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Frustration Could Never Hold Me Back From Sharing These Gems On Psychological Safety And The Nervous System
- Emaree Nickerson-Wright
- Aug 29
- 9 min read
The Nervous System has been a popular topic lately, wouldn't you agree? From shedding light to how much it influences our behaviors to tips guiding you in regulating your Nervous System from home.
As the self-proclaimed “Psycholobae” I personally enjoy researching and learning about our inner workings as human beings! The way we process, decide and act upon what’s been processed. There are so many systems inside of our body that work together to perform any and everything.
One of the best movies I saw growing up that reflects this well is Osmosis Jones. Of course, some of it was purely for entertainment and overexaggerated. It did great at showcasing that there is a whole world at work internally; making decisions, combating and responding on our behalf. Without us even being aware of what’s going on! Imagine: Your Immune System right now kicking that cold symptom’s a$$ for trying to take you out for the rest of this week.
When the time came to write a blog, from MY perspective on the Nervous System and Psychological Safety, I was eager to start researching and ambitiously prepared to give my thoughts! Then, while researching I realized we were going a little deeper than I expected. To the point of much confusion and frustration. While as interesting as it is, it can get information heavy. The Nervous System is like other systems within that System🤯to save you the pain of trying to wrap your mind around it all, here is a super simple and easy to understand graphic explaining our Nervous System.
Finding this image felt like I struck gold in being able to truly understand the Nervous System. The most important thing is to know that it is made up of two main parts:
The Central Nervous System - is made up of your brain and your spinal cord. These two processes and sends information to its other half… the Peripheral Nervous System!!
The Peripheral Nervous System - is made up of alllllll of the nerves in your body. “You get on my nerves!” aka you are literally throwing off my Peripheral Nervous System.
Together, these two systems manage everything from survival instincts to social connection.
Have you heard much about Psychological Safety? Now to be honest, I have never heard of Psychological Safety as a phrase until I was asked to write this blog. But as a concept and through my lived experiences, I know Psychological Safety, or the lack thereof, all too well. And guess what? You do too!!
How do you feel when you walk into a room full of your bestest friends you have not seen in a while, but can pick back up as if time is just a social construct (that it is!)? Hopefully, safe. Full of joy and ready to catch each other up on all of the things you’ve been meaning to. You feel comfortable in this connection to be yourself, no warming up needed!
On the other hand, what about when you are going somewhere that you know the vibes may be off but you still want to show up? Your heart is beating fast, thoughts may be a bit more anxious than usual, palms are sweating and there is this inner anticipation of wanting to just break the ice already. These are all signs your body is telling you that it does not feel safe and it wants to protect you. This is Psychological Safety but also, your Nervous System doing its job.
Psychological Safety is a phrase that derives from the functions of your Nervous System. This is important because the presence, that feeling of psychological safety affects how we show up in environments, around others and how we interact with others in those spaces. Our Nervous System will perceive what is going on around us and if we feel safe or if we feel the need to protect ourselves.
Did I lose you? Hopefully not. This is relevant information because we will spend ⅓ of our lives working. Your experience in the workplace, the environments, the people and the ways in which you interact all influence how psychologically safe you feel, how your Nervous System will respond.
I am soul excited to tell you all about these gems I found on the journey of researching the Nervous System and Psychological Safety. This ain’t a blog to cite for your research paper. Its purpose is to share what you may not have known about the Nervous System, Psychological Safety and its connection in how you show up, whether at work or not!
The Nervous System Is Running The Show Fr
The Nervous System is often referred to as the “Body’s Communication Network” because of how it processes everything around us and helps us respond.
What really got my wheels turning was learning about the Ventral Vagal System. It is a system under the parasympathetic nervous system (listen, scroll up real quick to the graphic above so you know what I’m talking about!) that regulates how we communicate with each other. It helps us feel calm and able to connect with others.
When the Ventral Vagal System is active, it sends messages to our body that we are safe. This makes us more open, engaged, and ready to interact by sharing ideas, asking more questions or giving our honest opinion without fear of rejection.
“for us to feel truly safe to speak up, offer feedback, or make mistakes without fear, our Nervous System has to register the environment as non-threatening.”
This is where the connection from the Nervous System to Psychological Safety becomes clear: for us to feel truly safe to speak up, offer feedback, or make mistakes without fear, our Nervous System has to register the environment as non-threatening. This goes beyond establishing perks and benefits in place to ensure good workplace culture; actually caring enough about your employees or the people you work with beyond their roles and titles, as fellow human beings with feelings and needs who have lives outside of work.
What Is Psychological Safety, Really?
“Psychological Safety is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.” - Dr. Amy Edmonson
Dr. Amy Edmondson, a well known Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, introduced the term Psychological Safety in the 1990s.
People need to be prioritized over productivity. This quote is important because this approach is often overlooked in the workplace. For a closer look at what can happen when productivity is prioritized over people, feel free to read The Real Reason You’re Experiencing Burnout: Systems That Set You Up To Fail.
“Think about it: What is the true quality of what you are producing, if the people producing it are being treated like shit? Hmmm.”
One of the 10 Characteristics of a Joyful Workplace is being bottom-line conscious, people-centered. Think about it: What is the true quality of what you are producing, if the people producing it are being treated like shit? Hmmm. Click here to learn more about the characteristics that make a Joyful Workplace Culture!
Prioritizing people over productivity will not only provide the results you want, but the connection within and the energy of the workplace will feel good to exist in. People will literally show up looking forward to work!
You don’t have to be fake, force yourself to “be nice” and walk around the office holding hands, picking sunflowers. This is about creating an atmosphere where people trust that they can show up their whole selves, knowing their voice has value and are not afraid to speak up. Every idea pitched won’t be picked up, every single little thing you say will not be validated. Over time you’ll notice that it is less about that and more about the fact you felt comfortable to speak your thoughts out for the sake of getting.it.out.
A few questions leaders can ask to ensure Psychological Safety is present within teams are:
What’s on your mind?
What are you experiencing that I may be missing?
What concerns do you have?
What questions should we be asking?
Asking these types of questions not only shows your team you gaf about their internal experience at work but leads the way toward innovation, genius ideas and speaking up when facing a possible problem instead of being silent.
Polyvagal Theory: Well, What The Hell Is This?
Polyvagal Theory was developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, a distinguished University Scientist and the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at Indiana University. This theory explains how the Vagus Nerve (another part of the parasympathetic nervous system) regulates our Physiological States (how your heart beats fast or hands get sweaty during a stressful experience):
Ventral Vagal state – calm, connected, socially engaged.
Sympathetic state – fight-or-flight activation.
Dorsal Vagal state – shutdown, withdrawal, freeze.
Being in the Ventral Vagal state at work may look like going into the office saying hello with a bright smile and walking into your 1 o’clock meeting with your head held high, ready to share the brilliant idea that just came to you in the shower that morning.
In the Sympathetic state, that joke you made to your co-worker during lunch may anxiously come up to haunt you while trying to finish the last report of the day or you just cannot center yourself to go have your performance review with your boss because you are so nervous that you may get fired.
The Dorsal Vagal state will have you at your desk unable to concentrate on anything because honestly, the last place you want to be is at work! This is not about wanting a vacation or break. Being in this state you can become overwhelmed by the workload and want to disconnect from reality.
Our bodies are extremely intelligent and truthfully, it wants to protect us from danger. The Ventral Vagal state can show up while we are snuggled on the couch watching a movie with a loved one. Fight or Flight will have you slamming on your horn, the brakes and sticking your middle finger out the window to that person who just cut you off. In the Dorsal state, you may feel so down, you can’t think of anything other than just laying in bed for the day. Or for the week. Or maybe for the rest of life.
Life can be stressful in general. Work will also have its stressors. The Polyvagal Theory is a great indicator in one’s response to stress. All of our Nervous Systems are different, as we all have our own lived experiences and traumas.
The person in the Ventral Vagal state while at work is not having the same experience as the person in Sympathetic (flight or fight) or the Dorsal Vagal state.
While there are always things we can do internally to help regulate our systems, what is going on around us, outside of our hands is just as important and will affect us too. If what you are doing internally to regulate is not supported externally, it will not be sustainable.
Psychological Safety and Joyful Workplace Cultures
Joy and safety go hand in hand, you can’t have one without the other. When people feel safe enough to speak up, make mistakes, and be themselves without fear of backlash, that’s when real trust, collaboration, and creativity start flowing. And let’s be honest, nobody’s sharing their best ideas if their nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight at work.
Another one of the 10 Characteristics of joyful workplace cultures is that it cultivates calm. This doesn’t mean everything has to feel zen all the time (although, let’s be real, that sounds amazing). It’s more about not feeling like work is draining you at every turn. Now, does that mean work should never be stressful? No, of course not, work is sometimes stressful and that's ok. But constant, nervous-system-frying stress? That’s a red flag. Work should never push you into that place where you’re always on edge, bracing for impact.
Even in fast-paced, high-stakes fields, think health care and emergency response, joyful workplace cultures are possible, and they make a world of difference. When they’re present, people feel steady, supported, and able to take a deep breath, even in the middle of the whirlwind. It’s the difference between working in a place that feels like quicksand versus one that feels like solid ground. In one, you’re sinking no matter how hard you try. And in the other, you’ve got stability, allowing you to bring your best to your work.
Download the 10 Characteristics of Joyful Workplace Cultures to learn more about the Cultivates Calm characteristic, as well as other culture-shaping practices that will turn your organization’s culture into a source of joy, connection, and trust.
I Know, That Was A Lot! Let’s Wrap It Up
How are you feeling after reading all of that? Take a moment to digest this abundance of information and watch the connections start to take root. If you feel inspired to go do your own deep dive into the Nervous System and Psychological Safety (cause we went deep but babyyy it goes even deeper🤣) feel free! You can also just start thinking of how this may relate to your own personal experiences with Psychological Safety (Your Nervous System is doing its job right now, as you read these words)!
I have two questions for you before you go: How does Psychological Safety and Joy currently show up for you at work? In what ways do you notice your Nervous System responding?
Want to Learn More?
Here are some of the resources that informed this post and can help you explore further:
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