Ep: 22: Navigating the Storm: Nervous System Regulation

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Ahoy, maties! In this episode of Beyond Compassion Fatigue, we’re setting sail into the stormy seas of stress, trauma, and overwhelm that so many in animal care, welfare, and activism face daily. Together, we’ll explore how to recognize and regulate your nervous system when compassion fatigue takes the wheel. Using the metaphor of a sailboat at sea, I’ll guide you through three common nervous system states — fight or flight, freeze, and shutdown — and show you how they appear emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Most importantly, you’ll learn practical tools to bring yourself back to calmer waters when life’s storms feel overwhelming.

In this episode we cover: 

• How the autonomic nervous system (ANS) shapes your stress responses.

• The difference between fight or flight, freeze, and shutdown — and how they each show up in animal welfare work.

• Why your nervous system sometimes overreacts to modern-day stressors like angry clients, social media hostility, or heavy workloads.

• Simple, science-backed tools to regulate your nervous system, including:

  • Box breathing and grounding (for fight or flight)

  • Micro-actions and tactile stimulation (for freeze)

  • Orienting, vagus nerve soothing, and co-regulation (for shutdown)

Grab more free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here. 

Visit my free virtual calming room here. 

Check out my Group Coaching Program for Compassion Fatigue here. 

Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here.