2024 Resolution: Nurturing a Regulated Nervous System

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As we get closer to the new year and think about how we want 2024, I've been reflecting on what I truly hope for in the coming year.

🧘‍♂️The first thing that comes to my mind is: a regulated nervous system.

As simple as it may sound, a regulated nervous system is truly a gift, as it:

  • allows us to feel safe
  • nurtures healthy relationships
  • fosters a positive perspective
  • ensures peaceful sleep

🍼The journey of soothing our nervous system starts in infancy.

Imagine a crying baby held close by a caring mother or a child learning to channel and label their emotions instead of suppressing or acting out in aggression.

These experiences instill a sense of being seen, loved, appreciated, and secure.

Nervous system regulation involves many physiological responses that reduce arousal and increase calmness during distress.

🌨️Trauma, stress, neglect, and other adversities can disrupt this developmental process, leading to a dysregulated nervous system.

In such a dysregulated state, the balance between our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems is disrupted.

This manifests in difficulties in many areas of problem-solving and decision-making, as well as establishing positive engagement with others.

We could see it as anxiety, attachment struggles, adjustment disorders, anger management, and emotional dysregulation.

🙏On a positive note, we can reclaim it, actively work on it, and rewire our nervous system.

So, in 2024, I commit to more:

  • Exercising
  • Being kind to myself
  • Spending time in nature
  • Mindfulness and breath work
  • Reframing negative thoughts
  • Non-reactivity to inner experiences
  • Practicing compassion towards others
  • Coping with adversities by allowing them to be
  • Changing the narrative by not taking things personally
  • Investing more in myself by spending more time doing what brings me joy and peace of mind; meditate, write, read and travel.
✍🏼How about you? What are your aspirations for 2024, and how are you translating them into actions?

Take home message: 

By working consciously on developing and committing to what we value—our wellbeing and mental health—we allow ourselves to foster and embrace a regulated nervous system. As we step into 2024, let this commitment guide our journey, paving the way for resilience, connection, and a profound sense of fulfillment

If you find yourself struggling to notice or cope with difficult emotions, don't hesitate to reach out and send me a message or an email on kindmindbydana@gmail.com 😊

Yours truly,

Dana Berri

Kindness is not just a virtue, it's a way of life. 

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