3 Things That Finally Regulated My Nervous System After the Hardest Years of My Life
By Kimberly Katherine
There's a version of me from a few years ago who would have laughed at the phrase "nervous system regulation."
Not because it's funny. But because she was so deep in survival mode she didn't even know that's what was happening to her.
I wasn't sleeping. I was woken up three times a night, every night, for two and a half years. I was managing a marriage that wasn't healthy, a daughter who needed me, a house, finances I wasn't sure how they'd shake out — and underneath all of it, this constant hum of dread that I couldn't turn off.
That is fight or flight. And when you live there long enough, it just feels like you.
It took me two and a half years of doing the real work — the hard, ugly, beautiful work — to get out of it. And I'm sharing this on episode 11 of The Lightkeeper's Path because most podcasters don't make it to episode 10, and I think that means something. I made it. And so can you.
Here are the three things that actually moved the needle.
1. Movement — And Why It's More Than Just Exercise
The first thing I did was run.
I hadn't run in 23 years. I used to do 5Ks and 10Ks and then life happened and I stopped. In January 2023, I laced up and went back out there — not for fitness, not for weight loss. Just to prove to myself I could do one thing. Just to get in motion.
It was my solace. It was my 40 minutes a day that belonged to no one else.
What I didn't know then — and understand so much better now — is that movement is a form of somatic healing. When we go through trauma, stress, or prolonged anxiety, that emotion doesn't just live in our minds. It lives in our bodies. It gets stuck there. Running, dancing, singing — these aren't just feel-good activities. They're ways of literally shaking that stored emotion loose.
Here's the thing though: running was coping, not healing. I'd finish my run, shower, feel good — and then something would trigger my nervous system and I'd be right back in it. Movement got me through. But it wasn't enough on its own.
What movement actually does for your nervous system
It burns off stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline
It produces endorphins that create a natural mood lift
It interrupts the freeze or flight response in real time
It reconnects you to your body when anxiety pulls you into your head
If you're in a hard season right now, start here. Even a 20-minute walk counts.
2. EFT Tapping — The Thing I Never Expected to Work
I'll be honest: I was skeptical.
EFT tapping — Emotional Freedom Technique — is where you tap on specific acupressure points on your body while naming what you're feeling and working through it. It sounds a little out there. I know.
But here's what I learned: talk therapy is incredible, and I still have my therapist. At one point I was seeing him three times a week. He was a lifeline. But there's a ceiling to talk therapy that nobody tells you about.
You can talk about your trauma all day long and it still stays in your body.
When we go through something hard — a loss, a betrayal, a period of chronic stress — our body responds physically. We cringe. Our stomach drops. Our chest tightens. And that physical response gets stored. You keep emitting that energy, that vibration of clenching and bracing, and you keep attracting more of the same. You stay on the wheel.
EFT gets into the body. It gets into the subconscious. And that's where the real programs live — the ones installed in childhood, the ones that run on a loop telling you what you have to do to be loved, to be safe, to be okay.
Something else I learned — through Kathy Heller's podcast program, which cracked me open in the best way — is that we co-regulate with the people around us. The energy of whoever you're closest to becomes your nervous system's baseline. If that environment is chaotic or unsafe, your body learns chaos as normal. That's not a character flaw. That's biology. And it means healing isn't just an inside job — it's also about who you let into your field.
I worked one-on-one with a practitioner for four months, went to her weekly classes, and did her workshops. It changed everything.
How to start with EFT tapping
Look up a free beginner session on YouTube — there are thousands
Start with something small and specific, not your biggest wound
Work with a practitioner if you can, especially for deeper trauma
Be consistent — this is not a one-session fix
3. Meditation — Starting Smaller Than You Think You Need To
My mind was chaos. Absolute chaos.
I used to think meditation meant sitting completely still and silent with a perfectly quiet mind. I thought I was doing it wrong if a thought crept in. I was wrong about all of it.
I started with five minutes. That's it. Five minutes of guided meditation, usually on YouTube or Insight Timer. And slowly I worked up to ten.
The goal isn't a blank mind. The goal is learning to notice your thoughts without being dragged around by them. That skill — that tiny, humble skill of observing instead of reacting — is what starts to rewire everything.
Meditation paired with the somatic work and movement created something I can only describe as a new baseline. My nervous system started to have a new normal. A calmer one.
Free meditation resources to get started
Insight Timer — thousands of free guided meditations
YouTube — search "nervous system meditation" or "somatic meditation for anxiety"
Start with 5 minutes — seriously, don't overcomplicate it
(I'm also working on a meditation I'll be sharing with my email list — get on it if you want that.)
The Truth Nobody Tells You About Healing
You can't think your way out of a dysregulated nervous system.
That was the hardest thing for me to accept. I am smart. I am capable. I had a great therapist. And still — the body holds what the mind can't process alone.
The combination of movement + somatic work (EFT) + meditation is what finally created lasting change for me. Not overnight. Not in a week. Over two and a half years of showing up, doing the work, crying more than I ever wanted to, and choosing myself over and over again.
My relationship with running has completely changed. I used to need it to survive the day. Now I run because I love it. That shift — from coping to choosing — is what healing actually feels like.
You Are Not Too Far Gone
If you're reading this in the middle of your hard season, I want you to hear this:
Feeling lost is not the same as being lost.
You are not broken. You are dysregulated. And dysregulation can be healed.
Start with one thing. Move your body today. Tap on one feeling. Sit quietly for five minutes. One step at a time is not a cliché — it's the only way through.
I did a lot in two and a half years. You can too.
Kimberly Katherine is an intuitive healer, Usui Reiki practitioner, and host of The Lightkeeper's Path podcast. She works with women navigating life's hardest transitions — helping them regulate their nervous system, do the deep work, and come home to themselves. Work with Kimberly →
This post is based on Episode 11 of The Lightkeeper's Path podcast. Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
