Toni Jackson

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Managing Anxiety: Holistic Tips From 7 Practitioners

  Posted on by Toni Jackson :: Psychotherapist & Counsellor

  4 Comments

It took me years to work out how to best manage my anxiety. In fact, I didn’t know that the awful, overwhelming thoughts, sensations and feelings I experienced were anxiety until a counsellor told me. I just thought there was…

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 Category: Stress and Anxiety      Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

What To Do When You Feel Anxious

  Posted on by Toni Jackson :: Psychotherapist & Counsellor

  1 Comment

Your heart is pounding. Your breath is short and shallow. You can feel a tightness in your neck, your shoulders, your entire body. Your mind races with worry about what might happen. The more you try to think through the…

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 Category: Stress and Anxiety      Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some Cool Stuff I’ve Noticed About Art Therapy

  Posted on by Toni Jackson :: Psychotherapist & Counsellor

  2 Comments

Fontankadom, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

© 2010 Fontankadom, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Art therapy can provide a direct link to our subconscious. I have so often been amazed by the messages and insights that have seemingly magically appeared when working with art therapy….

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 Category: Art Therapy, Tabs      Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Great, simple visual of the Polyvagal theory from @brbmassage ・・・ All of your nerves (31 spinal and 12 cranial) are spoken of in singular terms but they actually come in pairs—the main nerve splits into two sides. One half of the nerve goes to the right side of your body and one goes to the left side. Each side has a dorsal and ventral root. Polyvagal theory seeks to explain the structure and function of each of the two branches of Cranial Nerve X, the vagus nerve. Each is associated with a different type of parasympathetic behavioral adaptation, meaning it calms you, but both in different ways. The dorsal branch of the vagus is associated with the more primal survival strategy of “freezing” or shut down when placed under great stress. It can shut down your digestive and urinary systems which is why someone might urinate or defecate on themselves when they are terrified. It can even completely stop your heart and send you into cardiac arrest. The ventral branch is more sophisticated. It is called the “smart vagus” because it has evolved to effectively counteract the sympathetic behavior of fight or flight without going overboard into “freeze mode.” The ventral vagus carefully down-regulates your heart rate, slows your breathing and opens you up for social communication and self-soothing behaviors. Vagal tone is basically a measurement of how well you can adapt to stress. We measure vagal tone through heart rate variability, something I touched on briefly already. High vagal tone is good—it means you can more easily access your parasympathetic state. Low vagal tone means your body is quicker to enter a sympathetic fight or flight state or shut down completely. Polyvagal theory has provided us with a deeper understanding of the biological response to safety and danger. It has opened up new approaches to healing that focus on strengthening the body’s system for regulating arousal. If you can regulate your own level of arousal, you can heal your own body. #polyvagaltheory #vagusnerve #parasympathetic #nervoussystem #neuroscience #meditation #deepbreathing #massagetherapy #usmilitary #usarmy #sof #dol #greenberet #rltw #82ndairborne #combatvet #ptsd #tbi #tldr