Does your day feel like a nonstop blur of running from one appointment to the next, constantly putting out fires?
Do you find yourself so wound up that even when you finally lie down at night, sleep is a distant hope?
And when you do sleep, it’s restless at best.
If this sounds familiar, you might also be struggling to sit down and focus for long study sessions. Retaining information feels impossible, and staying consistent with your studies seems like a dream you can’t quite reach.
The culprit? Constant fight-or-flight mode.
YYour nervous system is in a state of chronic dysregulation, and if this continues, it won’t just cost you your bar exam. It’s already costing you your health, your time, and your ability to live freely.
But how is nervous system dysregulation wrecking your bar prep? And how do you fix it? Let’s find out.
Always Late? Disorganized? Frazzled?
You know you’re in fight-or-flight mode when:
You’re always running late.
Your desk is a mess.
You’re terrified you’ve missed an appointment, forgot a bill, or that someone is about to criticize you.
If this sounds like your life, you’re not alone. Many people in this state are working in jobs that don’t fully satisfy them—sometimes because they’ve chosen roles where their disorganization or tardiness won’t be called out. Other times, they’re underemployed, taking on less demanding roles just to cope with the daily chaos.
Now, you might be relieved to know there’s a name for this: nervous system dysregulation. And the best part? It’s treatable.
Calming your body at a physical level has a direct impact on your mind. It’s what allows for deep sleep, strong memory retention, focused study sessions, and—most importantly—peace.
But first, you need to understand where this fight-or-flight mode comes from.
Where Does Fight-or-Flight Come From?
Fight-or-flight mode is part of our hardwiring—it’s there to keep us safe from real danger. But when you’re living in that mode all the time, it’s often because of learned behaviors from childhood.
Maybe you grew up in a chaotic household, with parents who rushed around, always trying to please others, and you picked up that frantic energy. Or perhaps you had unpredictable authority figures, and the stress of trying to meet their expectations created a trauma response in you.
This can lead to feeling frozen with fear over your obligations, constantly moving between states of panic and overwhelm. And that chaos, carried into adulthood, keeps your nervous system on high alert. Some people also experience more serious challenges in childhood—like unstable living conditions, frequent moves, or parents dealing with mental health struggles. These environments can teach you to be hypervigilant, always scanning for the slightest changes in mood or behavior to stay safe. That hypervigilance is classic fight-or-flight behavior, and it becomes so ingrained that it feels normal
But it’s not.
The Calm After the Chaos
Many of my clients start working with me and realize they’ve been living in this hypervigilant state for years—maybe even their whole lives. When we begin using tools to downshift their nervous system, something surprising happens: They feel uncomfortable.
Why? Because calm feels like depression when you’ve spent your life on high alert.
Let me assure you: You’re not depressed. You’re just finally experiencing normalcy.
As you get used to this new, peaceful state, you’ll start to see the benefits:
Better concentration.
Deeper sleep.
Stronger relationships (and the removal of toxic ones).
More success at work.
Many people find that they outgrow their current jobs as their peace increases because their chaotic workplace no longer suits their newfound calm. In fact, one of the most common side effects I’ve seen is that clients move to better jobs with healthier environments and higher pay!
Filling the Peaceful Space
Once you’re out of fight-or-flight mode, you’ll notice a calm space in your life. The key is to fill that space with healthy habits—like consistent studying, focused work, and mindful living.
If you’ve mastered this downregulation, you’ll be able to stick to your schedule, get to appointments on time, and even sleep through the night without worrying about your bar exam or anything else. This newfound peace will create the perfect environment for you to excel at bar prep using strategies like our famous study rotation method and score optimization techniques.
But here’s the thing: If you stay in fight-or-flight mode, none of that will stick.
Why Fight-or-Flight Is Your Biggest Roadblock
When your body is in fight-or-flight mode, your nervous system diverts blood away from your brain. It’s preparing you to escape or fight a perceived threat. So, the very thing you need for bar prep—your cognitive faculties—is being put on standby.
You’re not thinking clearly because your body thinks it’s in danger. And you can see how this makes it nearly impossible to retain information and pass the bar.
Ready to Get Out of Fight-or-Flight?
If your life looks like what I’ve described, it’s time to take action.
It’s time to learn how to downregulate your nervous system and allow your brain to work as it’s meant to.
Start with the Study Personality Quiz to see where you fall in terms of study habits, and let’s get you on track to a calmer, more focused bar prep journey.