Living in a Dysregulated World

The body holds on to the tightness.

You might not remember what the article said.
But your jaw clenched.
Your chest tightened.
Your shoulders curled forward like they were trying to protect your heart.

You kept scrolling.
Because what else are we supposed to do?

We are living through a time of collective overwhelm.

The news is relentless. Our personal and political lives are deeply intertwined. The state of the world is not a distant reality, it’s showing up in our bodies. In our breath. In our sleep. In the way we flinch at sudden noise or forget why we walked into a room.

This is what it means to live in a traumatized (and traumatizing) culture.

And even if your mind tries to keep on keeping on, your nervous system knows.

The Body is Not a Machine

We’ve been taught to override.

To push through.

To keep scrolling.

To answer the email.

To get dinner on the table.

Do the thing, finish the project, work late, on weekends, give, give, give.

And yet our bodies are speaking in whispers—or sometimes in screams.

Fatigue.

Irritability.

Brain fog.

The endless desire to either escape, disassociate, or overperform.

These are not personal failures.

These are survival responses.

You are not lazy.

You are not too sensitive.

You are a human animal in a world that asks you to behave like a machine.

Polyvagal Theory, In Real Life

Polyvagal theory helps explain this moment.
At its core, it tells us that our nervous systems are always scanning for cues of safety or threat, a process called neuroception. It’s not conscious. It’s not logical. And it never stops.

When your system perceives danger - whether it’s a violent headline, a cold social interaction, or a loud noise in a grocery store - it shifts you out of regulation and into protection.

You might fight.
You might flee.
You might freeze.
You might appease.

You might not even know it’s happening.

It’s Not Just You

You’re not “bad at relaxing.”
You’re not “too much.”
You’re living in a body that has been asked to metabolize far more than it was ever meant to.

We are scrolling through trauma without pause.
We are witnessing suffering without touch.
We are carrying global grief in individual bodies.
It makes sense that we feel shut down, disconnected, numb.

It makes sense that your body is sounding the alarm.

What Can We Do?

We don’t heal by ignoring our bodies.

Let me repeat that - We don’t heal by ignoring our bodies.

We heal by listening to them.

By giving them the safety and signals they crave.

This isn’t about fixing anything overnight, it’s about offering your system a soft place to land.

Try this:

• Place your hand over your heart and name one thing you survived today.

• Hum softly. Let your vagus nerve feel your voice from the inside.

• Breathe into your belly. Let it rise and fall.

• Pet your dog. Touch a tree. Sip something warm.

Let your body register here. Now. Safe enough.

You’re Allowed to Come Back to Yourself

This world wants you reactive.
It wants you burned out.
It wants you exhausted, spent, ready to give up.

But WAIT?

We are a human beings - wired for connection, community, tenderness, and deep, slow presence.

You’re allowed to move at the speed of safety.
You’re allowed to protect your peace.
You’re allowed to feel everything and still choose softness.

Your body knows. Don’t ignore it. Listen, lean in…
Let it lead.