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awareness

Activation Check-In

A self-assessment practice to understand your stress levels by rating your nervous-system state.

Focusquickgroundingalertness

Why it works

Building real-time awareness of your nervous system's state helps you identify personal patterns and triggers while developing more nuanced self-regulation.

How to practice

  1. Set 2-3 regular check-in times daily.
  2. Rate your activation on a 1-10 scale and jot it down: - 1-3: Shutdown, frozen, or collapsed - 4-6: Grounded, present, or connected - 7-10: Anxious, overwhelmed, or frustrated
  3. Reflect on how your activation levels differ during various times of the day and around different people and environments. The key is increasing awareness of your activation level without judging or attempting to change them.

Good to know

Aim for consistency and brevity: make your check-ins simple. Many find using their phone's reminder function helps build and maintain this habit.

The research

Interoceptive attention facilitates emotion regulation strategy useFüstös et al.

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