Your autonomic nervous system helps regulate emotional balance, but chronic stress or trauma can trigger an overactive fight-or-flight response.

Functional freeze is a stress response that occurs when you outwardly appear to be functioning as you usually do, but internally feel emotionally shut down. Here are 5 key signs of a functional ...

Typically, the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in. It helps shut down your body's stress response, leading to lower cortisol levels, and bringing you back down to your baseline. But if you've ...

Discover four research-backed breathing techniques that activate your parasympathetic nervous system for immediate stress relief and emotional regulation.

When the nervous system is dysregulated, one branch may become overactive, or the body may flip between the two states more quickly than usual.⁵ This can result in a persistent fight-or-flight ...

Psychedelics, known for their therapeutic potential in psychiatric disorders, interact with the autonomic nervous system in ways that are not well understood. This viewpoint examines the complex ...

Find out about the sympathetic nervous system, which causes your fight or flight response, and learn more about how it functions.

You probably know that your nervous system is the intricate network of the brain, spine, and nerves that control your thoughts, emotions, and bodily functions like breathing, sleep, and movement. And ...

Learn about the autonomic nervous system. Discover different health problems and symptoms that can affect this system.