The Nervous System Revolution: Why Traditional Mental Health Treatment Isn't Enough

I need to share something with you that fundamentally changed how I understand mental health - and it might challenge everything you've been told about anxiety, depression, and emotional overwhelm. After years of struggling with what I thought were "mental health issues" and working with thousands of clients at Chris and Filly Functional Medicine, I've discovered that most of what we label as mental illness is actually nervous system dysregulation in disguise.

This Mental Health Month 2025, I want to introduce you to a concept that could revolutionise your approach to emotional wellness: your brain-body system is the missing piece in most mental health conversations. And when you learn to work with it rather than against it, healing becomes not just possible, but inevitable.

The Day Everything Changed

Let me take you back to a moment that shifted my entire understanding of mental health. I had been working with a life coach, getting to the bottom of my insecurities and reprogramming them. I initially started with him because I thought he could help me with my business, finances and relationships. I had a bunch of health issues - including insomnia and a body that was stuck in fight-flight - that flared up in COVID 2020 for the 3rd time. 

Little did I know that my mental health and physical health would dramatically improve through rewiring deeper unconscious core beliefs I had created about myself. This led me to researching all about neural pathways, the nervous system, and the brain-body system, and how when you rewire these areas of your body, not only does mental health change - but even chronic health issues! 

If your brain-body system is stuck in fight-flight-freeze, until you address that, all the cognitive mindset strategies or talking through trauma won't help you feel safe in your own body.

It was the lightbulb moment for me, that mental health struggles weren't just happening in my mind - they were happening in my entire brain-body system. My body was literally perceiving threat even when I was sitting safely in my living room, and no amount of positive thinking or rational analysis could override that primal survival response.

This revelation led me down a path of discovery that would not only heal my own mental health challenges but also transform how we approach emotional wellness at Chris and Filly Functional Medicine.

Understanding Your Nervous System: The Foundation of Mental Health

Your nervous system is like the conductor of your body's orchestra, coordinating every function from your heartbeat to your hormone production to your ability to feel safe and connected. It has two main branches:

The Sympathetic Nervous System - your body's accelerator pedal, designed to mobilise you in the face of real danger. When activated, it increases heart rate, releases stress hormones, and prepares you for fight or flight.

The Parasympathetic Nervous System - your body's brake pedal, responsible for rest, digestion, healing, and connection. This is where your body does its repair work and where you feel calm, grounded, and safe.

Here's the crucial part: in our modern world, most of us are stuck with our foot on the accelerator. Chronic stress, trauma, perfectionism, and the constant demands of daily life keep our sympathetic nervous system chronically activated. Over time, this creates what looks like mental health issues but is actually nervous system exhaustion.

The Trauma That Doesn't Look Like Trauma

When most people think of trauma, they imagine dramatic, life-threatening events. But what I've learned through my own healing journey and our work with clients is that some of the most damaging trauma is what we call "developmental trauma" - the subtle, ongoing experiences before the age of 7 that teach your nervous system that the world isn't safe.

For me, this looked like growing up as very quiet, shy, anxious - a little girl who thought she was different, not the same as other kids, weak and incapable. These unconscious beliefs and stories caused my brain to constantly look for evidence that I was no good. In teen years, I tried to over-drive this earlier programming by over-achieving. Every time I got exceptional grades, I wasn't exposed of being weak and incapable. The energy in which I "did" was very fear-based, causing so much dysregulation in my brain-body system. This continued for another 2 decades! 

Chris's experience was different but equally impactful. Growing up in a military family where emotions were seen as weakness, he learned to suppress his feelings and push through discomfort. His nervous system adapted by shutting down emotional awareness as a protective mechanism. This served him well in high-stress situations but left him feeling disconnected, irritable, and unable to access the full range of human emotion.

Neither of our experiences would be classified as "big T trauma" by traditional standards, but they were profoundly shaping our nervous systems and creating what looked like mental health disorders.

The Polyvagal Revolution

One of the most groundbreaking discoveries in understanding mental health is Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. This theory explains that we actually have three distinct nervous system states:

Sympathetic Activation (Fight/Flight) - mobilised energy, anxiety, anger, panic, racing thoughts Dorsal Vagal Shutdown (Freeze/Fawn) - depression, numbness, disconnection, brain fog, hopelessness
Ventral Vagal Safety (Social Engagement) - calm, connected, curious, creative, compassionate

Most traditional mental health treatment focuses on managing symptoms within these dysregulated states rather than helping people access the ventral vagal state where true healing and resilience live.

Ben's Breakthrough: When Brain-Body System Healing Changes Everything

Let me share Ben's story because it perfectly illustrates this approach. Ben came to us after years of treatment-resistant anxiety. He'd tried multiple therapists, various medications, and every self-help strategy he could find. Nothing provided lasting relief because nobody had addressed his dysregulated brain-body system.

During our work together through the Ending Body Burnout Method, we discovered that Ben's anxiety wasn't a mental health disorder - it was his system's intelligent response to chronic overwhelm and unresolved trauma patterns.

Instead of trying to manage his anxious thoughts, we focused on teaching his nervous system how to feel safe. We helped him to rewire unconscious beliefs and patterns, used somatic practices to release trapped trauma from his body, and nervous system regulation techniques to help him access that calm, grounded state.

The transformation was remarkable. Within months, Ben's anxiety levels dropped significantly. But more importantly, he developed the tools to regulate his own nervous system, meaning he could navigate life's inevitable stressors without being overwhelmed by them.

The Four Pillars of Brain-Body System Healing

Through years of clinical experience and personal healing, I've identified four key areas that are essential for nervous system recovery:

Safety and Co-Regulation Your nervous system learns to feel safe through connection with other regulated nervous systems. This is why healing often happens in relationship - whether with a practitioner, therapist, or trusted friend who can hold space for your experience without trying to fix or change you.

Somatic Awareness Most of us live disconnected from our bodies, which makes it impossible to recognise and respond to nervous system signals. Learning to tune into physical sensations, breath patterns, and body wisdom is crucial for regulation.

Trauma Integration Unresolved trauma keeps your nervous system stuck in protective patterns. This doesn't necessarily require reliving traumatic experiences, but it does involve helping your body complete the stress responses that got interrupted during overwhelming events.

Lifestyle Alignment Your daily habits either support nervous system regulation or contribute to dysregulation. This includes everything from sleep patterns and nutrition to work schedules and relationship dynamics.

The Ripple Effect of Brain- Body System Healing

Here's what I've witnessed over and over again: when people heal their nervous system dysregulation, it transforms far more than just their mental health symptoms. They become more present in their relationships, more creative in their work, more resilient in the face of challenges, and more connected to their authentic selves.

Their children learn what emotional regulation looks like. Their partners feel safer and more connected. Their work becomes more sustainable because they're operating from a place of calm clarity rather than chronic stress.

This is why nervous system healing is so revolutionary - it doesn't just manage symptoms, it transforms your entire way of being in the world.

Your Invitation to Brain-Body System Wellness

This Mental Health Month in October, I want to invite you to consider a radically different approach to emotional wellness. What if your anxiety, depression, or emotional overwhelm aren't mental illnesses that need to be managed, but intelligent responses from a nervous system that's trying to keep you safe?

What if healing isn't about controlling your thoughts or suppressing your symptoms, but about teaching your nervous system that it's safe to relax, connect, and be present?

What if the key to lasting mental health isn't found in your mind alone, but in the wisdom of your entire nervous system?

If this resonates with you, know that nervous system healing is not only possible but accessible. Whether through our comprehensive Ending Body Burnout Method or by inviting me to share these insights as your speaker at your next mental health event, I'm here to support you in discovering what true nervous system wellness feels like.

Because you deserve more than symptom management. You deserve to feel safe in your own body, connected to your emotions, and resilient in the face of life's challenges. You deserve to experience the full spectrum of human feeling without being overwhelmed by it.

Here's to your nervous system, your mental wellness, and your journey back to feeling truly alive in your own body.

Filipa Bellette is the co-founder of Chris and Filly Functional Medicine and creator of the Ending Body Burnout Method. She's passionate about helping women address the root causes of their health challenges through a holistic, integrative approach that honours both the physical and emotional aspects of healing.