Our emotions are closely linked to our physical bodies. If you’ve ever felt your stomach churn from anxiety or your heart beat faster with worry or fear, then you know that this is true.
This is because of the Central Nervous System. Quick (and we mean quick!!) science lesson….
The Central Nervous System has two branches – the autonomic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. The Autonomic Nervous System controls involuntary body responses, such as blood flow and digestion. The Sympathetic Nervous System is charged with controlling the body’s fight-or-flight reactions. BOTH of these systems are affected by and involved in our emotional responses.
For now, let’s focus on the Sympathetic Nervous System, our fight-or-flight response.
We will be in one of three places within our Sympathetic Nervous System:
- Ventral aka the right amount of energy. We feel calm, grounded, able to give and receive connection with others.
- Sympathetic aka too much energy. We are hyperactive, frustrated, angry, yelling, anxious, panicking and defensive.
- Dorsal aka drained or zero energy. We are shut down, closed off, depressed, zoned out, numbed, hopeless and sluggish.
Think about each of these three states. What does it look like for you to be in Ventral? What does it feel like emotionally? Physically? What about Sympathetic? Dorsal? Write these things down. This will help you identify the state of your Sympathetic Nervous System and your triggers for activation.
Our goal is to spend as much time as possible in Ventral energy, but past trauma and pain can hijack the system and send us down the spiral into an activated Sympathetic state or further down into a numbed or depressed Dorsal state.
This is why it is so important for us to identify trauma and process and heal the past, so that we can rewire those responses and spend our time in a calm state with the right amount of energy. This is also the energetic state where we can grow, connect and thrive! And you guessed it. One of our best tools for rewiring this system? Essential oils.