it's basically a therapeutic approach that recognizes the healing power of nature in promoting emotional wellbeing and mental health, and it involves engaging in intentional and mindful activities in a natural setting to enhance mental and emotional balance. It acknowledges the deep connection between humans and the natural world and it emphasizes the positive impact of time and nature on our overall wellbeing. Immersing ourselves in nature can reduce stress, alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve our overall mood, and ecotherapy fosters a connection with the natural world, leading to increased self-awareness and a greater appreciation for the environment. Nature is healing because it offers an escape from the hectic pace of modern life. It allows us to reconnect with our natural rhythms, so nature's sights and sounds and smells evoke a sense of calm and reduce stress and promote. It promotes emotional wellbeing, which helps foster a deeper connection that soothes the soul and revitalizes the spirit. Remember the exercise that we just did the five, four, three, two one where we connected to our senses to bring us back into a state of presence and awareness. Well, when we're out in nature, our senses, if we allow, if we tune into them, are picking up on so much so the ability to ground and be present is heightened in nature.

Speaker 2: 20:06

The nervous system, we know, is profoundly affected by trauma and many people, including myself, have found somatic work working with the body or somatic experiencing is actual.

Speaker 2: 20:18

The therapeutic approach the name of the therapeutic approach have found it really helpful in realigning our nervous systems after trauma.

Speaker 2: 20:28

This specific approach is designed to address and heal the effects of trauma and overwhelming life experiences stored in the body. So during a somatic experiencing which I'll just call S-E after this so during S-E sessions, the therapist will gently guide you to explore bodily sensations, emotions and physical responses related to traumatic memories. So by safely revisiting and then gradually releasing held tension and energy associated with that trauma, we can complete the natural process of self-regulation and restore balance to our nervous systems. I know for me, being an empath, I had a strong disconnect from my body because my body is where I learned, where I stored all of my pain, and so anytime I was triggered it was like my body responded like I was back in those original events. So I had this strong disconnect from my body. So when I first heard about somatic work and somatic experiencing and that releasing the trauma from the body would mean I would have to actually be present in my body, I resisted that for quite a long time.

Speaker 2: 21:52

I wasn't ready and that was okay, but when I finally got to the place where I was ready to be fully grounded in my body and help release the trauma, it really made a huge difference in the quality of my life. So somatic experiencing helps us renegotiate our trauma. It empowers us to regain a sense of safety and resilience and, ultimately, it helps promote healing and a renewed capacity for joy. I'm not gonna go any more into somatic experiencing because it's a very in-depth topic. I feel like I could spend two podcasts talking about that, but there is a lot of information online if you're curious. Another very powerful way to help with emotional release is creative expression. Art therapy can help us process and release pent-up emotions. Creative outlets offer very unique ways for us to bring our nervous system back into alignment, and that can be anything from painting or journaling to dance and music. I created the Impact Morning Ritual Journal just for this purpose for impasse like you and I, to wake up in the morning and start with a creative expression by journaling, by setting intentions, by getting everything out on paper, by expressing our souls, and you can access that journal for free on my website if you wanna download it. I use that journal every single morning and it's made a huge impact setting up my day for success. We wouldn't be able to get through this podcast without mentioning nutrition and lifestyle, so nourishing our bodies with beneficial nutrition and what do I mean by that is when we are connected and aware of ourselves and our bodies, we will know what's beneficial to us and what's not. And that might be something different for me than for you, but all of us have unique needs and understanding. Being willing and open to seeing what nutrition benefits you is essential and and nutrition and lifestyle choices are going to promote nervous system health. Diet and exercise and sleep directly impact our well-being. This is kind of like the core right, the foundation. You can keep spinning your wheels and trying to protect your energy and trying to shield yourself from other people's. You know triggers or wounds, but if you don't have, if you're not nourishing your body, if you're not moving, you're not moving that energy, If you're not taking care of yourself in the most basic ways, then it's kind of a it's this losing battle, because you're always going to be working from a weakened system, a system that's not operating at its optimal potential. Gratitude and joy are our nervous system allies, so cultivating gratitude and joy can be transformative in our healing journey, and neuroscience actually validates the power behind gratitude practices and how they positively impact our nervous system.

Speaker 2: 25:28

Neuroscience has shown that practicing gratitude affects our brain and overall well-being. When we express gratitude or experience feelings of thankfulness, specific areas of the brain are activated, leading to various psychological and physiological benefits. So let me share with you some of the key findings that neuroscience found on gratitude. Number one we have brain activation. So gratitude activates the brain's reward center and these. There's two regions that it activates, and these regions are associated with feelings of pleasure and reward, reinforcing the practice of gratitude. Number two the neurotransmitters. So gratitude has been linked to increased production of dopamine and serotonin, essential in regulating our mood and promoting feelings of happiness and contentment. Number three we have stress reduction. So expressing gratitude leads to a reduction in the stress hormone, cortisol, and this helps to alleviate feelings of anxiety and promote a sense of calm and relaxation.

Speaker 2: 26:47

Next, improved emotional resilience. Ding ding, ding ding. Regular gratitude practice is associated with increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for emotional regulation and cognitive processing. So this can enhance emotional resilience to help us cope with life challenges. Next, social connection. So gratitude is closely linked to pro-social behaviors and strengthening social bonds. So expressing gratitude can enhance feelings of empathy, compassion and a sense of belonging within your social networks. And lastly, studies have shown that individuals who regularly practice gratitude report higher life satisfaction, happiness and overall well-being, which I know we all want for ourselves.

Speaker 2: 27:58

Neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to recognize and form new connection, also plays a role in gratitude, so regularly practicing gratitude can lead to lasting changes in the brain, making it easier to experience positive emotions and maintain a positive outlook.

Speaker 2: 28:20

So what neuroscience suggests is that incorporating gratitude into our daily lives can significantly improve mental and emotional health, which fosters a more positive and resilient mindset. So I know we all want to create a resilient foundation for navigating life's challenges by embracing gratitude and finding more moments of joy. So we've covered a lot today and I hope that you have a better understanding of your nervous system, how crisis and stress impacts your nervous system and ways that you can work with your body and mind to realign your nervous system and come back into balance. Please remember that healing is a journey. Taking it one step at a time is okay. Applying these practical techniques, embracing resilience and seeking support when needed can pave the way for emotional well-being and inner harmony. Thank you for joining me on this enlightening exploration of healing from within. Until next time, take care of yourself and be kind.

Speaker 1: 29:40

Thanks for listening to the Realized Empath Podcast. Revisit past episodes or contact Kristin at RealizedEmpathcom. Did you love this episode? Please share it with a friend. Thanks for tuning in, Until next time. Sensitive souls.