A Dysregulated Nervous System Makes You Dumber - Here’s How to Fix It

In this episode, Emily breaks down the neuroscience of nervous system dysregulation and why a stressed, overwhelmed brain literally reduces intelligence in real time. She explains what happens when the amygdala becomes overactive and prefrontal cortex activity drops, which leads to poor focus, impulsive decisions, worse memory, and an inability to show up as the best version of yourself.

Emily covers the difference between reacting and responding, and why every reaction is just an old automated program running from a past version of you. She also explains why stress distorts perception, why your brain scans for threats when you are dysregulated, and how that makes it nearly impossible to create a new future from that state.

She then shares a set of practical tools to regulate the nervous system, including slowing down and stopping the habit of constant rushing, saying no to protect your energy, humming to tone the vagus nerve, practicing presence before you need it, and doing things purely for the joy of it with no outcome attached.