Is your nervous system overloaded? Here’s how to start healing

If you’ve scrolled through mental health TikTok, you’ve probably stumbled upon people who are determined to “heal” their dysregulated nervous system. The gist: When your nervous system is out of whack, your body sends out alerts—physical and emotional symptoms like chronic tension, randomly losing your cool, or mentally shutting down. The idea is that tuning into these cues and then practicing calming strategies can help you feel more “regulated,” or balanced.

When people broadly refer to their nervous system, they’re usually talking about their autonomic nervous system, which has two parts: the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight-or-flight” response) and the parasympathetic nervous system (“rest-and-digest” mode).

These systems communicate with the rest of your body so you can spring into action when you face danger and then recover when the threat’s gone.

“Your body is basically waiting for the good news or the bad news,” says Kerry Green, LCSW, a therapist specializing in anxiety and trauma in New York and Florida. “Should I do my normal job or my survival job?”

The problem is, your nervous system may perceive a threat when there isn’t one, triggering protective symptoms that can do more harm than good. “It’s an over-correction,” says Alexandra Cromer, a licensed professional counselor and lead clinician at Thriveworks.

Here’s how to tell whether your nervous system might need support, expert-backed strategies that can help, and what to expect from therapy.

Why Your Nervous System Might Need Healing

One of the most prominent causes of a dysregulated nervous system is past trauma, says Kate Hanselman, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Thriveworks, adding that it’s also a hallmark of depression and anxiety.

“What we miss more commonly is people who have been white-knuckling it for a long time,” she says. “Maybe they don’t meet the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, but they’ve been pushed to the limit for a long time.” (Think: chronic stress and burnout.)

Feeling “dysregulated” in the moment can happen quicker than a millisecond, Green says. But there’s a difference between occasional stress responses and chronic nervous system dysregulation—when these reactions become your body’s default mode.

Signs Your Nervous System Needs Support

Research shows that when nervous system dysregulation becomes chronic, symptoms can persist for years when left untreated. The key isn’t just experiencing these symptoms occasionally during stressful periods—it’s when they become your baseline or happen frequently without clear triggers.

The symptoms are all over the map because your nervous system may rev you up to “fight” or “flee,” prompt you to “freeze,” or try to protect you via “fawning” (also known as people pleasing). Easily slipping into fight-or-flight symptoms, particularly when you’re overwhelmed or overstimulated, tends to be the earliest pattern that emerges.

Here’s what this might look like:

• Feeling constantly on guard or alert
• Chronic worrying and rumination
• Restlessness
• Exaggerated startle response
• Faster heart rate
• Rapid breathing
• Sweating
• Stomach pain
• Muscle tension
• Feeling jittery or dizzy
• Irritability or snappiness

“If you’re more in ‘shutdown,’ then you’re going to feel low energy, like you can’t do anything or don’t feel like yourself,” Green says. “You might even feel a little hopeless.” Numbness, zoning out, or simply going through the motions can also signal a freeze response—another common sign of dysregulation.

How to Calm Your Nervous System Naturally

If you’re dealing with the symptoms above, you’ll benefit from working with a therapist, who can help you unpack what’s causing them in the first place. That said, various calming techniques and lifestyle changes can help you feel more grounded and in control of your body and emotions.

In-the-Moment Strategies

1. Practice 4-7-8 breathing.

When you’re overstimulated, the first thing you should do is remove yourself from the trigger, Hanselman says: “Literally walking away can be helpful.” If that’s not an option, ask yourself what is: Can you put on noise-canceling headphones? Close your eyes for a bit?

Then lean into your breath. Hanselman likes the 4-7-8 technique: Breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold for seven, then breathe out through pursed lips for eight seconds, repeating as often as you like. “Count as fast as you need to, especially if you’re new to the practice,” she says. “By extending the exhale, you’re telling your body it is safe.”

A longer exhale, regardless of the exact breathing technique, stimulates your vagus nerve, the longest nerve in your body running from your brain to your gut. This signals your parasympathetic nervous system to take over and help you calm down.

2. Splash your face or hands with cold water.

Anything that diverts your nervous system’s attention to one of your senses can help bring you back to baseline. Your body has millions of sensory receptors that detect changes in your environment, like temperature, light, and sound. Your nervous system plays a key role in interpreting these signals and telling your body to respond accordingly. “The language of the nervous system is physical, not logical,” Green says.

That’s one reason why cold plunges get so much hype. But you don’t need to go all-in to replicate the effect: Submerging just your face in cold water while holding your breath activates your “dive reflex,” a survival mechanism that powers down your nervous system by slowing your heart rate, moving blood to vital organs, and preserving oxygen.

Can’t get your face wet? Hanselman says running cold water over your hands can be similarly soothing, as research suggests even partial exposure to cold water can activate your parasympathetic response.

3. Take a 20-minute walk, ideally in nature.

The traditional idea of meditation—sitting still with your thoughts—is a little unapproachable if you’ve never practiced it. Plus, when you’re on edge, it can have the opposite effect you want because your brain may fixate on whatever’s making you feel dysregulated, Hanselman explains.

That’s why she recommends walking meditation instead. For starters, walking offers bilateral stimulation, which means it activates both sides of your body (and therefore your brain) via rhythmic or alternating movements; this technique is the foundation of EMDR therapy, a well-studied treatment for dysregulation that’s rooted in trauma (more on this later).

The key is to bring mindfulness to your walk. Rest your eyes with a gentle gaze and notice how it feels to be in your body as you move, Hanselman says. Be aware of your breath: “Maybe breathe in every couple of steps and out every couple of steps,” she says.

You can do this anywhere, but you’ll likely get the biggest benefit if you get outside and engage your senses in a green space—smell the freshly cut grass, admire the colors and textures of the plants, and listen to the birds. Research shows just two hours in nature per week (roughly 20 minutes a day) is linked to better health and well-being, including less mental distress.

Long-Term Strategies

1. Create simple morning and evening rituals—even one small habit counts.

“The importance of routines is underestimated,” Green says. “Your nervous system loves predictability.” If your day-to-day schedule feels chaotic, get back to a regular morning and night ritual, she recommends.

This doesn’t need to be complicated. In the morning, you may take a few breaths, eat breakfast around the same time, and go for a short walk. “Your nervous system is like, ‘We feel safe because we knew we were going to do this.’ Then you feel a little more regulated throughout the day,” Green says.

The same goes for bedtime: Pick one or two soothing habits that tell your body it’s time to wind down. Put your phone in another room an hour before sleep, dim the lights to a warmer hue, or read for 20 minutes.

If you’re not sure where to start, ask yourself if you’re hitting the basics: Are you moving your body? Eating regular, nourishing meals? Drinking plenty of water? Sleeping enough? To regulate yourself emotionally, you first need to give your body what it needs physically, Cromer says.

2. Try dancing, walking, or other repetitive movements.

Getting consistent exercise can help your nervous system stay regulated, Hanselman says. Any form of movement is beneficial, so do what feels good to you. If you’re overstimulated and crave something gentle, try yoga. If you’re stressed and need to burn through energy, high-intensity activities like running or boxing might feel good.

That said, research suggests rhythmic movement like dancing can be especially effective at activating your parasympathetic response. Green, who uses mind-body practices in her nervous system work with clients, relies on methods like swaying and dancing to “send safety signals” to the body. “We do physical exercises first because we want to get that rational brain back online, so that everything else we do after sticks,” she explains.

Scientists haven’t identified an exact minimum effective dose of exercise for your nervous system, specifically, but one 2018 study found that people who worked out for 45 minutes at least three to five times per week experienced the biggest boost to their mental health.

3. Think of rest as fuel, not laziness.

Rest can feel like a luxury, but overlooking the importance of genuine downtime can perpetuate a cycle of dysregulation, Cromer says. Instead of viewing rest as “doing nothing,” reframe it as your dedicated time to nourish your mind and body (add it to your calendar, if you must).

Ask yourself: What do I need to feel energized, restored, and replenished? Then do that, either in a little way each day or a big way each week, or both. “When we’re resting, it gives us back real and perceived control,” Cromer says, which is important because “the more things we feel like are out of control, the more we’re going to be on edge.”

How to Heal Your Nervous System Through Therapy

When you’re stressed, on edge, or overwhelmed, it’s understandably hard to be honest with yourself about what you need—and why you’re feeling so out of it in the first place.

“When the world feels like too much, a therapist can help you figure out why that is and then really tailor the next steps for you,” Hanselman says. Here are the different types of therapy that can help your nervous system feel more regulated over time.

Somatic Experiencing

This body-oriented therapy helps you work through the effects of trauma or chronic stress. A licensed provider guides you to explore how different parts of your body feel, and how those sensations may be linked to unresolved emotions that were physically “trapped” by your body’s protective responses. The goal is to discharge that stress from your body.

Green uses a mix of somatic exercises and cognitive behavioral therapy to counsel high-achieving women, many of whom have health anxiety and “think there’s something deeply wrong with their body,” triggering those high alerts from their nervous system, she says.

As they learn to tune into these physical sensations, they realize they’ve been telling themselves an “untrue story,” she explains. “What they discover through this work is that anxiety wasn’t the problem. It was what happened in their life. Or that a lot of little things happened over time that made their nervous system feel unsafe, resulting in anxiety. When their anxiety goes away, they can’t believe it. They feel like a new version of themselves they have never experienced before.”

EMDR

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is a trauma-focused modality that uses bilateral stimulation—like left-right eye movements, tapping on the knees, or handheld buzzers—to activate both sides of your brain. The gist: “Painful memories can get localized in the brain,” and the long-term effects of these memories can lead to nervous system dysregulation, Cromer says. “Discussing the memory while pairing it with these stimuli helps the brain process the traumatic event.”

One theory behind this: As you’re guided to move your eyes left to right, for example, you’re prompting communications between both hemispheres of your brain, helping you to unlock memories and ultimately work through them. Another theory is that it temporarily moves the event into your short-term memory instead of your long-term memory, so your brain recognizes that the threat isn’t happening anymore, Hanselman says.

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that helps you identify the thinking patterns that keep you “stuck” in your chronic stress and trauma. You talk through how a distressing event affected you: “How did it change my view of myself, of others, of the world?” Cromer posits.

Think of it as “narrative therapy,” Hanselman says. You’ll explore the story of the distressing event, and then examine all of its pieces to determine whether your thoughts support what actually happened, or if “thinking errors” are clouding the narrative. Then you work with your provider to retell the story from a more accurate lens.

Internal Family Systems

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a great approach if your dysregulation stems from childhood experiences. It’s based on the idea that, even as an adult, there are different “parts” of you that are in charge at different times, Hanselman explains. (Your “inner child” may be one part, for example.)

“So when we feel dysregulated and think, ‘I am so angry,’ instead we say, ‘There’s a part of me that is so angry.’ We get to know those different parts. What do they need? When were they created? What burden are they carrying?” she explains. “It is very transformative for people.”

Hanselman had a client who learned to tend to her different parts via IFS, and now she can better regulate herself when explosive feelings brew. “It was a very significant pivot for her because she was made to feel that she was bad and unworthy for a lot of her life,” Hanselman says. “Now she knows those parts of her need support.”

Timeline expectations: While everyone’s healing journey is different, research suggests that many people notice meaningful changes within three to six months of consistent practice and support. Some may see small improvements in just a few weeks, while others with complex trauma may need longer-term intervention.

The Bottom Line

A dysregulated nervous system is your body’s way of telling you that you’ve hit your emotional limits. “The demands on your system are outweighing your capacity,” Hanselman says.

However, with consistent self-care—and the support of a mental health professional—life can feel manageable again. “This does not have to be your normal,” Cromer says. “You deserve peace.”

If you’re ready to explore therapy options, our team can help you find the right provider for your needs—including insurance coverage, specialties like trauma or anxiety, scheduling preferences, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the fastest way to calm your nervous system?

The fastest way is to use cold water—run freezing-cold water over your hands or put your face in a bowl of ice water, Hanselman says. Any grounding technique that engages one of your five senses can quickly activate your parasympathetic response, which is responsible for calming your body.

How do I know if my nervous system is healing?

You’ll start feeling more neutral and less reactive in everyday situations. “It doesn’t have to be all positive, but your thoughts should feel rational and manageable, even when there’s a stressor,” Green says. Your body should feel less revved up and more relaxed overall.

Can the nervous system heal itself naturally?

No, healing a dysregulated nervous system requires intentional effort and support. While your body has natural healing capacities, nervous system dysregulation typically needs active intervention. Therapy can help you uncover and process the root causes of your symptoms, while grounding techniques, lifestyle changes, and therapeutic coping skills will help you stay emotionally and physically balanced over time.