I was recently asked what I, as a psychotherapist, consider to be the most important basics that every layperson should understand. On a psychological level, quite clearly: “mind matters most” and “where your attention goes, your energy flows”. But that’s not the point today, because there are two other incredibly important systems that you should understand: your nervous system and your hormonal system.
This blog is about the nervous system.

The most important (simplified) facts:

– There are three basic states of your nervous system: relaxation (homeostasis), activation (fight/flight) and numbness (dead man’s reflex, trauma zone).
– They go hand in hand with different feelings: relaxed, content, in touch with yourself | excited, agitated, nervous, angry, anxious (to name just a few) | helpless, powerless, desperate, you no longer feel
– Stress is not a bad thing per se. It only becomes bad when it becomes a permanent condition. Unfortunately, this is the case for the majority of the population. When I talk about stress here, I don’t mean the feeling of being stressed, but the biochemical processes in your body.
– Stress means: you are unfocused, nervous, you can’t study or memorize anything well, you don’t feel like having sex anymore, you don’t sleep well, you can’t really wind down, you can’t really hear the people around you anymore, your menstruation has changed, etc.
– Hormonally, this means that (among other things) your cortisol level is elevated, your adrenal glands are constantly in alarm mode (in burnout they are exhausted and do virtually nothing), your immune system can no longer work, your thyroid hormones are going crazy and much more.
– Please understand that this is happening IN your body. Understand that you need to regulate your nervous system if you want to feel differently. Your body is NEVER against you (even if we are led to believe that under autoimmune diseases). It is simply doing what it can to respond to external and internal signals. There is nothing wrong with you if you feel stressed. However, it is your responsibility to change something – and yes, you can! And honestly, if you can’t, then you simply have too much to gain from your stress story.
– physical exercises, yoga, nature, rest, digital detox, reducing media consumption and – sorry to say – even series are not really relaxing for your nervous system. For women, touch and mindful exchange are THE two measures par excellence for releasing oxytocin – our bonding and “anti-stress” hormone.
– If you have experienced a trauma, contact a competent therapist. It’s worth it!
– More: – https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org: in English, for those who really want to know.
– You can find lots of great information and exercises on the subject of the nervous system in Verena König’s podcasts.
– Are you a yoga teacher or just want to know more? Then here is a link to my detailed article “Yoga & the nervous system ” (with exercises).