The Four F's of the Sympathetic Nervous System Plus One - Freeze, Fight, Flight, Faint and Forward

Beyond the freeze lies faint, flight and fight. And beyond those is a choice built on the former initiation of the trauma - forward.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic_nervous_system

Transcript

I'm Lizanne Flynn. I'm a master healer who works with all Earthlings to reunite them within themselves and 

with each other. Regardless of the dimension they're currently in. Meaning - I'm a medium as well as an animal communicator, medical intuitive,

and channel for all beings. I use the tools of shamanic journeying and soul retrieval to support animals and humans

as they heal from past trauma. I'm certified as a RMT and as a canine massage therapist. This is the Animals' iView podcast.

Perhaps a gentle reminder at the start of this podcast is in order regarding any quasi-medical and/or scientific information that we'll be chatting about. The name

of this podcast is - not to be redundant - The Animals' iView - which is meant to convey the viewpoint of the Animals on this glorious planet that we share with

them. It's also a bit of a play on words of the Animals that I, Lizanne, "see" and that we all can "see" in energy. And it's funny, even though my job title has

morphed over the years so that I could encompass and communicate accurately the scope of the services that I offer to both animals and humans, that name was

what was registered with the Colorado Secretary of State's office way back in 2008. When I was a freshly minted canine massage therapist, current animal

communicator and soon to be Reiki Master Teacher and all the other assorted enhancements that came along with all things energy. Wowsa, hindsight really

is 20/20, right? So that when I reference the fight, flight, freeze or faint it is generally - key word - associated with the experience of Animals - capital A on Earth

and at the same time your own body - and mine - might very well feel one of those intuitive "pings" that I often refer to which happen when the body says "hey

this here, this right here is your truth." So, when I was thinking about making my notes for the podcast, I did ask myself the question - well, which sympathetic

nervous system response is mine after freeze - fight, flight, faint or forward? I'll let you know at the end!

And - before we get to that, I'll review what I learned during canine massage class and what I passed along when I taught the class several years ago, which is:

the autonomic nervous system (ANS), formerly referred to as the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the 

peripheral nervous system that supplies internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervous system is a control system that acts largely 

unconsciously and regulates bodily functions, such as the heart rate, its force of contraction, digestion, respiratory rate, pupillary response, urination, and 

sexual arousal. This system is the primary mechanism in control of the fight-or-flight response. It goes on - The autonomic nervous system is regulated 

by integrated reflexes through the brainstem to the spinal cord and organs. Autonomic functions include control of respiration, cardiac regulation 

(the cardiac control center), vasomotor activity (the vasomotor center), and certain reflex actions such as coughing, sneezing, swallowing and vomiting. 

Those are then subdivided into other areas and are also linked to autonomic subsystems and the peripheral nervous system. The hypothalamus, just above 

the brain stem, acts as an integrator for autonomic functions, receiving autonomic regulatory input from the limbic system. And this article ends with - 

Although conflicting reports about its subdivisions exist in the literature, the autonomic nervous system has four branches: the sympathetic nervous system, 

the parasympathetic nervous system, the visceral sensory nervous system and the enteric nervous system. Some textbooks do not include the 

enteric nervous system as part of this system. The sympathetic nervous system is often considered the "fight or flight" system, while the parasympathetic 

nervous system is often considered the "rest and digest" or "feed and breed" system.

So, to paraphrase - you have a body with a skeleton, organs muscle and skin. Are you with me so far? And one of the systems in your body is the autonomic - 

meaning acting or occurring involuntarily - nervous system. An easy way to remember the difference between the sympathetic nervous system and the

parasympathetic nervous system is with the letter "S" for stress (sympathetic) and the letter "P" for peace and the parasympathetic nervous system. One revs

you up and the other calms you down. The article made mention of the feed and breed system for the sympathetic nervous system and quite rightly so 

in both cases. Think of an Animal and depending on their place in the food chain the sympathetic nervous system would perhaps give both predator and prey

the same stress signal if you will of freeze, fight, flight, or faint. Imagine a Tiger stalking prey - they often freeze though not out of fear where their 

prey would

likely freeze out of fear and Tiger is perhaps mirroring that as well as to make the most of their own camouflage. They are, in effect, harmonizing with their prey.

Think of the prey wanting to take flight or perhaps choosing to fight after freeze and how their predator, our Tiger ambassador would

mirror that action as well. As far as the breeding goes, enough said, I think when it comes to Animals of all kinds reproducing and how the physical responses

of the body do in fact put stress on the heart, lungs, and other organs and muscles. We often don't think of reproduction and/or practicing at reproduction in

these terms yet it's a fact that the body considers its truth. After all the body's only imperative while you're on this planet is to keep you happy and healthy for

as long as you're supposed to be here, soul path-wise. And because humans see the body through a prism of either someone else's eyes like science and/or

the science professional i.e., a doctor or our own emotions such as pain or pleasure, we've forgotten that it's not how we feel or think about what we feel that's

important. It's crucial that we feel and understand as recipients of that message from the body what's happening. Similar to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's

belief statement of "you do not believe, you only believe that you believe" I offer an adaptation on feelings: You do not feel, you only feel that you feel. 

From the standpoint of the 

Animals this translation seems to work as theirs is the language of pure energy without the overlay of "mind" that's so human-centric and that gets in the

way - a lot - with direct interaction with what we're actually feeling. It doesn't really matter what the situation or issue is - the body and the Animals say - 

because truth in fact with our separated human experience structure and concept of mind so many emotions get plastered over with "oh you can't feel that way,

that's not nice" or "it's important for you to feel this way so you can get it out of your system".  With physical feelings either by themselves or as an extension

of the emotional understructure, we have also inserted other separate humans who tell us here's what's wrong with our bodies simply by hearing how we feel.

Or more accurately, how we tell them we feel. Which, to be honest, is a bit ludicrous, right? How can I know what water tastes like to you? I only know what 

water tastes like to me. And yes, I do understand that believing how the body works (which is what science does, believe) and yes, we perceive we've answered

questions about those beliefs being born out, yet we still go back to "we believe" that this is how it all works. 

We either love to talk about or avoid like the plague, some of us,

how we think we're feeling and how we feel about what we're feeling yet rarely do we acknowledge the actual feelings underlying the more layered feelings. Nor

do we often talk about the emotions behind why we're fighting, fleeing or fainting. Later, of course, we may or may not get to the feelings of

what emotions and feelings are under the reaction of the fight, flight or faint because the reaction each time based on the situation may be different. I think as

a mother my reaction to seeing my child in danger would likely not be faint and let's carve out what happens during the freeze first. It's at this point that the

nervous system is literally smacked upside it's entire self with a blast of incoming energy from either internal or external stimuli. And in some cases, one in the

same. Say I see my child about to go running, pell mell across a busy street just so they can get to the ice cream person parked across the other side of the road.

There will likely be a literal heart-stopping moment - of "oh schnitzel" or some other choice word and then we choose a reaction to the situation. Perhaps

running even faster than pell mell across the sidewalk where our progeny is just getting to step off the curb, we yank on one arm so hard it may leave fingerprints,

and we pull that child back close to our center mass of gravity. Where it's safe. And then come the emotions that we feel. Perhaps it's unadulterated rage - been

there fo sho - and "why were you not watching where you were going?" and etc. It could be tears and perhaps feeling faint, it could be running with the child

back into the house as far away from the ice cream truck as can be imagined - again, we feel that we feel. The body offers up choices based on the autonomic

nervous system and yes, I would submit that we may be predisposed to one choice over another. We choose a reaction even though it seems like a reaction

rather than a response. And to be clear every single situation

involving the prompt from the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system is all relative to the individual experiencing that prompt and time is conversely

not relative to the prompt. Because we can't know that the adult who is physically uncomfortable with hugs is not reacting to their history perhaps of a child

who was also not comfortable with hugs say from adults and who was pushed to conform to this human-centric behavior of showing they love them. And of

course, that history may also have quite a bit more contrast than we may know. 

My own reaction/response seems to be more of the fight variety. I will be aware of the initial onslaught of energy and I think it's good to be as descriptive as

possible here so that you can understand more fully how your own body works. So that you can actually feel. That's where I find my body freezing and it's like it

takes a few steps back, lol. As in - wait, whaat's happening right now?! And then I'll pause, even for a split second because my body always, always, always

speaks the truth to me. As does yours to you if you just listen. And then depending on whether a violation of a boundary has occurred, think Mountain Lion

guarding her cubs on a trail, my choice of reaction will likely be anger and/or defensive fight. Because I will feel vulnerable. I think it's worth it to look back at

your own history and even in the present moment to see what your predisposed choice of reaction might be or if you have one. It all goes under the heading of

know thyself better than anyone else. If a different situation presents itself such as a non-maternal protective one where it's just me against a perceived and/or

factual predator I and my body may choose flight where running away appears to be the way to avoid the threat or - and I've definitely been in this situation

before - I may also choose faint or a type of a faint where it seems like I'm moving on autopilot and just going through the motions in order to simply survive the

situation whether it lasts 5 minutes 5 days or 5 months. Again, time isn't relative and to a certain extent neither is the impact on the soul which is molded and

woven so intimately with within the very structure of the physical body that what affects the body affects the soul and visa versa. So, when the sympathetic

nervous system alerts to a threat and responds, so too does the energy of the soul by matching the energy of the autonomic system response with a release of

a piece of the soul to match. Especially in situations where the threat is so profound and reverberating if you will in vibrational energy, the soul releases the same

amount of matching soul energy and inserts what I refer to as a GPS pin into the time and place of the situation. Once the sympathetic nervous system subsides and

resets itself mostly back to normal the soul piece doesn't necessary return home, if you will. That takes intention on the part of the individual, either animal or

human to ask it to return home by way of a statement in the process of soul retrieval which goes something like this - it's safe to come home, nothing like that

will ever happen again. Most definitely a key piece that I cannot manufacture for an individual because it's not my trauma and it's not my body and soul that 

need to be reset. So, in essence, this takes the freeze fight flight or faint and can move it into the 5th F - that of forward.

When that feeling of initial trauma causes the body to freeze and a subsequent response comes online and then subsides, the body believe it or not is eager to get

back to the place of feeling happy healthy and whole on planet Earth once again. It's our human experience structure that has moved us away from the energy

of the soul and our own feelings as aligned with soul energy that can tend to cycle us back through the sympathetic nervous system response of reliving that

trauma ad infinitum on a cycle of wash, rinse and repeat. Which moves use further away from our authentically knowing the feelings that we're actually feeling

apart from this now short-circuited in a sense nervous system response. And it is that trauma response by the body that affected the soul in such a big way, that

needs a different kind of intentioned response vs an autonomic response if you and one that consists entirely of energy. So that while most certainly the past 

be changed and a particular situation cannot be subtracted from the whole of a life experience, it is the powerhouse of the soul coupled with pure intention of

"forward" that moves to reclaim the most important part of all of a soul path, that which we might refer to as separated soul pieces. You came onto Earth with

a complete and intact soul and you deserve to have as complete of a soul as possible while you're here so that your soul's energy can be the very engine that helps

you and supports you in this wild and crazy roller coaster ride called life on Earth. 

Thanks for listening today. Leave a review if you're so inspired and be sure to subscribe to this podcast. I offer all new clients a free 15 minute 

consultation. Reach out if you think I can be of service and to schedule online via www.lizanneflynn.com. Come find me on social media - 

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message of 2023 is already waiting for us. It's from Dinosaur and the message is: Not Again. 

This has been the Animals' iView podcast - see you next time.