A reflection about our autonomic nervous system

The nervous system can also be activated in response to words and images alone. For example, this can happen when reading the news, seeing the headlines and also the images filled with war, violence, death, poverty, genocide, and beyond. Before the articles are even fully read, the body reacts to the words and images on the screen.

A pit in the stomach. Muscular constriction. The shoulders tense up, the breath shortens, the eyes get watery. These are some noticeable signals. Beneath them, the sympathetic nervous system—the ancient circuitry of survival—comes online, detecting threat and urgency.

Cortisol is released into the bloodstream. You can’t see it, but its effects are felt: the heart accelerates, blood pressure rises, the body prepares itself for protection, for flight, and sometimes for fight.

This all happens in seconds.

In this moment, more than ever, let’s care for ourselves and for each other.