Nervous systems
The nervous system.
The bodily system that, in vertebrates, is made up of the brain and spinal cord, nerves, ganglia, and parts of the receptor organs. It receives and interprets stimuli and transmits impulses to the effector organs.
Your nervous system is the command center.
Mission control.
The situation room.
And what happens when the main office has an inbox that has exploded?
That’s what happened to me this week.
And I just wanted to tell you about the stages that occurred. It wasn’t something I planned on talking about, but it seemed to reach a boiling point last night. And what better place to bubble over than in my writing?
Information overload is not uncommon, especially in this day and age. When I was young, most of my information came in the form of facts on paper.
Newspapers.
Encyclopedias.
Chalkboards.
Occasionally, John Drury and Peter Jennings delivering the news in the background.
Maybe a tearful guest on Oprah when there was no school.
The information cycle was much more limited, and I think my nervous system probably thrived with the lack of second-to-second information.
This week, there were four major news stories in my smallish town of 21,000 people. Like, literally, the top four stories on the evening news were from ONE town.
What in the name of all things cursed was going on?
Four stories in one week are……
A LOT.
News.
Videos.
Messages.
Notifications.
Opinions.
Images.
There is no waiting for the morning paper.
No waiting for the evening news.
No time for my brain to say, Okay. That’s enough information for today.
The information just keeps coming.
And apparently, my nervous system had something to say about that.
And the information tested me.
Because the information isn’t delivered with an empty background.
No.
There is sad music.
Shouting.
Crying.
Emotions of all colors.
The nervous systems displayed on my phone find themselves interacting with my own nervous system as I watch and listen.
So now, it’s not just my nervous system I’m trying to manage.
I’m trying to manage my interpretation of what the nervous systems around me are doing.
Make sense of that.
I’m managing a depressed mother’s nervous system.
A frightened child.
An angry parent.
An overwhelmed educator.
A defensive citizen.
Holding space for everyone and realizing I have no capacity for anyone—including myself.
Let me make it clear: none of these stories directly affect me. My children have left the local school districts and are safely tucked away in their respective colleges (yep—nothing to worry about there). I do not know any of the families affected well. I am a person who is on the outside looking in.
But when the news comes knocking on your door like a gush of water, it’s hard to make sense of what is your nervous system and what belongs to the nervous systems of the people around you.
And when that boundary blends and expands beyond your window of tolerance…well, that’s when your nervous system chooses to go into fight, flight, or freeze.
Fight-or-flight mode presents with anxiety, panic, racing thoughts, palpitations, and irritability.
Freeze is the numbness, exhaustion, and disconnection.
And the goal would be to find some balance in there.
But last night there was:
Information (lots and lots of information) → absorption → overstimulation → nervous-system overload → shutdown.
And let me make it clear: each step was necessary.
Well, I probably could have done without the loads of information.
But sometimes we need to let our bodies have a response to perceived or actual threats.
It is survival.
Sometimes we need to snap at our husbands. Sometimes we need to slam cabinets. Kick and scream. And sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to hide in our beds under the covers as we wrangle a dog to snuggle with us.
Nervous systems need their moments.
And maybe a warm Starbucks drink.
And an episode of Modern Family.
And only when our systems feel ready—only then—can we try to wade back into calmer waters, a little steadier.
And the purpose of this blog is not to condemn the information age we live in (that’s a whooooole different blog), or to say you should avoid getting overstimulated.
When faced with danger, it is a primitive reflex to act. So you may have to let your body go into fight-or-flight mode.
It is also a primitive reflex to collapse, and sometimes you may need to crash.
The point of this blog is to stress the importance of recognizing what your body needs and allowing it to happen.
Sure, sometimes work and kids get in the way. Sometimes there is no option but to keep going.
But don’t push that response away for too long.
Your body needs to respond to threats- whether real or imagined. You don't have to suppress every reaction just because the threat isn't directly yours. Any threat your body perceives is important in the world of nervous systems.
And you need to give yourself space to recover afterward.
Give your nervous system some time to come back down.
Give yourself permission to rest.
To be quiet.
To crawl under the covers with the dog.
To drink the warm Starbucks drink.
To watch Phil Dunphy be America’s dad.
Whatever it is that helps you find your way back to yourself.
Because nervous systems need a day off too.
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