I this blog I want to look at working with our needs by exploring the science of our autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is the neurobiology of our fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses and how we can regulate and rest. This is an exercise to build awareness and use these gifts intentionally to change our emotional state.

The three states of the Autonomic Nervous System

Ventral Vagal: Safe and connected

Dorsal Vagal: Fawn/freeze low arousal

Sympathetic: Mobilized: fight/flight high arousal

Grey Are Drinking and Midlife.

I knew alcohol was a problem for me. I thought about it too much. I made rules about it, broke them, counted units, tried to moderate, stopped, started again and repeatedly sought help.

Because not only is alcohol addictive and designed to make us want more, but also because our bodies get more proficient at processing the poison so the booze buzz wears off more quickly. Over time, we end up wanting more and more alcohol to get the same effect, and the time between the initial buzz/numb and the withdrawal becomes shorter, making us want to drink more, and more quickly. This is why alcohol problems are progressive and why it’s easier, if you are at this stage with it, to just stop completely.

We’ve all heard the expression “unbridled joy.” So why put a bridle on it? Joy often feels like something wild and fleeting — a free-spirited firework or a fairy you can’t quite catch. When we want it, it’s nowhere to be seen, and when it comes, it passes quickly.