Intro to the
Autonomic Nervous System
Your autonomic nervous system (ANS), often
misconceived as a feelings management system, is
more accurately described as an energy management
system. There is an upper limit to the amount of energy
your cells can produce at any given time. The ANS acts
as a director, continuously prioritizing energy
production based on immediate needs, into two major
categories:
Sympathetic System: Energy for movement and
awareness. This includes all types of movement, both
big and small, as well as excitement, arousal, and
responding to stress (whether external or internal).
Examples include physical exercise, quick reflexes,
increased heart rate, heightened alertness, the fight-
or-flight response, and mobilization of energy reserves
for immediate action.
Parasympathetic System: Energy for internal
processes. This encompasses activities such as
digestion, cellular repair, contemplation, and memory
formation. Additional examples include reducing heart
rate, stimulating digestion, promoting nutrient
absorption, supporting immune function, and facilitating
relaxation and recovery.
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
Activated by: Stress, danger, excitement, or physical
exertion
Chemical Response: Release of adrenaline and
norepinephrine
Effects: Increases heart rate, boosts energy, heightens
alertness, redirects blood (energy) to muscles
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
Activation Trigger: End of stressor or need for
relaxation
Chemical Response: Release of acetylcholine
Effects: Lowers heart rate, promotes digestion,
supports recovery, repair, contemplation
!! Important !!
The ANS is not an on/off switch for the SNS and PNS;
it’
s a balancing system. Both branches can be active
simultaneously, and a healthy person can continuously
and flexibly prioritize and balance the two systems.
Nervous System
Regulation
Chronic Anxiety
If you have chronic anxiety, there is nothing wrong with
you. You are not broken. You’re just experiencing a
physical adaptation to stress. It works like this:
Stress turns on your SNS. This stress can come from
external sources (like a stressful job or a bad relationship)
or internal sources (such as worrying about work or
engaging in negative self-talk).
BUT this stress has no resolution! SNS remains active, so
the PNS doesn
’t “turn on
”
. You become
“
stuck” in an SNS-
dominant state, and this is called anxiety.
You feel hyperaware, unable to calm your mind,
experiencing constant release of adrenaline, often
without a clear cause. This heightened state permeates
all areas of your life.
Over time, it becomes easier to enter this stress/anxiety
state (active SNS) and increasingly difficult to engage the
relaxation response (PNS).
Now you
’
re experiencing chronic anxiety—an
overstimulated SNS that struggles to
"turn off.
"