Jul 9, 2026 · 24 min · 9 segments
Tanner explains how danger self-talk can keep the nervous system dysregulated by continually reinforcing a sense of danger. When your nervous system is dysregulated, your brain naturally moves toward…
Tanner MurtaghHost
Anne HampsonHost
In our therapy practice, we work with people who have had chronic pain, chronic fatigue, or other chronic symptoms for years, and we've noticed that a lot of them struggle with negative thinking.
Now, this makes sense because if you've been experiencing chronic pain, symptoms, or nervous system dysregulation, thinking can become very negatively biased.
Now, danger self-talk can include worry, obsessiveness, self-critical or hopeless thinking patterns.
There's a concept from a famous polyvagal therapist named Deb Dana, and she talks about this concept of story follows state.
So what this means is that if your nervous system is in a state of dysregulation, this danger self-talk in your mind is gonna develop.
So an example of this is if you wake up feeling on edge, nervous, and anxious, what is the story that's gonna start to develop in your mind? Well, you're probably gonna have danger self-talk that's laced in worry and fear.
Now, unfortunately, danger self-talk also increases nervous system dysregulation, so it creates this feedback loop that I've seen people stuck in for years.
Now, by changing your thinking patterns, you can coach your brain and nervous system towards safety, and this is going to reduce your chronic pain and symptoms over time.
In our therapy practice, we work with people who have had chronic pain, chronic fatigue, or other chronic symptoms for years, and we've noticed that a lot of them struggle with negative thinking.
Now, this makes sense because if you've been experiencing chronic pain, symptoms, or nervous system dysregulation, thinking can become very negatively biased.
Now, danger self-talk can include worry, obsessiveness, self-critical or hopeless thinking patterns.
There's a concept from a famous polyvagal therapist named Deb Dana, and she talks about this concept of story follows state.
So what this means is that if your nervous system is in a state of dysregulation, this danger self-talk in your mind is gonna develop.
So an example of this is if you wake up feeling on edge, nervous, and anxious, what is the story that's gonna start to develop in your mind? Well, you're probably gonna have danger self-talk that's laced in worry and fear.
Now, unfortunately, danger self-talk also increases nervous system dysregulation, so it creates this feedback loop that I've seen people stuck in for years.
Now, by changing your thinking patterns, you can coach your brain and nervous system towards safety, and this is going to reduce your chronic pain and symptoms over time.
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