Parenting Under Threat

Scanning the environment.

Calculating risk.

Assessing needs.

Making quick decisions.

Sounds like a military operation? It's actually not far from what high energy/anxious parents experience a lot of the time.

Staying alert helps us manage safety, moods and timings. Some of us are obsessed with staying in control, getting through the day in as few pieces as possible

The upshot of that is the hit on the adrenal glands of keeping our wits about us 24/7.

That drip-drip of cortisol is also one of the reasons we find it so hard to switch into a relaxed, playful state.

The key is recognising our different nervous system gears and how they can change on a dime.

When we're aware of being in fight-flight, we have options. Like slowing down our breathing.

Bringing down the heart rate is the most powerful way for our body to tell our brain that we’re no longer under threat.

Conscious breathing stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system to lead us back to calm.