Hello Friends,

Warning! Unpopular opinion coming in for a landing!

The feeling of calm is not the same as the physiological state of parasympathetic.

What, you say?! I thought that was the point?!

Let’s use anxiety as an example. A common experience of anxiety usually includes increased heart rate, increased breath rate, and tightness of the chest.

Heart rate in a parasympathetic state is highly variable, but at rest can be anywhere from 65-85 beats per minute (give or take). But what if my resting heart rate is in the 30’s or 40’s? That’s pretty common in a dominantly sympathetic person. What if that person were to shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic and then the heart was to “race” to 65? That's double.

The heart itself in a sympathetic person is usually low and to the left (lots of variability here, but let's just go with this). In a parasympathetic person it is generally high and centered. The heart is also encased in fascia and has fascia within it. In a parasympathetic person, fascia is considered “hydrated” and has a principle known as tensegrity. In a sympathetic person it is “dehydrated” (more on this later). What if my heart were to shift from low to high and its fascia from dehydrated to hydrated? That transition is generally experienced as a tightness and/or achiness.

The lungs in a sympathetic person are generally sitting low in the ribcage while in a parasympathetic person the tops of the lungs reside in the neck. The transition of low to high is often experienced as an increase in breath rate.

So if I am transitioning from sympathetic to parasympathetic in a big way and I experience an increase of heart rate, tightness of the chest, and an increase in breath rate, am I experiencing anxiety or are my organs just shifting around and letting my brain know so it can update its brain map?

In the moment, this can be a confusing thing to decipher. I know, I’ve been there. Something triggered me. I was definitely fight-or-flight, but the sensations that occurred as a result are more often than not me shifting to a parasympathetic state. If I were to try to make all those sensations go away, I am likely to take myself back to a fight-or-flight state where I no longer experience those sensations. But if I somehow can recognize my structure, the reality of the moment, then I can get to the other side. 

Onwards, Amy

Content is for entertainment and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice or a replacement for therapy. Links are for convenience; however, a small commission is sometimes earned from purchases.