Notes from a Trauma Whisperer

  What Is a Regulated Nervous System? (Quick Recap) A regulated nervous system isn’t about being calm all the time. It’s about being flexible —able to adapt to stress, rise to challenges, and return to rest when it’s time. Think: Facing stress ➔ Reacting appropriately ➔ Recovering smoothly If you’re into a little science (and I know you are 😉), Polyvagal Theory gives us a great framework: When we’re regulated, we hang out mostly in the ventral vagal state : feeling safe , social , curious , and relaxed . When dysregulated, we slip into fight/flight (anxious, angry) or freeze/fawn (numb, shut down, overly pleasing). Key Signs of a Regulated Nervous System Let’s break this down into physical, emotional, and behavioral signs you can actually recognize in daily life: A. Physical Signs Steady heart rate and breathing: Even when you’re mildly stressed, you can still breathe deeply, not gasp or hyperventilate. Healthy digestion: No chronic stomachaches, bl...

  If We All Have the Same Brain… Why Are We So Different? So far, we’ve understood what the nervous system is. It’s like the software running your body and mind, right? But here’s something that always fascinates me: We all have the same nervous system components —a brain, a spinal cord, an amygdala, a hippocampus… Then why is Dhivya so different from Vidhya? Why does Nithya react differently than, say, Meena? We’re all human, built the same way on paper. But we are nothing alike in how we respond to life. And this… is exactly what we’re diving into today. A Chat That Sparked This Blog Before writing this blog, I had a conversation with one of my friends about this very topic. I asked him what he thought makes people so different from one another. He said something so simple, yet so deep: “If I grew up with Hitler, I’d be one person. But if I grew up with Trump, I’d be a totally different person.” And honestly? That nailed it. Who we become is shaped by the environ...

  Have You Ever Felt Like You’re Just Too Sensitive? Have you ever felt like you’re too sensitive? That you get angry quickly… or that you just can’t believe anyone anymore? Do you struggle with gut issues, constant fatigue, random pains, or migraines that seem to appear out of nowhere? You might think, “Oh, it’s just my body acting up,” or “Maybe I’m just wired this way.” But here’s the truth: It’s not your personality . It’s not just your body . What if all these symptoms are actually messages from a single source —a source that nobody ever taught us about in school? That source is your nervous system . Wait… My Nervous System Can Do That ? Most people know the nervous system controls movement, heartbeat, digestion, and immunity. But what they don’t realize is that it also controls: How you feel How you react And even what you believe about yourself Wild, right? So before we dive deeper into how the nervous system shapes your emotions, relationships, a...