From Valleynewslive · · 1m
Why Your Body Feels Stress Before Your Mind
Your central nervous system signals stress before your mind does.
In brief
Your central nervous system signals stress before your mind does. Physical stress symptoms like racing heart and tight chest appear before mental stress, and calming techniques can help reset the nervous system. Originally reported by Valleynewslive.
What your body feels
Your central nervous system responds to emotion with racing heart, butterflies, and tight chest.
“A racing heart. Butterflies in your stomach. A heavy, tight chest.”
The command center
Dr. Rhea Rogers called the brain and spinal cord your body’s command center for emotions and actions.
“Think of the central nervous system as your command center for the entire body, and that’s going to be the brain and the spinal cord.”
Two systems at work
Your body uses fight or flight for danger and rest and digest for calm, as explained by Dr. Rhea Rogers.
“You’re either activating a sympathetic nervous system ... which is a fight and flight, or your parasympathetic, so you’re going to kind of rest and digest.”
Physical stress signals
Aging expert Amy O’Rourke described chest tightness after college graduation and her sister’s death as stress symptoms.
“I really realized that the longer it went on, I needed to go into therapy or into counseling.”
Body feedback
Katherine Ambrose said your body gives feedback that helps you process stress and make changes.
“Our body is always trying to give us information. It’s trying to give us feedback.”
Calming tools
Prayer, meditation, breathing, yoga, nature, music, pets, and grounding help shift your nervous system to rest.
“Anything that will accelerate and stimulate your vagus nerve. Parasympathetic. So humming, singing, all those different things will help.”
What it means
Physical stress symptoms like racing heart and tight chest appear before mental stress, and calming techniques can help reset the nervous system.
