Hi friend,

If you've followed me for a while, you already know I talk about the vagus nerve and the nervous system a lot. We've covered the biology before — what the vagus nerve is, how it connects your gut and your brain, how vagal tone affects everything from digestion to inflammation.

Today I want to come at it from a different angle. Not the biology lesson — the why it matters for everything we've covered this week.

I hear this all the time: "I've tried reframing my thoughts. I've done the gratitude journal. I've read the books, done some CBT, tried to think more positively — and I still feel stuck."

If that's you: that's not a failure on your part. It usually means one piece has been missing — the body.

Here's what's actually happening. When you're in a stress response, your prefrontal cortex — the rational, reasoning, big-picture-thinking part of your brain — is partially offline. It's not gone, but it's not running at full capacity either. Your body has, in a very real sense, prioritized survival over strategy. That's exactly why "just think positive" or "just reframe it" can feel impossible in the moment, no matter how much you understand the concept intellectually.

This is the piece so many people skip. They keep doing the cognitive work — which is genuinely valuable, we spent Days 1 through 3 on exactly that — but they're doing it while their nervous system is still activated. It's like trying to edit a document while someone keeps bumping the table. The tools aren't broken. The environment they're being used in is unstable.

The vagus nerve is your body's built-in off-switch for that stress state. It runs from your brainstem down through your neck, chest, and abdomen, and it's the primary pathway your parasympathetic nervous system uses to tell your body: the threat has passed, you can stand down now.

When vagal tone is strong, your body moves out of that stress state more easily and more quickly. When it's weak or under-used, you can stay activated far longer than the situation actually calls for — which means your prefrontal cortex stays partially offline longer, too. That's the direct link between your nervous system and your ability to actually use the mindset tools we've spent this week on.

There's research using EEG to measure this directly — when people stimulated the vagus nerve during a stress task, their stress levels stayed flat, while a comparison group's stress measurably rose. The brain activity data showed calmer, more connected patterns in the group whose vagus nerve was engaged. This isn't a feeling. It's measurable physiology.

This is why I coach it in this order: regulate first, then redirect. Calm the body, then reach for the reframe, the gratitude, the "fact or feeling" question. Trying to do it in reverse is often what leaves people feeling like they're doing everything right and still not getting anywhere.

The good news is that regulating the vagus nerve doesn't require anything complicated:

1. Extend your exhale. Breathe in for a count of 4, out for a count of 8. A longer exhale than inhale directly stimulates the vagus nerve and signals safety to your body.

2. Hum, sing, or gargle. These all activate muscles connected to the vagus nerve through the back of your throat. It sounds simple because it is — and it works.

3. Try cold, briefly. Splashing cold water on your face or finishing your shower with 15–30 seconds of cold water triggers a vagal response that can shift your state quickly.

Pick one, use it the next time you notice tension rising.

"Be still, and know that I am God." — Psalm 46:10

Stillness isn't passive. In a very literal, physiological sense, stillness is what allows your nervous system to settle enough for everything else — clarity, peace — to follow. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do in a hard moment isn't to think harder or pray harder — it's to simply be still long enough to let our bodies catch up to what our spirit already knows.

Tomorrow, Day 7, we close out this series with the habit I believe predicts resilience better than almost anything else — and it ties every piece of this week together. See you then.

With Faith, Science, & Wellness,
Liz

Registered Nurse | Certified Mental Wellness Coach

This newsletter is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or a licensed mental health provider with questions about your individual health.