Nervous System Regulation Part 1

Your body isn’t being “dramatic.” It might be overloaded. We’re kicking off season four of Spandex and Wine with a topic that’s quietly affecting a lot of women: nervous system regulation, especially through the lens of perimenopause and menopause, modern stress, and the nonstop stimulation of everyday life.

We talk through the real signs that your nervous system may be overtaxed, from fatigue, headaches, digestive issues, muscle tension, poor sleep, and injuries that feel like they appear out of nowhere, to emotional shifts like anxiety, irritability, overwhelm, and feeling disconnected from what you usually enjoy. We also get honest about the cognitive side: brain fog, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, and decision fatigue, including a story that perfectly captures how weird and frustrating this season can feel.

Then we dig into what can cause nervous system strain over time: chronic stress and constant responsibility, the way past trauma can shape your stress response, and lifestyle factors like poor sleep, excess alcohol, overtraining, undereating, and lack of recovery. Hormonal shifts and underlying health concerns can turn the volume up even more, which is why “try harder” rarely works and why nervous system support belongs in every wellness plan.

The best part: there’s hope. Your nervous system can learn new patterns, and we’re setting up a practical multi-part series designed to help you feel calmer, more resilient, and more like yourself again. If this resonates, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming next, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more women find the show.

Danny Davis (neurology) Episode

Ginger Rothhaas (Compassion Fix) Episode

Alenda Jacobson (emotional reset) Episode

Transcript

Welcome To Spandex And Wine

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Spandex and Wine Podcast. I'm your host, Robin Hackney, and I'm so happy that you're here. This podcast is a place for conversations about balancing a healthy lifestyle and being happy. More specifically, happy hour. Together we'll explore all things wellness and wine. I hope you learn a little, laugh a lot, and along the way, know you're not alone on this balanced wellness journey. Ready to jump in? Pour something in your glass that makes you happy because it's time for Spandex and Wine.

Season Four Series Announcement

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Spandex and Wine Podcast. If you received my newsletter on Wednesday, it goes out every Wednesday. Um you saw that I am going to be doing this month a series on the podcast. Um, I'm starting season four, so I thought I would kick it off this way, and it'll be a way that we can dive into topics just a little bit deeper. So this month, actually, it's probably going to be longer than a month, it'll probably be a six-part series. We're diving into something that I think is impacting far more women than they realize, and it's nervous system regulation. And before we get started, I wanted to invite you just to just to look at your own life. Have you ever felt frazzled or overwhelmed or exhausted, maybe forgetful, even irritable, or maybe just not quite like yourself? And it could be that simple tasks feel harder than they should, or maybe you found yourself snapping at people you love or staring at your to-do list without knowing where to start. Oh my gosh, I mean, I feel like this is just all part of paramenopause and menopause. Um, I know for me, it's it's just been so interesting to see how different aspects and um symptoms of menopause have had have affected me. I mean, thankfully, I am on the tail end of it. I haven't had a ton of hot flashes. In fact, I just call them warm waves and you know, maybe a few night sweats here and there. I don't have the huge hormone shift. So I am so grateful, but I know a lot of you out there are experiencing that. And many of us assume that these experiences mean that we're, you know, failing when we feel like this, maybe we feel lazy or unmotivated or undisciplined, but often that is not the case. Sometimes your nervous system is simply overloaded. I mean, just take a look around our world now. We have so many things around us. We're overstimulated all the time. We're pulled in different directions. So I feel like we should talk about what all of that looks

Signs Your System Is Overloaded

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like. So physically, it may show up as fatigue or headaches, you might have digestive issues or muscular tension that you're like, where the heck did this come from? Poor sleep, or just feeling tired no matter how much rest you get. And all of this can come out of nowhere, as well as injuries. Like I have had, I've told you guys, issues with my back and hip for a while now. Luckily, that's getting better. But then I was teaching a yoga class probably about a month ago. I went down for a chaturanga and my shoulder completely gave out. I am trying to heal from that, but it is taking time. You know, the shoulder joint is not a stable one. Shoulders are so hard to heal, but I am I'm working on it. So you can notice all of this physically. You can also notice it emotionally, and that might appear as anxiety or irritability, overwhelms, um, emotional reactivity, or feeling disconnected from things you normally enjoy. You simply don't feel yourself.

Brain Fog And A Real Story

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I have to laugh because I can relate to some of the brain fog. I feel like I have a conversation with Dave or one of my sons, and then five minutes later I'm saying, okay, so what about blah, blah, blah? And they're like, we just talked about that. Um, not too long ago. It was probably a couple months ago. I may have mentioned this already on the podcast. I had taken yogurt for work. Um, when I say work, I mean the club and to my first um studio. And I thought, okay, I need to put this in the fridge so I don't forget it. And so, you know, I did that and I put my keys in there so I wouldn't forget it. And when I got ready to go, I'm like, where the heck is my yogurt? It's not in the fridge. This is so weird. You guys, I put the yogurt in the microwave, didn't put it in the fridge. Like, oh my gosh, the brain fog is real. So cognitively, that can be brain fog or forgetfulness or difficulty concentrating and just even decision fatigue. Oh my gosh, I suffer from that so much. I'm so bad about making decisions anyway. So when your nervous system is overtaxed, it can show up in all these areas, you know, physically, emotionally, cognitively. What

Four Big Causes Of Dysregulation

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causes this can be um, I'm gonna just give you four different things that, you know, I feel. So chronic stress can be one of the biggest contributors, and many of us are carrying responsibilities that our bodies were never designed to manage continuously. Um, another one might be past trauma, and it can impact how your nervous system responds to stress. Also, lifestyle factors, those really matter as well. And the big one, actually, multiple, there's a whole list. Uh, let's say poor sleep, excess alcohol. I know you don't like to hear that. This is a Spandex and Wine podcast. So almost all of you are wine drinkers out there, um, or some type of um alcohol. But so having too much alcohol can definitely mess with your nervous system, or overtraining. You might be undereating, or a lack of recovery can all increase nervous system strain. And hormonal shifts and underlying health concerns also play a role.

Hope And Tools Coming Next

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So the encouraging news is that there is hope your nervous system can learn new patterns. And each week in this series, starting our season four, we're going to explore practical tools that can help you feel calmer and more resilient and more just like yourself again. And this, like I said, this is the beginning of season four. I can't believe it. So thank you so much for hanging in there with me. It'll be three years in just a few months. This has gone so fast. But I love this idea of covering topics over two to six weeks that will truly help you. And I hope that you'll ask a friend to join you in the series as we go through and share this episode. So, next week we'll start with one of the most powerful and accessible tools available in regulating your nervous system. I'm not even going to tell you what it is. You'll just have to wait for next week.

Past Guests And Listening Differently

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And I wanted to mention too that I've talked to so many guests on the podcast already that have touched on this that you didn't really maybe relate. So early this year, if you remember the gentleman that I had on who spoke about neurology, so Danny Davis, he reminded us that our gait and balance and movement patterns can tell us a lot about what's happening inside the nervous system. And, you know, I didn't even really put it together as much, which makes sense because it's neurology. I mean, hello. Um, but I'm gonna go back and listen to that episode. I thought I would put the link in the show notes so you guys could go back and listen as well. Um, and there's, you know, I picked out a few others that go with the topics coming up in the next few weeks that you might hear differently when you go back and listen to them after hearing the podcasts that we're going to be doing in this series. Okay.

Subscribe Share Review And Community

SPEAKER_00 8:02

So, yes, please make sure you follow, subscribe if you're not subscribed, share this with a friend, share it on social media. That would be amazing. I truly appreciate it. I appreciate you hanging in there with me for um the entirety of the podcast. So thank you, thank you. So I will see you guys next week and we will resume our series on regulating the nervous system. Thank you for listening. If you're enjoying this podcast, be sure to follow Spandex and Wine so you don't miss an episode. To do this, just go to the podcast and click subscribe or follow wherever you are listening. Look for the plus sign or follow button. This is one of the best things that you can do for the podcast. If you'd also be willing to give a five-star review, that would be amazing and much appreciated. Lastly, please share an episode with a friend or five to keep the love going. And join the Spandex and Wine community in our private Facebook group by searching Spandex and Wine. Feel free to reach out to me at any time by emailing info at spandexandwine.com or text me at 913 392 2877. I appreciate you. Thank you.