The Nervous System Reset: Heal Trauma, Resolve Chronic Stress and Pain, and Regulate Your Emotions with the Power of the Vagus Nerve

by Jessica Maguire

'A must-read for anyone seeking to understand and nurture their nervous system.' Dr Kelly Vincent, clinical psychologist

'A profoundly significant ground-breaking book that explores authentic healing.' Maggie Dent, bestselling author

The vagus nerve is the superhighway between our bodies and brains, our emotions and behaviour. However, chronic stress and trauma impair the vagus nerve's functions, which can lead to stress-related illnesses such as anxiety and depression, chronic back pain, headaches, addictive cravings, IBS and insomnia.

As a physiotherapist, Jessica Maguire saw hundreds of patients who were spending a fortune on multiple treatments that did not work to heal conditions which were seemingly resistant to every kind of intervention.

Jessica's subsequent years of extensive study, thousands of interactions with patients and a dedicated online audience have led her to develop a series of simple but highly effective techniques for re-toning the vagus nerve and restoring mental and physical health.

In The Nervous System Reset, Jessica provides detailed information on the foundational science and body practices that can alleviate chronic symptoms, allowing us to better cope with the impact of past traumas and live with more comfort, pleasure and optimism.

Compassionate, accessible and authoritative, The Nervous System Reset is your complete guide to the transformative power of the mighty vagus nerve.

This audiobook comes with supplementary material, you can download this material at the following

'My mission is to widen the world's collective window of tolerance, and to create true freedom from nervous system dysregulation and all its painful side effects.' - Jessica Maguire

'The Nervous System Reset is the missing ingredient that so many people have searched for.' REBECCA RAY, clinical psychologist and bestselling author

'This book will help so many people achieve a better quality of life and health.' JESSICA SEPEL, author, nutritionist and founder of JSHealth

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Self Help, Psychology, Science, Mental Health, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published August 13, 2024

Reviews

[Leah • leahreads__ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually had really high hopes for this one. Essentially this book is about the Vagus nerve and how it’s responsible for maintaining balance in our physical and mental health. The book is split into two parts - the science behind it and then strategies for resetting your nervous system. In the beginning she talks about how positive self talk and mindset strategies alone cannot change your physiology or emotional reactions (which initially I loved this outlook) but then ended up giving mindset strategies and breathing exercises. Don’t get me wrong - these are super helpful! However I just feel like there was a lot of build up in part one for these life changing exercises that just ended up being the same ones that are usually provided. I did enjoy learning the science behind the vagus nerve and how it relates to our physical and mental health; this was super interesting to learn about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Pub for this eARC!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve followed Jessica Maguire on social media for some time, so I’m very familiar with her work. I’ve always wanted to take one of her courses, but in my current season of life, they’ve been a little out of my reach. I was so excited when I found out she was writing a book, in the hopes that maybe I could gain some of her wisdom at a more accessible cost.

This book is worth the cost a million times over! It’s a huge wealth of information and covers everything so in depth, it would be difficult to even cover it all in this review. Jessica not only gets into the various subsystems of the nervous system, but she also gets into the Why. She covers why different nervous system reactions happen and the symptoms they cause in the body, which is extremely helpful. I find that it’s hard to understand how to help yourself if you don’t know why these things happen in the first place, so this is a very important component of this book!

I also loved that she highlights various people and their nervous system challenges throughout. The Nervous System can be an overwhelming part of the body to understand because there’s just SO much to sift through and learn. I really felt like this made parts of the book easier to understand.

With all the in-depth education, as well as the tools given to help work through the various issues one might experience with their own Nervous System, I can see this book becoming my Body Bible of sorts. I was diagnosed with POTS Syndrome as well as with general Dysautonomia symptoms last year, and so much of what I’ve read in this book has been so helpful to me already.

If you’ve been struggling with nervous system related issues or even if you just want to understand different issues going on within your body, I highly recommend this book. I promise that it will become a hugely valuable resource for you!

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️s


Audiobook via BorrowBox
Published by Bolinda/Macmillan Australia
Read by Jessica Maguire
Duration: 8 hrs, 54 min. 1.50x Speed

[BookBabeNails · Rating 3 out of 5]

»—-Booksta ¸.•´*¨`*• Book Blog •*`¨*`•. 25+ Book Discord-—«

First of all, as a chronic pain sufferer I couldn’t appreciate more the research and efforts that go into a book like this. I’ve heard of the vagus nerve before, but I learned a lot about the science behind it from this book. I love that it included case examples. I think it’s so interesting how intertwined chronic pain and trauma tend to be. The second half of the book details exercises you can do to improve symptoms. There are helpful diagrams and pictures of the exercises too.

Overall, the scientific portion of the book was excellent. The exercises are great for those who are newer to exploring healing for chronic pain. I think there's a lot of danger in a book sort of promising to heal trauma or resolve chronic pain and I think it can lead to some disappointment from readers. If you’ve already been through certain types of therapy, the exercises may look familiar and not necessarily new to you. Still a good reminder and a nice handbook to have around.

Thanks to GCP Balance for the ARC!

[Ashlie Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be very repetitive, but the skills taught seem very useful and practical!

[Cameron Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because I was in one of the worst states of my life, I was trying everything, therapy, yoga, breathing exercises, joining the gym, new medication, cutting out caffeine - you name it, I tried it and then I saw this book and I felt seen, I felt understood and it was brilliant for the first 2/3s. It makes you feel understood and explains things in an easy way but eventually the author looses that easily understanding and begins to be more technical and biological which then doesn’t always make it the most understandable or impactful.

If you’re looking to read this book because you were like me and you were struggling, I would recommend it but it’s not going to be the tool that you wanted it to be but it will help. It’s worth the read but not the magical solution I was at least hoping it would be.

[Jessica]

Just another Physiotherapist that believes meditation and daily exercise will trick your vagus nerve into thinking you don’t have chronic pain issues from e.g. a car accident or PTSD…
Can I get a vagus nerve stimulator implant device up in here? DNF @25%

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful guide to understanding a health issue I suspect is endemic. A comprehensive 101 guide to understanding the nervous system, its response to stimuli and strategies to maintain a regulated system that supports good health. Practical and accessible, with highly applicable strategies. But let’s address the social and environmental systems that drive this issue also. Otherwise it’s like shifting chairs on the Titanic, it’s going down anyway.

[cloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

*carly shay*: interesting :)

[Dani Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave helpful tools, but was more like workbook of walking thru tools to use rather than the science behind the brain/nervous system.

[Courtney | craesread · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was very informative. It did a good job showing how the entire body is connected. How things like thinking positively in general can improve your health. How even things like chronic pain can get some relief by resetting your vagus nerve. How unresolved traumas can deteriorate the body. How your gut health is directly connected to your brain &physical health.

* The author gave good techniques to help the body get through difficult situations &how to widen your tolerance to bad things happening in life. Things like neural exercises (yoga, puzzles, playing an instrument), breathing techniques, &somatic practices (shaking out tension, grounding, body scanning) are all beneficial in different ways.

* I read this during the election &I can vouch that some of the techniques were definitely beneficial for me with it being &continue to be such a stressful time.

* If you want to learn more about the mind body connection, I’d definitely recommend.

I’d like to thank Balance &Grand Central Publishing for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Themes:
* The vagus nerve
* The nervous system
* Mind-body connection

[Amber Amin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The epitome of BSing to fill the word count. Nothing of value is introduced until page 241 of this 312 page book (not including the acknowledgements, index, and blank journal pages at the end). Even still, those end pages are filled with fluff. I'm going to create my own document with the handful of useful tools the author keeps saying will change your life (and continues to say for the first 240 pages of this wikipedia regurgitated slop). Major skip for people that actually need help.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this and learning about the science behind anxiety/stress and how to move out of that state

[Corbin Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I’ll be damned if it isn’t the ol’ nervous system striking again. This state is too cold, this state is too hot, this state is juuuuussst right (ventral vagal). Great tools and information from a credible expert on the polyvagal theory and its notable impacts on everyday life. Now let’s get out there and improve our vagal tones everyone.

[Michelle Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hit by a speeding drunk driver as a pedestrian many years ago. That led to numerous surgeries (14), early onset arthritis, nerve damage, loss of range of movement, and complex PTSD (along with other not-so-fun losses). A couple of years after this, I was diagnosed with IBS and wondered if it was connected. Once I reached 29/30, I had developed gastroparesis on top of the IBS. I’m 51 now and I’ve not had a flare-up of IBS in a few years, but the gastroparesis strikes more frequently.

I didn’t grow up in a home where mind-body connection was ever alluded to - it’s only as I’ve gotten older, lived more, and read more that such a connection has been known to me, and I’ve taken some steps to honoring that - meditation, breath work, and EMDR therapy. I’ve also only recently learned of the vagus nerve, and the possibilities now seem even more hopeful.

With this new awareness, I was very pleased when Balance reached out, inviting me to read an early copy of this book - I actually downloaded this and began reading during a flare-up of the gastroparesis, and read this eagerly hoping to find some suggestions to implement.

This is an extremely comprehensive guide, written in an educational and compassionate style that is both informative and engaging. The author provides comprehensive scientific information, exercises for the reader to partake of, and case studies. There is so much positive information within these pages and I personally found it an extremely worthwhile read; this is one I will definitely buy for my own bookshelf.

While reading and trying some of the exercises, I look forward to incorporating even more of the suggestions in this book.

Very strong recommendation from me.



Thank you to Balance and NetGalley for the DRC

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was asked invited to read and review an Advanced Readers Copy of this book, even though I am not suffering from trauma, despite living in Israel, when the whole nation has been under trauma since Oct 7, 2023. The author was a physiotherapist, but after going through some trauma herself after her first child was born, she became a nervous system educator. Her premise is that the Vagus Nerve, which runs from the brain down the spine to the various organs of the body, is responsible for keeping us at our "just right" set point, but sometimes because of trauma the brain might takes us to somewhere where we don't want to be. This book would be excellent for anyone who suffers from psychosomatic systems from PTSD, childhood trauma from neglect, verbal and physical abuse, loneliness ... etc.

The first half of the book is a sort of physiology textbook, reminding me of all those terms and systems that I learned and forgot in college pysiology and high school Latin class decades ago. The second half is a series of exercises for learning how to recognize when one is out of sync. For myself, I didn't understand some of the things that she wrote about, because of cultural (she is Australian and I am an American Israeli) or generational differences. It wasn't until the end of the book, that I understood what she meant about "stories". Most helpful to me was Chapter 11, Lifestyles to Support your Reset, which sort of reaffirmed what I am already doing. She also has many videos on Youtube, if you want a get a glimpse of what this is about before you buy the book. I would recommend purchasing a paper copy, as I think it will be more useful in that form.

[Marles Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know that the vagus nerve is the superhighway between our bodies and brains, our emotions and behaviour? Chronic stress and trauma impair the vagus nerve's functions, which can lead to stress-related illnesses such as anxiety and depression, chronic back pain, headaches, addictive cravings, IBS and insomnia. In The Nervous System Reset, Jessica provides detailed information on the foundational science and body practices that can alleviate chronic symptoms, allowing us to better cope with the impact of past traumas and live with more comfort, pleasure and optimism.
Jessica is a physiotherapist who utilises clinical mindfulness, trauma-sensitive biofeedback, polyvagal theory, and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation to address many chronic health issues are rooted in nervous system dysregulation triggered by chronic stress and trauma. Jessica also uses TEDx speaker to share her insights on how to transform their nervous system, empowering them to step into the driver's seat of their own health and wellbeing.
There is a lot in this book about working hard to retrain our nervous system to respond to not only what's happening today, instead of being side tracked by what has happened in the past. There are key things like being active and moving, looking after your gut health as well mas your mind, and trusting your body signals to help you react better.

[Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like how physiotherapist Jessica Maguire explains the autonomic nervous system and the function of the vagus nerve. She has a gift for using memorable metaphors to help readers understand technical information. Although I have already read numerous books on polyvagal theory, I loved her metaphor of a nervous system thermostat that can be turned up too hot or down too cold. I also appreciated her explanation of blended states such as playfulness or stillness. In Part 2, she provides a few practices to help you upregulate or downregulate your nervous system. The back matter includes endnotes citing many peer-reviewed journals.

I feel like the author overpromised and underdelivered as far as the regulation techniques. The techniques are fine, but not cutting edge, and she didn’t adequately address how to establish safety. This isn’t my favorite book on nervous system regulation, but I do feel like it was worth reading, especially for the author’s helpful metaphors.

The author refers to several additional resources available from her website with newsletter signup.

I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well thought out and concisely delivered information but the exercises provided were nothing new. Most of these things are covered and outlined in every other book or podcast about these bad body states. One of the bits seemed stolen directly from a mindfulness podcast. But there’s nothing groundbreaking in this department really is there? All we (the author included) can try to do is give the information to new readers in an easy to digest way. And I believe the author has done that here. It’s much easier to think of these states as too hot, just right, too cold. While I didn’t learn much in the way of how to deal with these states (see above) there was some new information on how to identify these states, which it’s important. And the author does include a lot of decent links to worksheets and self guided learning which is helpful.

If you’re suffering from these mystery ailments or just feeling wrong, it wouldn’t hurt to start here. I hope it helps us all.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually really interested in reading this book, and I was pleasantly surprised that this was very close to what a Dr had told me recently about chronic pain, anxiety and depression and how you can reset your brain. If you struggle with any of these issues this is a definite read especially if you’ve never heard of this before! Basically it’s about your brain being stuck in flight or flight and it creating havoc on your body and creating inflammation and pain that would not have been there if your brain wasn’t stuck in this pattern! Super interesting and definitely worth the read! Sadly, I was really hoping this logic would help me but I have quite a few conditions/syndromes/diseases that actually cause pain, anxiety, inflammation, fatigue etc so this did not help me as much with pain but it can definitely teach you how to find your calm and not feel the anxiety or “danger” that your brain believes it’s in.

[Jessica Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slightly botchy attempt at applying polyvagal theory which misses some key elements. This book theorises that ventral vagal is between dorsal vagal and sympathetic, when in practice you have to move from dorsal to sympathetic before getting to ventral. This could lead people struggling with these issues to think they’re doing something wrong if they’re getting sympathetically activated each time they attempt to move out of dorsal.

The book spends a lot of time promising the exercises in the second half will be worth the wait and honestly they’re nothing you haven’t heard or tried before (if one more person suggests box breathing will cure you…). This is essentially fine but a bit underwhelming.

Overall, I felt the book massively overcomplicated some quite simple theories while leaving out swathes of information that could have been helpful. This is an important topic and I’m glad more books are being published on its application however this one did miss the point a bit.

[Kristiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

**AUDIOBOOK**
I think this book is best for health care professionals. Kept getting lost in this and zoning out. I did manage to get out some good points out of this book. But it’ is all a bit too technical for my ‘normal’ brain. Would be good that there was some videos for some of the activities, to show how they are supposed to be done – I am more of a visual person.

Toolkits and other "activities" are repeated a few times throughout the book, which is quite good for some, as repetition may be needed to drill the information in your brain.

Would highly suggest to get the book in physical format, to view the diagrams (if any) think this book should have diagrams for sure.

Overall : not to my liking. Far too many technical words going on, a dumbed down version for the every day nomad would be ideal.

[Lisa Konet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some aspects of this book were great like the science about the Vagus nerve and how it relates to the human body, mental health, etc. The other half of this book became redunant with breathing and meditation practices, which might be useful for some (happy for those who found value in this); but for others this was not helpful.

Some of the scientific writing was spot on but then a switch to life coaching was not. Do not know how to recommend this honestly.

If you want a better book about mindfulness, Full Catastrophe Lvining by Jon Kabat-Zinn is better than this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jessica Maguire and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

already available

[Sara (Sjthroughthelookingglass) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone new to working on their nervous system and currently in EMDR therapy I found the first half of the book very interesting and helped me better understand the bigger picture and science behind the Vegas nerve.

The second half of the book offers exercises you can do at home to help regulate, balance and strengthen your vegas nerve. I do very similar work when in EMDR therapy, and while having an actual person on the other side of the exercise vs the written "instructions" in this book is better for me, I still found these exercises thought provoking while helping me make even more connections.

I feel like this is a great introduction and helpful to start for a healing journey.

[Elizabeth Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica does a great job sharing some of the basics of the vagus nerve and how important the bottom-up approach is to healing from trauma. I love that she mentions "too hot" and "too cold" in relation to the sympathetic and dorsal vagal states. I'm also a big proponent of the Mediterranean diet and rarely hear someone talk about it in this context.

However, I felt there was room to expand into more groundbreaking techniques. A lot of the exercises covered are the same as those you learn from polyvagal theory and other similar programs. I wish there was more in the way of the fascia and movement techniques - things that you wouldn't get from a yoga therapist or an SEP.

[Tamzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who just stays stressed and is on antidepressants but still struggling some, I was really excited to jump into this book. The first half of the book introduces you to your nervous system and how it functions, which is super interesting (and kind of overwhelming too). The last bit of the book covers tools to help you regulate from different states into your middle-ground. A lot of this was helpful and I will continue to use. However, if you are the kind of person who has tried everything, you may find this one not as helpful as some would. I would defend recommend it for those struggling with stress!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central/Balance Publishing for the E-ARC!

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides the following value-add compared to others like this: biopsychosocial model, the stress and trauma scale, the stretch zone, and the explanations of the secondary states and specific recommendations for these secondary states, and the concept of alternating between extreme states (hot and cold). Could be more concise and the content better structured/organized to help the reader to understand and apply ideas better. Also the exercises suggested could be expanded and more focused on the vagus nerve.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, it goes into a lot of biological detail about our nervous system and how the brain-body sends/receives messages. It talks about our normal state and explains being too hot (fear, anxious, angry) and too cold (sleepy, depressed). Then it explains how to become more aware of sensations and exercises to use to move out of being too hot or too cold, eg. Breathing, diet, exercise, thinking about what has prompted the feeling, overall becoming more in tune with your body.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible message within the pages of this book is. Not always easy to read, as it contains so many examples and exercises that might not work the reader (while others would). However, a very clear system description that we all can use to think about stress and our response to it.

Also mentions exercises and advice for people with long COVID.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Body up regulation isn’t discussed enough in talk therapy. Using logic and cognition to manage emotional turmoil isn’t the only approach and it’s good to have body up regulation tools when your brain down regulation isn’t working. I will say there’s are some components of the book that aren’t heavily researched topics.