Demolition Derby

Greetings, Reader!

Way back when I was in PT school, I was stopped at a red light on the way to teach a yoga class when I was rear-ended by someone who somehow didn't notice the line of cars stopped at the light. Fortunately, she was only going about 25 mph, but my neck absorbed the impact, and I knew right away that I had whiplash.

I have a sensitive system, and it took some time and tender care to unwind the guarding and tension in my neck that developed when I braced for the impact.

If you've ever had whiplash, you know it isn't fun!

I was in my first clinical rotation at the time, and I was working with a manual therapist. I remember being so worried about how I would be able to treat patients because I couldn't turn my head and was in a ton of pain.

Years later, when I was studying to become certified in pain neuroscience, I read a study about demolition derby drivers who, on average, have 50 car crashes per event (at an average speed of 24 mph).

Remembering my own whiplash experience, I was amazed to discover that these drivers race an average of 30 events in their careers, so we are talking 1,500 car crashes per driver.

Miraculously, only 2 - 3 % of demolition derby drivers have persistent pain.

How is that possible, when one little tap of my bumper produced months of pain?

The answer is that context matters.

I was in an unexpected, unwanted car accident. My nervous system was already primed to register car accidents as dangerous, having been in a very serious car accident that involved rolling across a freeway when I was in my early 20s. I was also a stressed out grad student, surrounded by people who were struggling with pain. In that context, it makes sense that my nervous system would have been a bit overprotective.

In contrast, demolition derby drivers crash their cars for fun! Their nervous systems likely do not interpret car accidents as dangerous because that is all part of the game, and it is what they sign up for. As a result, any sensations they feel in their bodies aren't filtered through the lens of fear.

On an everyday basis, the nervous system feels a sensation and then reads the room. If the context indicates danger (or even just potential danger), it activates the pain alarm.

For example, if your hip hurts every time you stand up from a chair, moving from sit to stand will start to feel unsafe to your nervous system, and any sensation you feel in your hip will be interpreted as pain until you teach your nervous system that going from sit to stand isn't dangerous, and you build your capacity to feel sensation in your hip without filtering it through the lens of fear.

Your life has created a specific context for your nervous system that is unique to you. It causes you to brace and protect in specific situations, and that protection has kept you safe. But when you are guarded for a long time, your nervous system starts to send distress signals.

Signs Your Nervous System is Asking For Help:

Anxiety and Racing Thoughts
Feeling Overwhelmed
Shutting Down
Overworking
Irritability and Reactivity
Disconnection
Depletion
Chronic Tension and Tightness
Fatigue and Low Energy
Sleep Issues and Feeling Wired & Tired
Unexplained Aches and Pains

If you've been holding everything together on the surface, but underneath, you are overwhelmed and struggling to thrive, your nervous system is likely stuck in defensive mode and it doesn't know where the off switch is.

Lasting relief comes from attuning to safety so your nervous system can finally turn off the alarm.

Imagine what would happen if your nervous system responded from a place of embodied resilience rather than a place of guarding and fear.

If you'd like to learn more about how to transform vigilance into presence, fear into safety, and defensiveness into resilience so you can engage with the world instead of defend against it, I invite you to schedule a free Nervous System Attunement Strategy Session. You'll get clear on what your nervous system needs and what is keeping you stuck, and we can develop a customized plan tailored to your unique nervous system.

In love and solidarity,