The Impacts of Trauma: Why it’s Important to Heal the Sympathetic Nervous System State

I want to talk to you today about the sympathetic nervous system state. The sympathetic nervous system state is one in which I think unfortunately in the United States, many of us are in almost all the time. We are so busy, we are moving a million miles a minute, we're trying to accomplish all the tasks and all the things.

I know for me, as a woman with a career and a child, I feel like I am constantly on the go, trying to keep up, trying to take care of things and people and aspects of my job and at home, trying to manage responsibilities that are do overwhelming that I don't slow down and breathe. When I'm in this state, I'm in a high state of anxiety, with cortisol pumping through my veins. I'm in a high state of stress,

I can experience panic, have physiological symptoms such as tightness in my stomach, feeling nauseous from time to time, feeling flushed on my skin, with feelings of fear and all around being uptight.

It can become challenging to connect with others. It's hard to be present. It's difficult to listen as well as I would like because I'm thinking about and trying to accomplish so many different tasks. For someone who's experienced trauma, hypervigilance and being on edge and slipping into this sympathetic state is almost the default mode after the traumatic event.

That's why people who've experienced trauma are kind of always on edge. They're always aware of their surroundings. They might hear a loud noise and jump. They might feel like they can't settle in or relax in a room. Because our nervous system is actually hijacked after we've experienced a traumatic event, it changes our brain and it changes our body.

This can actually lead to health problems such as ischemic heart disease, sleep problems, increased risk of suicidality and depression, increased risk of substance abuse and lung cancer and diabetes. The list goes on and on and on.

When we experience trauma in our lives, and most of us have experienced trauma in our lives at some point, it disrupts our hormonal system, our bodies, our brain, and it just takes a toll on our health. So by gaining awareness around this issue and by seeking the help that you need, you're improving your health. You're improving your life, and therefore the lives of others.

Because we can't put an oxygen mask on someone else first in case we pass out. We have to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first in order to be effective and helpful to others. Just something to think about, I wanted to share my thoughts on the sympathetic nervous system and how this state can be activated, as well as the importance of getting the help and treatment that we need so that the sympathetic state does not become our default mode. We have to calm our nervous systems down in order to be open, functioning, and helpful humans. By helping ourselves heal, we inadvertently create space for others to heal as well.