Experiences can dysregulate our nervous systems and put us in a state of hyperarousal or hypoarousal

• This is not necessarily a result of the actual experience, but rather the response our nervous system had to the experience as well as our ability to rebound from it

• Hyperarousal is when the sympathetic branch of your NS is on overdrive and the parasympathetic branch is under active

  • this can show up as agitation, anxiety, racing mind, restlessness, inability to relax

• Hypoarousal is when the parasympathetic branch is on overdrive and the sympathetic branch is under active

  • this can show up as depression , loneliness, and feeling numb

• We can have one that dominates or we can oscillate between the two

  • You are Not dysfunctional. Your nervous system is simply dysregulated due to learned coping mechanisms that just need to be updated