As intuitive, high-achieving women, we’re often doing all the “right” things in business, checking off the to-do list, implementing strategies, listening to experts, yet still feeling stuck, burned out, or disconnected from the results we crave. If that sounds familiar, there’s a deeper reason behind the block: your nervous system might be sabotaging your growth.

Understanding how your body responds to stress, visibility, and success can completely change the way you approach your business, and your life. In this post, we’ll explore the four nervous system states, how they show up in business, the physical symptoms of resistance, and what to start doing differently.

When Business Strategy Isn’t Enough

Many women come to a point where they realize: it’s not a lack of strategy holding them back, it’s how they feel in their body. Despite having brilliant business ideas, valuable offers, and a strong vision, they struggle to show up consistently, take action, or feel connected to what they’re building.

The truth is, if your nervous system doesn’t feel safe with the next level of growth, it will resist it, subtly or loudly. And that resistance isn’t a character flaw. It’s a survival response.

Let’s break down the four primary nervous system states and how they may be influencing your ability to lead, grow, and thrive in your business.

1. Fight: The Hustle That Never Ends

This state is marked by overworking, pushing, and grinding, trying to force results through sheer effort. You might feel like:

• You can’t take a break or you’ll fall behind

• You’re sacrificing everything for success

• Your chest is tight, your thoughts are racing, and rest feels unsafe

This is where burnout begins. You might appear responsible and action-oriented, but underneath, you're running on panic. The thing you need most (rest) feels terrifying, and your body is locked in a loop of “do more” just to stay afloat.

2. Flight: Busy But Going Nowhere

In the flight state, your nervous system tries to avoid the threat by running. It looks like:

• Constantly pivoting your offers or message

• Starting things but never finishing

• Over-consuming content and under-executing

• Feeling scattered, overwhelmed, and distracted

You may feel like you’re doing a lot, but deep down, you know you’re not moving forward. This state can be driven by perfectionism, fear of failure, or fear of visibility, and it keeps you stuck in constant motion without progress.

3. Freeze: The Numb, Stuck, Checked-Out State

Freeze is the shutdown response. It may show up as:

• Chronic procrastination

• Indecision and lack of clarity

• Feeling disconnected from your mission or business

• Lack of motivation, energy, or passion

You may know exactly what you need to do, but feel unable to do it. You feel distant, like something is off, but can’t quite name what it is. This is often where burnout lands after too much time spent in fight or flight.

4. Fawn: When People-Pleasing Becomes a Survival Strategy

The fawn state is all about keeping the peace, even at your own expense. It might look like:

• Struggling to set or hold boundaries

• Over-delivering or undercharging

• Avoiding sales conversations or objections

• Feeling resentful or irritated in your business

You bend over backwards to avoid conflict and make others happy, but end up drained and undervalued. It looks like good service on the outside, but inside it’s eroding your energy and alignment.

The Real Cost of Nervous System Dysregulation

Nervous system imbalance doesn’t just affect your productivity—it impacts your pricing, visibility, confidence, decision-making, and long-term sustainability.

You may notice:

• Chronic procrastination or perfectionism

• Oscillating between hustle and burnout

• Avoiding visibility or being seen

• Fear around charging more or setting boundaries

• Physical symptoms like headaches, tight shoulders, gut issues, or chronic pain

Your body holds the score. And sometimes, your resistance to showing up, launching, or raising your rates is a sign that your system simply doesn’t feel safe doing so—yet.

Why Tools Alone Aren’t Enough

Breathwork, vagus nerve stimulation, and grounding practices can be incredibly powerful—but only when they’re used with intention. If you’re just doing them to check a box, you might not see the deeper shifts you’re craving.

Instead, pair these tools with awareness:

• What are you feeling before and after you use them?

• What nervous system state are you trying to regulate?

• What is the real fear or discomfort coming up?

Once you know what you’re regulating, you can use tools more effectively and see more lasting results.

Ask Yourself These Questions

To begin your own regulation and alignment journey, start by reflecting on:

1. When do you feel the most unsafe in your business?
   What moments trigger anxiety, fear, or self-doubt?

2. What part of success makes you feel anxious or out of control?
   Is it visibility? Making more than your peers? The fear of being different? Losing connection?

3. What patterns do you repeat when things get hard?
   Do you push, avoid, freeze, or please? Which state feels most familiar to you?

The answers to these questions are often subtle, layered, and hidden beneath logic. You want success, but your body has never experienced that version of safety before. That unfamiliarity is what feels unsafe, not the success itself.

Next Steps for Healing and Growth

If you’re ready to understand your dominant nervous system pattern and begin aligning your body and business, I recommend starting with my free quiz. You’ll learn:

• What state your system is most often in

• How that shows up in your business

• Gentle first steps to come back into alignment

You can find the quiz linked in the show notes.

If you’re looking for deeper support, the ElevateHER Coaching Program is where we go even further. In this 12-week experience, we explore:

• How to regulate your nervous system in business and life

• How to rewire patterns of resistance, burnout, and fear

• How to grow a sustainable, aligned business that feels good

Spots open up in July. If it resonates, feel free to DM me on Instagram or apply here. I’d love to connect and help you see if it’s the right fit.

You’re Not Broken, Your System Just Needs Safety

If you’ve been feeling stuck, unmotivated, overwhelmed, or unsure—please know this: you’re not lazy, inconsistent, or incapable. Your nervous system is doing what it’s designed to do, keep you safe.

But your next level of business, joy, and impact requires something new: a sense of safety in expansion. A body that trusts you. A mind that knows how to support you.

You don’t have to force it. You just need the right tools, the right support, and a deeper connection to yourself.

I’ll be back next week with another episode to guide you further. Until then, stay curious, stay kind to yourself, and trust that your nervous system isn’t the enemy, it’s your greatest ally when it’s aligned. ✨