Your parasympathetic nervous system is the brake pedal of your body. You need it to slow you down, to relax, and to digest your food. But if your parasympathetic nervous system perceives danger, you might feel exhaustion, muscle fatigue, glued to your screen, locked on your couch, sluggish, and forgetful. You may feel a sense of heaviness or dread, and you may struggle to make decisions. This is known as a freeze response. The solution to a freeze response is to up-regulate. Up-regulation techniques include letting your eyes slowly wander around a room, gentle stretching, and accessing anger in a safe and contained way.

Sympathetic nervous system procrastination: Your sympathetic nervous system is the gas pedal of your body. You need it to feel energized, to mobilize, and to get out of bed when it’s cold. When your sympathetic nervous system perceives a threat, you might experience racing thoughts, “productive procrastination” (aka doing everything on your list except the one thing you really need to be doing), not being able to relax, restlessness, irritability, and elevated heart rate. This is known as a fight-or-flight response. The solution to a fight/flight response is to down-regulate. Down-regulation techniques include jumping, pushing or pulling, laying on the ground, and making extended eye contact with someone you trust.