breathing

Breathe: How Breathing Can Hack Your Nervous System

by Chrisanxiety, neuropsychologyPosted on No Comments

“Take a deep breath”. It’s well-meaning advice, but it often falls flat because most people don’t understand why breathing works or how to do it effectively.

Your breath isn’t just about getting oxygen into your lungs. It’s one of the most direct ways to regulate your nervous system – your fight, flight, or freeze responses.

But while you can’t directly control your heart rate, blood pressure, or stress hormone levels, you can control your breathing. And when you change your breathing, everything else follows.

fight flight or freeze response

Understanding Your Nervous System: Why Fight, Flight or Freeze Happens (And What We Can Do About It)

by ChrisneuropsychologyPosted on No Comments

You may have heard of your nervous system’s fight, flight or freeze responses but they can be difficult to deal with. Most people try to ignore them, finding them uncomfortable and annoying. But this rarely works. They are evolutionary and kept our ancestors alive for millions of years.
In this article, we’ll look at the reasons they are triggered, what they feel like so you can recognise them, and practical tools to work with them instead of against them.