If You’re a Woman Healer Over 45 Who Feels Exhausted No Matter How Much You Sleep…

Your Nervous System Isn’t Broken — It’s Dysregulated.

And You Can Start Resetting It in 21 Days.

 A science-backed protocol for nurses, therapists, physicians, social workers, and caregivers with overworked nervous systems.

DEAR BRILLIANT, BURNT-TO-A-CRISP HELPER,

You’ve told yourself:

  • “I just need a vacation.

  • “Maybe this is just menopause.”

  • “I’m getting older… this is normal, right?”

  • “I used to handle this. Why can’t I now?”

Meanwhile, your body is sending very different messages:

  • You wake up tired, even after 8 hours of sleep.

  • Your jaw, neck, and shoulders are in a constant clench.

  • Your heart races “for no reason.”

  • Your brain won’t shut off at 2:37 AM.

  • You feel wired, anxious, numb, or like you’re living outside your own life.

If this feels uncomfortably accurate, let me say this clearly:

Nothing is wrong with you. Something is happening to your nervous system.

And after decades in healthcare, it makes perfect sense.

YOU’VE LIVED IN SURVIVAL MODE FOR YEARS

Healthcare work — especially after 45 — is not normal stress. It’s:

  • Crisis-driven

  • Fast-paced

  • Emotionally heavy

  • Understaffed

  • Systemically broken

Your nervous system was never designed to handle:

  • Back-to-back trauma stories

  • 12–16 hour shifts

  • Secondary trauma and grief

  • Moral injury in a broken system

  • Perimenopause or menopause on top of all of it

This isn’t just “being stressed.”

This is your autonomic nervous system getting stuck in survival.

THE REAL ISSUE: YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM CAN’T FIND “SAFE” ANYMORE

Inside your body you have two main branches:

  • Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): fight/flight

  • Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): rest/digest

When things are healthy, you move back and forth fluidly.

But after years of chronic threat (yes, your job counts as threat), your system starts defaulting to:

  • 🔴 Hypervigilance

  • 🔴 Racing thoughts

  • 🔴 Muscle tension

  • 🔴 Sleep disruption

  • 🔴 Emotional reactivity or numbness

Your vagus nerve — the primary pathway of your PNS — becomes less responsive. Your body stays in “on guard” mode.

This is why:

  • A bubble bath doesn’t fix it

  • One week off doesn’t fix it

  • Meditation apps don’t fix it

They’re treating symptoms, not the system.

You don’t need more “self-care.”

You need a reset.

INTRODUCING: The Nervous System Reset Guide

A 21-Day Protocol for Healthcare Professionals with Dysregulated Nervous Systems

Created by Dr. Julie Merriman, Ph.D., LPC-S — counselor educator, compassion fatigue researcher, and (yes) the woman behind Dr. Juls, The Midlife Sexpert — this guide blends:

  • Polyvagal theory

  • Somatic psychology

  • Trauma-informed care

  • Neuroscience-based stress regulation

into a simple, step-by-step protocol you can actually do in 5–15 minutes a day.

No fluff.

No woo-woo.

No 60-minute routines you’ll never stick to.

Just real, physiological tools for a real, physiological problem.

🔬 WHAT’S INSIDE YOUR 21-DAY RESET

WEEK 1 – CALM THE STORM: DAILY VAGUS NERVE ACTIVATION

You’ll use short, targeted practices to teach your body:

“You’re safe. You can stand down.”

Daily tools include:

  • 4-2-6 breathing – lengthened exhale with sound to activate the vagus nerve

  • Cold water face splash – triggering the mammalian dive reflex to slow heart rate

  • Gargling – stimulating vagal pathways through throat muscles

  • Bilateral tapping – discharging cortisol and adrenaline

  • Legs up the wall – gentle inversion to support parasympathetic activation

  • Progressive muscle relaxation – teaching your body the difference between tension and release

You’ll track:

  • Sleep quality

  • Energy level

  • Muscle tension

  • Ability to relax

So you can see your progress, not just hope for it.

WEEK 2 – RELEASE STORED STRESS & ADRENALINE

Now we move deeper.

You’ll learn to:

  • Track your nervous system states (Green / Yellow / Red)

  • Build interoception (awareness of sensations inside your body)

  • Use somatic tracking so you can intervene earlier

  • Practice shaking/TRE to discharge stored stress

  • Add humming practices to directly vibrate the vagus nerve

You’ll finally stop carrying everything in your body like a walking storage unit for trauma.

WEEK 3 – BUILD A NEW BASELINE OF CALM

This is where we shift from “putting fires out” to building a new default setting.

You’ll:

  • Practice co-regulation with safe people and animals (your dog 100% counts)

  • Identify your personal safety cues (sounds, smells, textures that signal calm)

  • Track glimmers vs. triggers so you can amplify what heals and manage what harms

  • Create a sustainable maintenance plan for life after the 21 days

Instead of your baseline being:

“On edge, braced for impact”

it becomes:

“Grounded, present, able to respond instead of react.”

EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS FOR RED-ZONE MOMENTS

This guide also includes specific, 5-minute protocols for when you’re:

  • Shaking after a traumatic shift

  • Panicking at 3 AM

  • Spiraling in worst-case scenarios

  • Frozen in numbness

  • Flooded by a patient’s or client’s story

You’ll get:

  • A grounding sequence (5-4-3-2-1)

  • The Voo breath

  • A safe place visualization

  • A 24-hour post-trauma recovery routine

So you’re not just surviving those moments, you’re actively clearing them from your body.

LIFESTYLE SUPPORT (WITHOUT DIET CULTURE OR “JUST EXERCISE” NONSENSE)

You’ll also receive nervous-system-supportive guidance on:

  • Sleep hygiene for dysregulated systems

  • Nutrition that stabilizes blood sugar and supports neurotransmitters

  • Movement that regulates, not depletes (hint: HIIT goes in the “not yet” pile)

This is not about weight loss, aesthetics, or “summer bodies.”

This is about biology, repair, and longevity.

WHO THIS IS FOR

This guide was made for women 50+ in helping and healing professions, including:

  • Nurses & Nurse Practitioners

  • Physicians & PAs

  • Therapists & Counselors

  • Social Workers

  • Psychologists

  • Chaplains & Spiritual Care Providers

  • Caregivers & First Responders

If you’ve thought:

  • “I don’t feel like myself anymore.”

  • “If I slow down, I’m afraid I’ll fall apart.”

  • “My body is paying a price I didn’t agree to.”

…this is for you.

HOW YOU’LL FEEL AFTER 21 DAYS

(Results vary, but here’s what women commonly report)

  • “My sleep isn’t perfect, but I’m actually sleeping again.”

  • “My chest doesn’t feel like a permanent fist anymore.”

  • “I can tell when I’m in Red state and I actually know what to do.”

  • “I didn’t realize how disconnected I was from my own body.”

  • “I feel less like a walking emergency alert system.”

Most importantly:

You’ll stop believing you’re “too weak” to handle your life… and start seeing that your body just needed a different kind of support.

YOUR INVESTMENT: $27

Healthcare burnout retreats and programs often cost:

  • $97 for a 90-minute workshop

  • $297+ for a course

  • $600+ for coaching

  • $2,500+ for retreats

You’re getting a complete, 21-day evidence-based protocol for:

Only $27

Because nervous system regulation is not a luxury.

It’s basic infrastructure for a life you actually want to keep living.


READY TO BEGIN YOUR RESET?

Your wellbeing is worth more than a coffee and a muffin.

👉 GET THE 21-DAY RESET FOR $27

Feel calm. Sleep deeply. Reclaim your energy.

Yes, I’m Ready to Feel Like Myself Again