Navigating Daily Nervous System Shifts
Episode 90: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
View transcript on Buzzsprout
You know those days when you wake up feeling okay, then crash into a spiral of stress by lunchtime? Or you start off anxious and somehow settle into calm by dinner? That’s not mood swings or instability—it’s your nervous system doing its job. In this episode, Amanda answers a powerful listener question: Can we really cycle through all nervous system states in a single day? The answer is yes—and understanding how and why is key to building emotional resilience.
What We Cover in This Episode
- A refresher on the “nervous system ladder” and its four key states
- Why nervous system shifts are normal—and even helpful
- What causes us to move between regulation, activation, and shutdown
- How to identify your own state shifts and support smoother transitions
Understanding the Ladder: 4 Nervous System States
Green Zone (Regulation): Calm, grounded, connected. You feel present and capable—even when life is hard.
Yellow Zone (Activation): Fight-or-flight mode. Urgency, stress, and anxiety take over as your body mobilizes for action.
Red Zone (Shutdown): Overwhelmed, exhausted, disconnected. This state often follows chronic stress or emotional burnout.
Orange Zone (Freeze): A mix of yellow and red—activated and stuck. You feel urgency and paralysis, pressure and shutdown.
We cycle through these zones daily. The goal isn’t to avoid them—it’s to notice them, respond intentionally, and build a system that can flex and recover.
Your Daily Stress Bucket: Why You Shift States
Amanda shares a vivid metaphor: picture yourself starting the day standing at the top of the nervous system ladder in the green zone with an empty bucket. As stressors accumulate—decisions, challenges, conflict—the bucket fills. How well you move through the day depends on your overall load and your capacity to process it.
Stressors fall into three categories: internal (e.g., fatigue, hunger, beliefs), external (e.g., noise, deadlines, conflict), and relational (e.g., loneliness, disconnection). The more full your bucket, the more likely you are to slide down the ladder into states of dysregulation.
Your nervous system isn’t trying to sabotage you and dysregulation isn’t a disorder. It’s often an appropriate response to your past lived experience and current life circumstances. The more you understand it, the easier it is to work with it—not against it.
Three Tangible Takeaways
- Daily state shifts are normal. You’re not broken for moving between regulation, activation, and shutdown. That’s your biology at work.
- Awareness is the first step. Start noticing what triggers your state shifts and what helps you return to calm. These are data points for healing.
- Support your system proactively. Build in small, consistent habits—like mindful pauses, movement, social connection, and grounding practices—that help your system flex and reset.
Looking for more personalized support?
- Book a FREE discovery call for RESTORE, our 1:1 anxiety & depression coaching program (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
- Join me inside the Regulated Living Membership, a mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available)
- Join my Release Class – Monthly guided nervous system regulation class
- Order my book, Healing Through the Vagus Nerve today!
- Download free resources here
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
