Self-Care as Nervous System Awareness + Regulation

Exploring the second level of the self-care pyramid

Part 3 of 5

Sometimes I link to products I love. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

This post is part of a five part series. Make sure you read Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog series first!

If you’re able to feed, clothe, and shelter yourself, you’re probably also able to recognize something about your mental/emotional state. Through practice, you can learn to identify when you’re feeling dysregulated and take steps toward regaining your regulated state.

First you need to be able to recognize when your nervous system has identified a threat and sends you into “fight, flight, or freeze.” That might be because of an actual threat (i.e. a hungry tiger is chasing you), a perceived threat (i.e. walking to your car alone on a dark street), or a “possible but not probable” threat (i.e. my child is riding his bike really fast down a steep hill and could fall and break his leg at any moment).

Perhaps the threat is less tangible and you’re simply experiencing high levels of stress at work or at home. Whatever the case may be, when your nervous system senses a threat, it responds to protect us.

Simply recognizing that we feel unsafe, scared, anxious, or stressed is part of self-care.

Then, we can take steps to help ourselves feel more safe—which is also self-care!

Hopefully in clearly unsafe situations, we have the ability to practice self-care by moving our bodies to a different and safer location and by asking for help as necessary.

In cases of stress or “possible but not probable” situations, we can “zoom out” and engage in supportive self-talk that more accurately gauges the threat level. We can utilize other self-care tools like meditation, breathing, and self-compassion practices to soothe our nervous system and flip the switch more towards the “rest and digest” end of the spectrum.

Self-care activities for this level of the Self-Care Pyramid:

Set reminders to check-in with yourself throughout the day to see how you’re feeling mentally and emotionally.
Practice body-based meditation.
Take deep, intentional breaths.
Rest under a weighted blanket.
Diffuse a relaxing essential oil, like lavender.
Squeeze your arms and hands so you can FEEL your body.
Exercise or go for a walk.
Practice self-massage with therapy balls.
Practice Yoga Nidra.
Spend time in nature.
Walk barefoot in the grass.
Stretch, dance, or move intuitively.
Take a self-compassion break.

What other activities would add for this level? Let me know in the comments below!

Next time, we’ll move up the pyramid and explore self-care in the context of our relationships and our communities. If you haven’t already, be sure to use the form below to subscribe so you don’t miss a post!