Escaping The Saber Tooth Tiger
Written by: Kim Wagner, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Our lives are busy, full of deadlines, pressure and to-do lists that are a mile long. As evolved as we are in so many ways, as humans we are still very primal on a cellular level. Even in 2021 our bodies cannot tell the difference between fleeing a saber tooth tiger or trying to get our kids to the school bus on time.
The autonomic nervous system is part of our peripheral nervous system that regulates things such as heart rate, breathing, reproduction and digestion. Our two main autonomic nervous systems are the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous systems.
The Sympathetic nervous system is also known as fight-or-flight. When we are under stress, we activate this nervous system and on a cellular level revert back to our caveman days – effectively running away or fighting to save our life... That is why it’s called fight-or-flight. We stay to fight the tiger or we run away. In all of the other ways we have advanced as humans, these functions are still very primal.
When our sympathetic nervous system has been activated, it is preparing our body for strenuous physical activity such as running or moving very quickly.
Here is a basic overview of what happens within our body:
Our blood floods to our arms and legs to allow us to run/move/fight quickly.
Our digestive system effectively stops
Our reproductive system ceases
When in the state of ‘fight or flight’, our body switches to survival mode. At this time, the main objective is to live, which is why our digestion stops and we are not looking to reproduce – let’s just get out of there to live another day and worry about the rest later.
The Parasympathetic nervous system is also known as “rest and repair’. As the name implies, it’s about helping our body to repair, allowing us to remain healthy and to reproduce to keep the human race going.
The issue in modern times is that so many of us are in almost constant fight or flight. Since our body cannot tell the difference between danger and a busy life, it’s easy to see how.
The world we live in right now is fast paced, overwhelming at times and not congruent with a healthy, balanced life that is calm.
Whilst being able to flee or fight quickly serves its purpose, being in such a stressed response for extended periods or often is very detrimental to our health.
Putting it simply, being in an extreme or constant state causes oxidative stress which in turn is unhealthy as shown below.
Oxidative stress = Inflammation = Dis-ease
The long term effect of chronic or high stress can be devastating. Often it will result in dis-ease in the body – either physically or mentally. In fact, many people will suddenly be diagnosed with some kind of issue in their late thirties or early forties. Although these seem sudden,in some cases they have in fact been forming for many years.
This is why it’s important to step from the sympathetic and into the parasympathetic nervous system in our everyday life. There are generally no life and death situations on a daily basis. We can let our guard down and really enjoy our life without feeling so stressed all of the time.
When working with clients, we start to find a way to step out of fight or flight and into rest and repair. It’s about changing our habits and how we perceive our world. It’s different for all of us as our circumstances are never the same.
Often our perception and reaction will depend on our blueprint or subconscious belief systems. There are things that may be triggered due to generational experiences or beliefs that are not known to us on a conscious level.
By working on these belief systems, we can alleviate a lot of the day to day issues that we encounter as well as any trauma responses from situations or conditions in our life – current or in the past.
It’s also important to start implementing new habits that encourage a calm, simple and happy day to day life which is not not full of rushing, stressing and deadlines.
Boundaries are vital to live a life that is calm and has less drama. Having boundaries is a way to show what you will and will not allow in your life, and sets the rules of play. Boundaries can be personal and also involve relationships and your workplace.
Self care is something we need to include in our daily lives. In this busy world, taking care of oneself has been deemed as not a priority – in fact is seen as not necessary or even selfish. Taking time to nurture yourself, finding things that make you happy and doing it daily is one of the big keys to a stress free and happy life. Things such as getting up a little earlier to read a book, have some alone time, meditate, get out into nature, listen to your favourite music. These are important . We are all different so the daily acts will also vary, however the key is to find what works for you. In fact, it’s all about you.
Slow down! We are always rushing from one thing to the next. Oftentimes we are thinking about the next thing while doing the current job or chore, even when we are having some down time or personal time. Slowing our brain as well as body is crucial. By focusing on one thing at a time, we allow ourselves to be present. By slowing down we will often speed up in our output. I know personally, when I have a massive workload I can achieve much more when I slow my mind, take nice deep breaths and remain calm.
Remove things from your life that are not important or that someone else can do. I’m guilty of trying to do everything and that’s just not possible. Well it is, but something has to give and it’s usually our health and wellbeing. It’s time to go through your daily/weekly/monthly tasks honestly and remove or delegate things that are either not serving you or that someone else can do. Often the things we spend our precious time on are not important enough to give it away. Remember, the one thing we can never get back is our time.
Once we’ve started to replace our daily habits and have transformed our subconscious beliefs, things start to shift. The pressure is not so great and we can really feel a difference on a cellular level. By transforming the perception of stress using PSYCH-K®, I am able to assist in the journey of stepping out of the sympathetic and into the parasympathetic nervous system.
It’s time to step off the stress train and into calm.
Kim Wagner, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kim is a PSYCH-K® Facilitator, PER-K® Catalyst, Reiki Master, Intuitive Healer, Author, Speaker, and Educator.
After losing her mother to cancer whilst pregnant with her second child, Kim started to research and train in the field of belief systems and trauma. The learnings and results have been astounding.
Kim helps people to transform their lives. Her expertise is to heal trauma, replace negative and limiting belief systems and change the perception of stress.
With a corporate background, Kim's unique ability to help clients allows her to transform lives across the globe.
Kim is co-author of Upself Guidebook and an article contributor for multiple publications.
