From Fight-or-Flight to Rest-and-Digest: Nervous System Tools for Emotional Eating

I have been doing a deep dive into regulating a nervous system and how it can support myself and my emotional eating clients. But the thing I have found as I researched is that there is a lot of talk about the benefits of a regulated nervous system, but not a lot on the specifics of how to actually do that, so I wanted to break this down with real strategies you can use when you need them!

Your nervous system is a complex and important part of your body, but at base it is a communications highway (your brain, nerves, and spinal cord are all part of it, so it even kind of looks like a highway!). This means it gathers information from our senses, processes all this information, and then has the body react as it thinks appropriate.

It’s an important tool to keep us alive because it turns this information into action—from literally running away to digesting the meal you just had. But it can also jump to conclusions based on past events (like traumatic experiences) and immediately slip into fight, flight, or freeze mode that puts your whole body on edge.

So, how can you help it find some calm when in these states? There are two parts of the nervous system and we have to work with them differently:

The sympathetic system is often referred to as “the gas pedal” because it activates your system, think rapid breathing, increased heart rate, and releases of stress hormones. Getting stuck in this hyper-sensitive response for a long time can leave you feeling anxious, wired, and more likely to engage in stress-related behaviours like emotional eating.

• Diffusing the intensity of this system means discharging or moving through this hot, uncomfortable energy. Try one of these: a brisk walk, pushing against the wall for a few seconds (release and do it again), shake or swing your arms and legs, rip up paper, twist a towel tightly, or splash some cold water on your face. All of these activities are concrete ways to move energy from the panic in your body to an outside source.

Tip: this is why deep breathing, meditating, or a hobby might not work when your sympathetic system is activated because your body is in too much of a heightened state to believe the calm these strategies usually bring you—you can’t just go straight to stillness.

If the above is the gas pedal, the parasympathetic system is the brake (you may have heard this called “rest and digest”). This is when you feel grounded, present, have a steady heartbeat, and even easy digestion. Your body feels relaxed and can recover from the sympathetic system reaction.

• Activating this system can be done by mindfully slowing down, creating feelings of safety, and can often be helpful when you’re feeling sad, ashamed, numb, or frozen. Try one of these: gentle rocking, tapping lightly on your body, humming, longer exhales than inhales, soothing self-talk, or connecting with someone you feel safe with.

We need both parts of the nervous system and you’re not “wrong” or “bad” for experiencing them! Being able to move more flexibly from one to the other with the strategies above can help you feel less stuck.

💛 Your peace awaits.