You might be feeling that your broken but the truth is your nervous system is overloaded.
Have you ever wondered why you freeze up during arguments or feel emotionally flooded when your partner criticizes you?
The truth is, you’re not broken – your nervous system is overloaded. As a relationship therapist, I want to help you understand what’s really happening in your body and mind during these challenging moments.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this important discussion:
Understanding Your Nervous System Response
When your nervous system is overloaded, it triggers automatic responses that aren’t conscious choices.
Through the vagus nerve, which extends from your brain to your intestines, your body responds to perceived threats in ways that can feel overwhelming.
Learning about these natural protective mechanisms helps you stop blaming yourself for these reactions.
The Three Ways We React to Stress
Your body has three main ways of dealing with threatening situations:
– Freezing: Like a deer in headlights, you might shut down completely
– Fighting/Fleeing: Your sympathetic nervous system activates, leading to emotional explosions or running away
– Social Engagement: The healthy response where you can stay present and work things out with your partner
In the full video below, I share in detail a powerful example of a 40-year-old teacher who couldn’t speak to adults due to childhood trauma.
Through EMDR therapy and understanding his overloaded nervous system, he found freedom from this pattern.
These stories share how lasting change is possible when we address the root causes.
Practical Steps for Change
Your nervous system can learn new ways of responding. I explain concrete techniques for:
– Building healthy communication patterns with your partner
– Recognizing when your nervous system is overloaded
– Learning to co-regulate with your partner instead of freezing or fighting
– Using professional help when needed to heal deeper trauma
Here’s Why Should Matter to You:
Understanding that your nervous system is overloaded rather than “broken” opens the door to real healing.
When you stop judging yourself and start working with your body’s natural responses, you can create lasting positive changes in your relationships.
Ready to learn more about how your overloaded nervous system affects your relationships and what you can do about it?
Watch the full video below for deeper insights and practical tools to help you create healthier relationship patterns.
Don’t let an overloaded nervous system keep controlling your relationships.
