What does my Central Nervous System have to do with anything?

Our Central Nervous System (CNS) is a powerful regulatory tool that functions as the command centre for how our body understands and responds to perceived and real threat. This system not only processes information and external stimuli, but also has a unique memory that stores and recalls experiences of both safety and danger in the body. This means that the CNS doesn’t just react to what’s happening in the now, but also responds based on past experiences and learned patterns. When the CNS detects cues that resemble previous threats, it can trigger protective responses in the body such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, heightened alertness, nausea, or anxiety, even when the situation is not life threatening.

Before the logical brain even has an opportunity to analyze what’s happening, the CNS has already scanned the environment, compared incoming information to past experiences, and determined whether we are safe or in danger. This entire process happens far faster than conscious thought, and can explain why feelings such as anger, anxiety, and fear can seem debilitating and impossible to rationalize away.

The CNS takes its job of keeping us safe very seriously and cannot always distinguish between what is life-threatening and what is simply difficult to cope with. If there was ever a time in your life where danger was truly immanent or perceived as immanent, the CNS took inventory. It then stored this information to ensure that if a resemblance of that same danger were to happen again, it would be prepared to protect you by providing warning flags within your body. The resemblance of this real or perceived danger is also better known as our triggers. When triggers arise, the body doesn’t distinguish between actual physical danger and uncomfortable emotional experiences such as fears rooted in judgment, guilt, betrayal, sadness, embarrassment, worry, alienation, or feelings of inferiority. All it knows is to sound the alarm! This response was helpful evolutionarily, however, it can become confusing when there is no immanent physical threat, yet our body is still signalling alarm bells!

As an example:

Imagine walking into a small gathering with people you don’t know well. As you scan the room, you realize everyone is already deep in conversation, someone looks your way, you notice them laugh, and suddenly your chest tightens, your heart starts racing, your face feels hot. You feel the urge to shut down, disappear into your phone, or escape the room altogether.

Your inner dialogue kicks in trying to rationalize what you’re experiencing: “They are for sure laughing at me? Do they think I’m awkward? I knew I shouldn’t have worn this outfit”. You know logically that you are safe, these are just people after all, but the nervous system remembers a past experience where the threat of criticism, judgement, exclusion, and vulnerability felt scary.

This anxious reaction makes sense when you consider the nervous system’s memory. Perhaps as a child, you were shamed for speaking up, laughed at when you made mistakes, or left feeling unseen or rejected. Your CNS learned from these early experiences that social visibility could be risky, and stored this memory as a data point for perceived danger. Now, even though this little gathering isn’t harmful, your body reacts as if it’s reliving those early moments that felt too big for a child to carry.

You can tell yourself that logically, everything is fine, but the body knows different to be true. The alarm has sounded, and suddenly, you’re spiraling! Not knowing how to manage this confusing bodily sensation, you may reach for maladaptive coping strategies to try to quiet the overwhelm.

So, what can I do instead?

This deeply ingrained learned response system cannot be met with logic, because it may not always feel logical. So, we regulate first, and reflect second. When alarm bells come up, get curious about them! Instead of asking “How do I stop feeling this?”, try asking “What does my nervous system need to feel safer?”. Getting curious about what is going on in the body first, rather than trying to rationalize our experience away in the mind, provides us with the necessary information to access our unique blueprint that reveals the body’s cues, patterns, and pathways to safety.

Reaching a regulated state is different for every person and what their CNS needs. This can look like orienting to a new space, breathwork, gentle movement, body scanning, butterfly tapping, grounding techniques, sensory naming, and much more.

Once we are able to lower the volume on the alarm bells, reflection with the part of us that sensed danger in that particular moment can be better held with compassion and clarity. Through further guidance from a therapist and deepened personal self-reflection, we can gently pause and consider why the CNS stored that experience as part of its protective blueprint. Over time, as we learn from our blueprints and what the CNS is asking of us, regulation becomes a bottom-up process rooted in curiosity, understanding, and self-acceptance, rather than overthinking, self-judgement, and top-down control.

Every sensation is information! The body remembers what the logical mind cannot. Pay attention, stay curious, and explore what helps you feel grounded. Happy regulating!

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