How Your Nervous System Influences How You Feel | Sonomare
Discover how the nervous system works, why it influences stress, anxiety, and emotions, and how body-based practices can support greater regulation.
SISTEMA NERVIOSONERVOUS SISTEM
Laura Roig
8/25/20266 min read
Introduction
You may have experienced moments when your mind and body seem to speak different languages.
Rationally, you know there is no real danger, yet your heart starts racing. You try to rest, but your body remains tense. You want to respond calmly, but you react before you have time to think.
Or perhaps the opposite happens: you feel tired, disconnected, or without the energy to face situations that once seemed simple.
When this happens, it’s easy to assume the problem lies in your personality:
“I’m too sensitive.”
“I can’t control my nerves.”
“I should learn how to relax.”
However, many of these experiences can be better understood by looking at how the nervous system works.
The nervous system plays a role in breathing, heart rate, digestion, movement, attention, and the way the body responds to stress. Understanding it doesn’t mean reducing the entire human experience to a biological process, but rather adding an essential piece to understanding why the body responds the way it does. (CNIB)
What is the nervous sistem?
The nervous system is the body’s main communication and coordination network.
It receives information from both outside and inside the body, processes it, and organises responses. Thanks to this system, you can sense temperature, move your hand, remember a conversation, detect a sound, or adjust your breathing to what is happening around you.
You can think of it as a network connecting the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.
This network is not only involved in conscious actions. It also plays a role in automatic processes that happen without you having to control them consciously, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and certain responses to stress.
Quick definition
The nervous system is the network of structures that receives information, interprets it, and coordinates the body’s responses.
What does the nervous system do?
Process information from the senses.
Coordinate voluntary and involuntary movements.
Regulate breathing and heart rate.
Support digestion.
Maintain attention and awareness.
Organise responses to threats or challenges.
Support rest and recovery.
Play a role in learning and memory.
Influence our emotional experience.
One of the most interesting aspects is...
Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
To understand how the nervous system works, it helps to distinguish between two main parts:
Central Nervous System
It consists of the brain and spinal cord. It receives, processes, and organises much of the information coming from the body and the surrounding environment.
Peripheral Nervous System
It is the network of nerves that connects the brain and spinal cord to muscles, organs, and tissues. It carries information in both directions, allowing the body and the central nervous system to communicate continuously.
What is the autonomous nervous sistem?
The autonomic nervous system regulates functions that we do not consciously control, such as:
Heart rate.
Breathing.
Blood pressure.
Digestion.
Sweating.
Part of the body’s stress response.
It is generally divided into two main branches:
Sympathetic nervous system: helps mobilise energy and respond to demands.
Parasympathetic nervous system: supports rest, digestion, and recovery.
These systems do not function as two opposing switches. Autonomic regulation is far more dynamic and depends on both the context and the individual.
Why Does the Body React Before the Mind?
Many protective responses are designed to happen quickly.
If you hear a sudden loud noise behind you, your body may tense and your breathing may change before you even know what has happened.
That’s why you can rationally know that a meeting, a phone call, or a conversation isn’t dangerous and still experience a strong physical reaction.
The mind interprets the present, but the body also responds based on what it has learned from previous experiences.
Frequent mistake: Thinking that regulation means achieving a permanent state of calm. Regulation isn’t about eliminating emotions or activation. It’s about developing a greater capacity to move through them and return to balance.
And here is one of the most important questions that has helped me become more aware of my body, its language, and how to care for it:
Activation and Recovery
Activation is not a problem.
We need activation to focus, exercise, navigate an important conversation, or respond to something unexpected.
What matters is what happens afterwards.
A flexible nervous system can increase activation when the situation requires it and reduce it once the challenge has passed.
Difficulties can arise when the body remains in a state of alert for too long or struggles to return to a sufficient state of rest and recovery.
Sonomare Tip: Don’t just notice how activated you become. Also ask yourself: “Can my body return to a state of calm once the situation has passed?” That ability to regain balance is an important part of nervous system regulation.
How Do We Work with This at Sonomare?
At Sonomare, we understand that the body doesn’t need to be forced to relax.
It needs the right conditions to support a greater sense of safety, presence, and choice.
Sessions may integrate:
Nervous system education.
Body awareness.
Resources inspired by Somatic Experiencing.
Sound therapy tailored to each person.
Present-moment orientation.
Space for silence and integration.
Sound is not used to impose a particular state, but as a way to support perception, listening, and connection with the body.
This approach is complementary and does not replace medical or psychological care when needed.
What Does It Mean to Regulate the Nervous System?
Regulation doesn’t mean being calm all the time.
It means having enough flexibility to:
Become activated when necessary.
Recognise your body’s signals.
Reduce activation once the challenge has passed.
Recover after a difficult experience.
Have more options before reacting.
A regulated nervous system doesn’t remain in one fixed state.
It can move between activation, rest, connection, and recovery depending on what the moment requires.
Small observation
Slowly look around you and notice:
Three objects or shapes.
A colour that feels pleasant to you.
The distance between you and your surroundings.
Then bring your attention to your body.
Ask yourself:
What is my breathing like right now?
Where do I feel supported?
Is there an area where I notice more tension?
Has anything changed since looking around?
You don’t need to change anything.
The aim is simply to observe, without expecting your body to feel a certain way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the nervous system control emotions?
Not on its own. Emotions are influenced by the brain, the body, personal history, context, and relationships. The nervous system plays a role in physiological activation and in how we respond.
Is stress always negative?
No. Stress can be useful in the short term. Difficulties can arise when it becomes intense or prolonged without sufficient recovery.
Does regulating the nervous system eliminate anxiety?
Not necessarily. Anxiety can have many different causes. Working on nervous system regulation may help some people understand and manage certain responses, but it does not replace professional assessment or care.
Does sound therapy regulate the nervous system?
Some people experience relaxation, greater presence, or increased body awareness during a sound therapy session. Responses vary from person to person, and the evidence is still developing. At Sonomare, sound therapy is integrated as one tool within a broader approach.
Conclusion: Understanding the nervous system can change the way you interpret many of your reactions. An intense response doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re weak, overreacting, or unable to control yourself. It may simply mean that your body is trying to respond using the resources it knows. Understanding this doesn’t mean giving up or accepting things as they are. It means starting from a place of less self-blame and greater curiosity about what your body may be trying to communicate.
Understand Your Body’s Signals
At Sonomare, we create supportive spaces where sound, the body, and presence come together to explore greater nervous system regulation.
If you’d like to better understand your body’s responses and discover our approach, book your first individual session. We’ll help you explore whether this type of support is right for you.
