Glossary

Nervous system dysregulation

Nervous system dysregulation describes a stress-response system that stays activated — or shut down — when it no longer needs to be. Instead of returning to baseline after stress, the system idles on alert (or in collapse), producing tension, restlessness, exhaustion or numbness as a default state. It is a pattern, not a diagnosis.

In plain language

The classic tell is "tired but wired": your energy is spent, but your alarm system never got the memo. Regulation practice works by giving the system many small, repeated signals of safety until baseline moves.

What it can look like

  • Exhausted all the time, yet unable to switch off.
  • Tension on good days — jaw, shoulders, stomach.
  • Reactions out of proportion to triggers, or feeling oddly flat.

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