NeuroEmotional Pathways
“NeuroEmotional Pathways= NEPS”
NEP’s is what I like to call the primal emotions we share with most animals.
There are 5 primal emotions:
Fear, Rage, Seeking, Care and Panic.
The neurology behind the expression of these emotions is different however the reason we have these emotions is to keep us safe and well.
In clinic every week I use NEPS to de-stress the pathways in the brain that express these primal emotions (and more, memory, sleep, addition and so on)
The brain and the body’s number one job is to keep a level of equilibrium or homeostasis. Compensations occur when this balance is compromised and over a prolonged period of time we pop up with symptoms. Pain, hormone imbalances, skin issues, sleep issues…and so on and on.
For an example of the most common one I treat in clinic lets discuss the Fear system and if you know me, I love an analogy!
Take for example a cave man out hunting for food. His awareness for danger (fear emotion) is heightened until he is back in the cave eating with his family.
The expression of fear in this case causes adrenal glands to supply adrenalin to activate the heart and lungs to pump quicker and supply resources to the arms and legs to run/ fight when required. this is call fight/flight response to fear.
When Mr Caveman is back home and safe the adrenal glands stop supplying adrenalin and the heart rate reduces and blood can then be allocated to the digestion for eating and the muscles for repair etc.
Fast forward to now. Yes we aren’t cavemen anymore however we still have our proverbial lions chasing us. That could be our boss, our family, our societal pressures and especially our social media profile!
Our bodies still behave the same however in this modern world we rarely get to rest and digest unless we are lucky enough to book a holiday away from our phone and work/ school pressures. Therefore our adrenal glands are working overtime. Our digestion is never at rest to process our food slowly, (who eats on the run ?) and our diets are highly processed and not providing all the nutrients we require.
What can you do…
Work out your triggers? What is your ‘lion’?
Practice something that makes you relaxed. That doesn’t have to be by the beach or sitting on the floor with your legs cross ‘umming’. It can be anything that switches your mind off from your day to day pressures. Talking to your self in a positive manner. Having gratitude to your surroundings and taking a few deep breaths to calm down and refocus.
I have my 3 top stress busters that you can do between sessions with me. They are very hands on practical tips that I use every day.