THE OSCILLATING SYSTEM

“The body that moves between too much and not enough.”

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Your system moves between activation and shutdown. Some days you feel wired, restless, or overwhelmed. Other days you feel drained, flat, or far away from yourself. The shifts can feel unpredictable. You may not know which version of you is going to show up in the morning. It can be confusing because you never feel fully settled in either direction.

This swing between states isn’t inconsistency. It’s your physiology trying to find stability without enough internal scaffolding to stay in one place. Your system tries to mobilize, but the activation rises too fast, so it drops into collapse. Then collapse becomes uncomfortable, so the system tries to lift itself again. You get caught between two states that don’t feel sustainable.

People with this pattern often describe themselves as sensitive to intensity. Loud noises, emotional conflict, sudden change, or pressure can push the system toward activation or shutdown quickly. These swings aren’t “moodiness.” They are survival physiology moving without enough support.

To cope, you may rely on strategies that help you manage both sides of the swing. You might use stimulation to feel alive again when you’re drained. You might use avoidance, distraction, or numbing when you’re overwhelmed. Some people use productivity surges during activation, then withdraw or isolate when collapse returns. Others use food, screens, or urgency to give the system a sense of direction. None of this is weakness. It’s your body trying to self-regulate without enough options.

As a child, you may have lived in an environment where emotions, safety, or attunement were inconsistent. Part of you learned to mobilize quickly, while another part learned to disappear. These developmental adaptations never had the chance to integrate. So your adult system tries to bridge both worlds at once. You rev up and shut down in patterns that reflect what you had to do to get through early life.

Why this pattern shows up: Your physiology didn’t receive the steady, predictable support needed to build a stable middle range. Without consistent safety, the system doesn’t learn how to hold activation or rest without swinging to the opposite pole. The oscillation becomes the way your body keeps itself going.

An introductory regulation practice: Slow head turns. Let your eyes move with your head as you look gently to one side, then the other. Pause on something neutral or pleasant. This helps the system find orientation in the environment, which supports settling in the middle range rather than bouncing between extremes.