Part 2:Restoring Balance—How Our Bodies Seek Homeostasis

You were built for balance

In my last post, I started a series on the topic of fear loops: How life brings situations that can set us up for getting sucked into - and stuck in - unhealthy and/or unhelpful cycles of fear-based emotions. I shared a personal story from our family history to illustrate what goes on internally in our brain and nervous system while we are in a real-life situation externally. [Go here if you would like to read the last post.]

Now we are going to take a look at how our bodies were designed to restore balance when a triggering event has pulled on the nervous system emergency cord and we find ourselves in a negative loop, experiencing the absence of peace and the opposite of calm.

When our brain-body system evaluates something as neurologically threatening, we need the intervention of awareness, tools, and support to return to a stable state.

Homeostasis refers to the body’s natural ability to maintain or restore internal balance, even when external conditions shift.

Various systems work together to keep essential conditions like temperature, blood sugar, and hydration within a narrow range, ensuring optimal function and survival.

Our neurophysiological interface is built to restore that equilibrium. But to do so, it requires a perceived reduction in threat and the presence of some form of safety. This sense of safety can be facilitated by many different modalities - such as deep breathing, grounding exercises, or connection with others, to name a few.  

If the body begins to detect increased safety, the parasympathetic nervous system (the "rest and digest" response that helps your body rest, recover, and conserve energy—the opposite of the “fight or flight” sympathetic system.) is able to restore calm and rebalance internal systems. Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex, (the part of the brain responsible for thinking, decision-making, planning, and self-control), will re-engage, enabling us to think more clearly and access more positive, rational self-talk.

Back to my family story of when the husband and father (from Part 1 of this blog series), came home mid-afternoon to tell us he had resigned...

Upon hearing my husband’s shocking news, I had been pulled into a fear loop: my unregulated distress response was producing anxious and catastrophic thinking, that then led to more anxiety. I needed to get in touch with the elements of this destructive and unsustainable loop to steady my system so I could support my children’s and husband’s internal response systems returning to stable.

If I was to experience any peace in the aftermath of Jim’s life-altering decision, I needed to start regulating my emotions and challenging the onset of the fear feedback loop that had taken hold.

Only then could I hope to shift to more grounded, reality-based thoughts like:"He has successfully landed jobs before," or "My background has me trained for this! I believe I can support Jim by managing the household around this temporary shortage."

Earlier I mentioned that a sense of safety can be facilitated by many different modalities - such as deep breathing, grounding exercises, or other means of speaking calm to your body. Let’s move from what’s going on that is threatening the balance our body was designed for to what we can do to facilitate the restoration of homeostasis when we encounter the inevitable upsets of life.

Here are a few means to recreate a sense of safety:

• Use Breath and Senses to Anchor Yourself Engage in practices like deep breathing or box breathing. These help regulate the nervous system and bring you back to your body and the moment at hand.

• Nurture Your Spiritual Core Feed your inner life through prayer, meditation, or reflection. For example, trusting in God’s love, care, and sovereignty over all time—past, present, and future—can ease the grip of fear and instill peace.

• Use the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique This simple sensory exercise can be helpful in pulling you out of fear loops fast:

Name:

5 things you can see

4 things you can feel

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste

In the next post, I will further unpack fear loops, distinguishing the different elements that make up these repeatable cycles: fear, worry, stress and anxiety.

Meanwhile, I invite you to practice employing one or more of these tools for restoring the peace for which your body was designed, even in the midst of situations that threaten the calm.

For reflection:

 Your body is wired for balance. Reflect on a time when you felt yourself calming down after stress. What helped restore your sense of safety — deep breaths, movement, prayer, or the support of others? 

Journaling Prompt: 

Describe a time when you shifted from chaos to calm. What signs told you your body was finding balance again?

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Blessed to play a part ~

g