Regulation & Recovery
Understand overload, activation, shutdown and recovery — and find practical ways to reduce load, regain capacity and work out what may help next.
Regulation is about having enough available capacity to think, communicate, respond, move, rest or ask for help. Pain, fatigue, sensory load, stress, illness, uncertainty and accumulated demands can all affect how much capacity is available.
What is happening right now?
Choose the option that feels closest. You do not need to identify it perfectly.
Explore Regulation & Recovery
Start with the part that best matches what your brain or body is doing.
Overload
Understand what happens when sensory, cognitive, emotional or physical demands exceed available capacity.
Early Warning Signs
Notice changes in thinking, behaviour, sensory tolerance or body state before overload becomes severe.
Shutdown & Meltdown
Explore different overload responses and what kinds of support may help during and afterwards.
Co-Regulation
Explore how another person can reduce load, provide steadiness and support without taking over.
Recovery
Plan for the period after overload, activation, exertion or a difficult event when capacity is still reduced.
Lower-Demand Environments
Explore ways to reduce unnecessary sensory, cognitive, social and practical demand.
Useful Regulation Tools
Shorter tools when you need something practical rather than more information.
Filling My Cup
Explore what has been using capacity and what may help replenish it.
Open tool →Early Warning Signs
Identify your own signs that tolerance, flexibility or capacity are reducing.
Open tool →What Kind of Overload?
Explore sensory, cognitive, emotional and mixed overload.
Open tool →Solve or Regulate First?
Work out whether your system has enough capacity for problem-solving yet.
Open tool →Shutdown or Meltdown?
Explore different overload responses and what may be useful in each.
Open tool →Co-Regulation
Explore how someone else may help without adding pressure.
Open tool →Recovery Planner
Plan what to reduce, protect and support while capacity returns.
Open tool →What Happened?
Reflect afterwards on load, triggers and what may help next time.
Open tool →Regulation can change across the day
Think of regulation as changing capacity, rather than something a person either has or lacks.
Recovery is part of regulation
The obvious crisis may have passed before the nervous system has fully recovered.
Supporting someone who is overloaded
Support is often most helpful when it reduces pressure and increases predictability, rather than trying to make the person regulate on demand.
Regulation is connected to other parts of life
Sensory load, capacity, health, daily tasks and relationships can all affect regulation.
Not sure what you need?
You do not have to identify the exact type of overload or regulation difficulty. Start with what feels hardest right now and look for one way to reduce load.