From Sympathetic Stress to Parasympathetic Rest: The Healing Power of Celebration

For a few minutes this morning, I caught myself in a panic.  I realized that February is almost completed and we are fast approaching March, the month of Spring. My mind started going a mile a minute.  I have lots of goals I have listed for this year.  Everything from completing my office makeover, to decluttering (having five daughters, you can imagine the amount of clothes and school notebooks alone!).  There are also health goals – yes, a doctor has health goals as well – eating, exercising, going for bloodwork, and getting new glasses.  Also, having more date nights with my husband – why is it that we had plans for a date to see the new movie Bob Marley: One Love and it turned into a family event? – LOL, it will be fun either way.

I am just starting to scratch the surface on all these goals and part of my panic was imagining the task it will take to make significant progress.   

Then, I remembered what I always tell my patients. 

Every human being can at any given time find themselves in two different modes. 

One is Sympathetic Mode.  This is the “fight or flight” or survival mode.  The other is Parasympathetic Mode, which is the “rest and digest” or healing mode.

Sympathetic Mode occurs when the body perceives a danger such as a lion showing up in front of us.  If we are walking in the jungle and we see a lion show up, we are either going to fight that lion or run quickly to get away.  When this happens, our blood sugar increases and fuels our muscles with energy.  Second, our blood pressure also increases sending blood to our limbs and vital organs.  This allows our bodies to receive additional fuel and adrenaline.

The challenges of a modern society do not show up as a lion.  Instead, there are bills, due dates, schedules, difficult bosses or co-workers, long commutes, slow moving traffic, the sirens of emergency vehicles, and all kinds of stressors. 

Unfortunately, for a lot of us, we become stuck in Sympathetic Mode which includes the subsequent high blood sugar and pressure. 

We are not created to be stuck in Sympathetic Mode.  In fact, we are designed to be in Parasympathetic Mode most of the time.  Part of being human is to grow and heal continuously.  Parasympathetic Mode allows us to conserve our strength, digest our foods, and repair our bodies from ailments, diseases, and stress. 

One way to get our bodies out of Sympathetic Mode and into Parasympathetic Mode is to celebrate.

Celebrate February!  There is something for everyone.  Valentine’s Day has designated February as the Month of Love.  It is Black History Month, get active in celebrating an important occasion. Celebrate that Spring is coming soon! In addition, celebrate making progress on all our goals!  Most of all, …. Let us celebrate Life!

When we celebrate, our bodies know that there are no imminent threats; we are making an active choice to heal.