1211: A Healthy Nervous System Isn't Always Calm: Rethinking Anxiety And Healing

In today's episode, Gina discusses an important consideration for anxiety recovery: that anxiety recovery does not imply a consistently calm nervous system. Your nervous system is here to do a job: keep you alive. Sometimes, you need to get excitement and activation to enable you to make corrections for yourself or your environment. Listen in to reframe your anxiety recovery expectations and prepare for authentic, full-on living!Please visit our Sponsor Page to find all the links and codes for our awesome sponsors!https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/sponsors/ Thank you for supporting The Anxiety Coaches Podcast. FREE MUST-HAVE RESOURCE FOR Calming Your Anxious Mind10-Minute Body-Scan Meditation for Anxiety Anxiety Coaches Podcast Group Coaching linkACPGroupCoaching.comTo learn more, go to:Website https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.comJoin our Group Coaching Full or Mini Membership ProgramLearn more about our One-on-One Coaching What is anxiety? Find even more peace and calm with our Supercast premium access membership:For $5 a month, all episodes are ad-free! https://anxietycoaches.supercast.com/Here's what's included for $5/month:❤ New Ad-Free episodes every Sunday and Wednesday❤ Access to the entire Ad-free back-catalog with over 600 episodes❤ Premium meditations recorded with you in mind❤ And more fun surprises along the way!All this in your favorite podcast app!Chapters0:26 Welcome to the Anxiety Coaches Podcast1:55 Rethinking Anxiety and Healing4:03 The Myth of Constant Calm6:12 Understanding Nervous System Flexibility8:59 Embracing Our Emotions11:23 The Dangers of Chasing Calm14:28 Trusting Our Body's Signals17:26 Building Resilience Through Activation19:48 Capacity Over Calm20:52 Closing Thoughts and AcknowledgmentsSummaryIn this episode, I delve into the misconception that a healed or regulated nervous system equates to feeling calm all the time. It is crucial to challenge this notion, as the idea that healing consists of constant tranquility can actually hinder our progress on our healing journeys. I explore the reality that experiencing anxiety does not negate the healing work we've done; rather, it’s a normal part of being human. Many people grapple with feelings of inadequacy when they compare their internal experiences to how others appear on the surface, which often leads to unnecessary self-doubt.Throughout our discussion, I aim to unpack the myth that constant calmness is synonymous with a healthy nervous system. It's vital to realize that life will invariably activate us, and our approach should not be to avoid these feelings but to learn to move through them. Embracing our experiences—be they anxious thoughts or bodily sensations—without fear allows us to build resilience. This shifts our focus from striving for a state of perpetual calm to recognizing that our nervous system is designed to respond and recover from activation.I quote psychiatrist Mark Epstein to drive home the point: "Healing is not about eliminating pain, but about changing our relationship to it." Our society often promotes calmness as the ultimate goal, suggesting that peace is a reachable destination. While calmness is valuable, it can also become a performance metric that distorts our perception of healing. I've observed that many people mistakenly believe a healthy nervous system is one that remains completely undisturbed, when in reality, it is all about flexibility—having a system that can engage and settle in response to life’s demands.#AnxietyCoachesPodcast #GinaRyan #CalmIsNotTheGoal #BefriendYourNervousSystem #CapacityOverCalm #RespondNotReact #FullCatastropheLiving #TheWormhole #HealingIsAJourney #AnxietyWarrior #BeGentleWithYourself #ACP#NervousSystemRegulation #PolyvagalTheory #VagusNerve #HeartRateVariability #SomaticHealing #NervousSystemHealth #WindowOfTolerance #SomaticAwareness #Neuroplasticity #BodyMindSoul#PsychologicalFlexibility #EmotionalResilience #ResilienceBuilding #SelfCompassion #MindfulnessPractice #MentalStrength #EmotionalIntelligence #InnerPeace #TrustYourBody #HealingFromWithin#AnxietyRelief #MentalHealthMatters #StressManagement #PanicAttackRecovery #MentalWellness #WellnessJourney #OvercomingAnxiety #HealingIsPossible #MindfulnessMeditation #SelfHealingSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.