Start the Year Regulated: A Nervous System Reset Guide

If you are feeling more irritable than usual, maybe low libido, tired mid-day, less patient with your kids and your partner, and craving quiet time, but never quite getting it, you’re not alone.

You may be living with a burnt-out nervous system, and the start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect, be honest with ourselves about the care we need, and gently reset.

When “Just Pushing Through” Stops Working

Many of us enter January thinking that general motivation, or a fresh planner, will fix everything. But if your nervous system has been running on overdrive for months, or even years, you may need to reflect first, understand how your nervous system needs your care and attention, and take action on a sustainable daily plan.

A dysregulated nervous system often can show up small at first, then compounds over time. Showing up as:

• Irritability or emotional reactivity

• Low libido or hormonal imbalance

• Chronic fatigue or brain fog

• Trouble sleeping or staying asleep

• Anxiety, overwhelm, or feeling constantly “on edge”

• Digestive issues or inflammation

• A sense of disconnection from joy or creativity

  
  

Irritability for me, is the first sign that shows up when my nervous system is burning out. I can spot it right away. My patience with my kids and husband goes down pretty quickly, and then the guilt sets in.

The hormonal imbalance is another area that gets affected quickly for me. I am 42, so perimenopause doesn’t help this area. My chin inevitably reacts accordingly with an inflamed breakout since this is always the area connected to hormones. When these symptoms come up, I am more able to recognize them fairly quickly now as a sign that I am overloaded and need rest and a reset.

What’s Actually Happening in Your Body

Your nervous system has two primary modes:

• Sympathetic (fight or flight): alert, driven, productive

• Parasympathetic (rest and digest): calm, restorative, healing

  
  

Burnout occurs when we live too long in sympathetic mode with busy schedules, emotional stress, caregiving, entrepreneurship, constant notifications, and the pressure to “hold it all together.”

Eventually, the body can’t keep up anymore. Its signals can be seen through fatigue, mood changes, hormone shifts, and disconnection.

My life as an entrepreneur and mom of very active twin tween girls, quite frankly, has me in the sympathetic nervous system mode almost daily. This is why I always say, your level of stress should equal your level of nervous system care. Due to my busy, emotionally and mentally demanding lifestyle, I have to strategically design a “self-care plan” that addresses what my nervous system needs to reset and enter the parasympathetic state as often as possible to balance out the overactive sympathetic nervous system, and its symptoms.

Regulation Over Resolution

Instead of just asking, “What goals should I set this year to achieve more?” Try asking first: “How regulated do I want to feel in my body?” Because the last thing you want is to not be able to enjoy your success because you are too stressed and sick.

Regulation isn’t about doing less necessarily; it’s about doing things that signal safety to your nervous system, allowing your body to repair, rebalance, and restore.

This is where true energy, libido, creativity, and clarity return.

A Gentle Nervous System Reset

Your body cannot heal if it doesn’t feel safe and calm.

Simple ways to create safety:

• Slow your exhale (longer exhales calm the nervous system)

• Place a hand on your chest or belly during moments of stress

• Reduce stimulation first thing in the morning

  
  

I start each morning with a simple 15-minute, 4-7-8 breathwork and meditation while drinking hot lemon water (before my coffee, because I still enjoy it as a little treat for taking care of my health first)

Why the Skin Is One of the Fastest Ways to Calm the Nervous System

The skin is not only our protective barrier, but it’s also one of the body’s most intelligent communication systems.

It is our largest sensory organ, filled with millions of nerve endings constantly sending information to the brain about safety, comfort, temperature, and touch. When the skin receives slow, intentional, soothing input, it sends a powerful message:

You are safe, you can rest and relax, and your body softens.

This is why skin-based practices can regulate the nervous system faster than mindset work alone.

Touch Signals Safety Before Words Ever Can

Long before we had language, we had touch.

Gentle pressure, warmth, and rhythmic movement activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the state responsible for healing, digestion, hormone balance, and emotional regulation.

This is why:

• A hug can lower stress instantly

• Warm towels feel grounding

• Slow facial or body massage brings deep emotional release

• Even self-touch (placing a hand on your chest or face) can calm anxiety

  
  

The nervous system trusts felt experience even more than mental reassurance.

As a holistic esthetician of 20+ years, I have performed facials and body treatments on thousands of guests, watching how each person enters the spa and leaves the treatment room deeply relaxed, restored, and rejuvenated. It truly is amazing to witness the transformation.

The Skin–Brain Connection Is Immediate

The skin and nervous system originate from the same embryonic tissue. In simple terms, the skin and brain are deeply linked.

When the skin is overstimulated by cold weather, harsh products, or rushed touch, the nervous system can read that as stress. When the skin is supported with warmth, nourishing oils, and slow, rhythmic, nurturing touch, the nervous system responds with deep relaxation.

This is why aggressive, “fix-it” skincare often leaves people depleted, while ritual-based skincare leaves them feeling restored.

Warmth, Rhythm, and Scent: The Regulation Trifecta

Certain sensory activities through the skin are especially calming:

• Warmth: signals safety and relaxation (baths, sauna, steamed towels)

• Slow rhythm: repetitive, unhurried movements signal the body to downshift

• Aromatherapy: scent speaks directly to the emotional center of the brain

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Together, these create a holistic signal of safety that allows the body to release tension it may have been holding for months or longer.

For me, heat is the most soothing to my nervous system. I love hot aromatic baths and the infrared sauna, steamed towels, and warm oils are my favorite part of a facial ritual at Citron, aside from facial and scalp massage.

Skin Rituals Are Not Indulgent, They’re Essential

In a culture that glorifies productivity, skin rituals are often labeled as “luxuries.”From a nervous system perspective, though, they are essential regulation tools.

When the nervous system calms:

• Cortisol decreases

• Hormones begin to balance

• Inflammation reduces

• Libido and creativity reawaken

• Energy stabilizes

  
  

This is why skin care, bodywork, and spa rituals often create emotional and mental shifts, not just physical ones.

At-Home Practices

While at home, there are lots of ways to practice nervous system soothing. Being as mindful as possible while doing any of the following will bring your body and mind into a parasympathetic state:

• Apply skincare slowly instead of rushing

• Use warm towel compresses on the face and neck during your skin care routine

• Massage around the eyes, jaw, and temples (these areas tend to hold stress the most)

• Hot baths, botanical facial steams, aromatic steam showers

• Full body warm oil application

• Sit quietly with a cup of calming tea

• Breathwork, meditation, and yoga

• Create daily micro-rest: two minutes of stillness between tasks, stepping outside for a few minutes for natural light and fresh air, gentle stretching instead of scrolling
  

Release the Pressure to Be “On”

Healing often begins when we stop performing wellness and start practicing honesty.

You don’t need to be:

• Perfectly positive

• Hyper-productive

• Always available

  
  

This is something I navigate personally, especially as a public-facing spa owner, wellness advocate, and educator. There can be an unspoken pressure to appear perfectly happy, put-together, energetic, social, and successful at all times; to embody wellness without ever wavering.

The truth is, I get tired, I need rest, I crave quiet, space, and time to recharge.

Sometimes caring for my nervous system looks like choosing stillness over social plans, simplicity over stimulation, or comfort food over perfection. Sometimes, eating pizza, saying no, stepping back, and allowing myself to feel the full range of human emotions without judgment is exactly what I need.

Listening honestly to what your body needs in each season, like saying no to people, places, expectations, and perfection, isn’t a failure; it’s self-respect. And when we give ourselves this type of permission, our nervous system finally feels safe enough to exhale.

A New Way to Begin the Year

Instead of rushing into resolutions, consider this your invitation to begin gently.

Let this be the year you choose:

• Regulation over burnout

• Nourishment over depletion

• Your own needs over pressure

I am definitely going to be focusing on nervous system care as a top priority myself this year, because when things feel good inside, your outer world feels good too.