The Nervous System
Where feelings, learning and connection begin
WHAT IS DYSREGULATION ?
Dysregulation occurs when the body or emotions struggle to stay balanced and respond to what's happening around us. This affects how we feel, think, behave and cope with everyday experiences.
What is the difference between anxiety and dyregulation?
Anxiety is a feeling of worry, fear or unease, often when we are unsure of what might happen. Dysregulation is broader and refers to a neural inability to manage the body's responses and emotions, and can happen even without worries or fears.
Dysregulation can be an underlying factor contributing to anxiety, as the brain and body struggle to "pump the brakes" once an alarm is triggered.
Look Beneath the Surface
The nervous system is the body's communication network and plays a vital role in how we experience and respond to the world around us.
It receives information from both the environment and the body through specialised sensory receptors, which convert this information into electrical signals. These signals travel through the peripheral nervous system to the brain and spinal cord, where they are processed and interpreted.
Based on the information, the nervous system determines how we react and helps the body produce appropriate physical, emotional, and behavioural responses through three physiological states:
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Parasympathetic Ventral Vagal state, is our centred "true self" state, where all social interactions, connection and creativity occur.
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Sympathetic state is feeling of threat or danger and feeling the need to either "fight or flee" from a situation to seek safety.
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Dorsal Vagal state is our "freeze" state, when we feel our lives are so immediately threatened that we become immobilised.
Understanding the Underlying Challenges
Some children and adults may experience the world as less safe or predictable due to past experiences, illnesses, injury, sensory sensitivities or developmental differences such as autism or ADHD.
Their nervous system may be more likely to interpret every day situation as threatening, triggering a fight, flight, freeze response. This is not a choice or a sign of misbehaviour, but a protective response from a nervous system that is working hard to keep them safe.
What you may see
Fight - Active defence or aggression
Yelling , screaming, crying, aggressive actions like hitting , kicking, biting, spitting and punching, overly defiant behaviour
Flight - Escape or frantic avoidance
Constant fidgeting, running away , pacing, hiding under hoods, constantly asking to leave the room or refusing to engage, inability to sit still, scattered attention rapid speech
Freeze - Shutdown, immobilisation
Total silence, unreposnisveness, withdrawal, hiding, refusing to follow simple directions, or zoning out . Staring blankly into space, rigid or slumped posture , shallow breathing or blank "masked " face, and physical stillness
How can we help?
Integrated Listening Therapy (iLS)
Our clinic uses the Integrated Listening Therapy (iLS), which is a programme that supports the brain and nervous system. ILS works by supporting the brain's natural ability to change and adapt ( known as neuroplasticity) and by gently stimulating the vagus nerve, which plays an important role in regulating the nervous system. This helps shift the body out of a stress response ( fight, flight, or freeze) and into a calmer more regulated state
Developmental Movement Therapy (DMT)
Our clinic uses the Developmental Movement Therapy to resolve any underlying neurodevelopmental delays that can present within challenging behavioural responses , as the body tries to manage physical , sensory and neurological demands that can feel overwhelming.
Together, these programmes aim to:
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Have a calming effect on a hypersensitive sensory system
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Engage more comfortably with everyday environments
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Enhance communication , focus and sustained concentration as the nervous system balances out
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Reduce overwhelm and anxiety
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Improve emotional regulation and attention
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Decrease sound sensitivity
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Process spoken language more effectively