When Overwhelm Becomes a Way of Life: How the Rest and Restore Protocol Supports Deep Healing
Overwhelm isn’t always loud.
Sometimes it’s the quiet exhaustion that makes it hard to focus.
The heaviness in your body at the end of the day, even if nothing dramatic happened.
The mental fog, the edge in your voice, the dread you feel when there’s nothing technically wrong—but everything feels like too much.
If any of that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And you’re not broken.
You might be dealing with a nervous system that’s been stuck in a pattern of survival for a long time. One that doesn’t know how to let down and rest—because it never felt fully safe to begin with.
That’s where the Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP) comes in.
A Little About Me
I’m Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW—a somatic psychotherapist offering online therapy for adults in Florida and Illinois. I specialize in working with people who are feeling the toll of stress, anxiety, or trauma in their bodies. Many of the clients I see are high-functioning and successful on the outside, but feel worn down, disconnected, or stuck on the inside.
Using body-based therapies like Somatic Experiencing, the Safe and Sound Protocol, and now the Rest and Restore Protocol, I help clients work through patterns of overwhelm—not just talk about them. My approach is gentle, relational, and rooted in the belief that your body already knows how to heal. Sometimes it just needs the right conditions.
I was surprised by what I noticed when I first began listening to RRP myself—an unexpected urge to sing more, and even a sense that my voice sounded clearer and stronger. It was subtle, but it stuck with me.
What Is the Rest and Restore Protocol?
Created by Dr. Stephen Porges and audio innovator Anthony Gorry, the Rest and Restore Protocol uses sound designed to interact with your nervous system in a way that helps it settle into a more natural, steady rhythm.
This isn’t meditation.
It’s not a sleep track.
It’s not about shutting your brain off or escaping your thoughts.
It’s about giving your body the signal that it’s safe to soften—and sometimes, to finally exhale.
And that changes everything.
The Science Behind It—In a Way That Makes Sense
Your nervous system has two primary modes: protection and connection.
When you're in protection, your body is doing what it needs to survive—ramping up with stress hormones or shutting down to conserve energy. When you're in connection, your body feels safe enough to respond appropriately—whether that's ramping up with energy for a workout or slowing down to quietly connect with another or read a book.
RRP was created to give your system a kind of reset—offering gentle support that helps your body find its own rhythm again and feel more at ease.
You just listen—and your body does the work.
Early Results and Promising Outcomes
In early research, people using RRP reported shifts in anxiety, sleep, mood, and how they experienced past trauma. For many, things felt a little easier—less tense, less restless, more settled.
Some clients even reported improvements in digestion and chronic pain. While more research is on the way, these outcomes reflect what many of us see in practice—greater ease in the body and more connection to self.
What Makes RRP Different
You’ve probably tried things to help yourself feel better—maybe with mixed results.
You might be meditating, breathing deeply, exercising, journaling, or going to therapy. All of these can be supportive. But sometimes they don’t reach the deeper layer—the part of your nervous system that’s still holding on.
RRP works differently:
This approach works from the body up—not by thinking your way into calm, but by creating the conditions where your body starts to feel calm on its own.
There’s no pressure to perform. You don’t have to achieve anything. Just listening is enough.
It supports your body’s natural rhythm. When you’re always on alert, your body can lose its sense of timing. RRP helps restore internal rhythms—so things like sleep, digestion, and emotional regulation feel more accessible.
It helps you tune into your body. Over time, overwhelm can muffle the body’s signals. You might not know you’re stressed until you snap. You might override tiredness or pain because you’ve had to. RRP helps you reconnect with those internal cues—not all at once, but gently, as your system becomes ready.
How I Combine RRP with Somatic Experiencing
In my practice, I often combine the Rest and Restore Protocol with Somatic Experiencing—a body-based approach to healing trauma and chronic stress. They work beautifully together.
RRP offers your nervous system rhythmic, nonverbal support through sound. Somatic Experiencing helps us gently track what’s happening inside and build the capacity to stay with it.
Together, they support:
Clearer body awareness without overwhelm
Stronger emotional regulation
The ability to notice needs sooner
A deepened trust in your internal experience
This combination often helps clients experience real, lasting shifts—not just temporary relief.
What You Might Notice with RRP
Every person’s experience is unique. But clients often describe:
Improved sleep quality
Enhanced emotional regulation
Reduced physical tension
Increased interoceptive awareness
One of the goals of RRP is to help your body find its natural rhythm again—the internal beat that gets thrown off when you’re always on alert.
You might notice:
You’re tired at the right times
Hunger signals make more sense
You’re more patient with people—and with yourself
You catch what you need before you hit the wall
You may also find yourself tuning in more easily—something called interoception, or the ability to feel what’s going on inside. That’s not about hyper-awareness. It’s about having a steady, trusting relationship with your body again.
Why This Matters for Overwhelm
When you’ve been carrying a lot for a long time, it’s easy to believe this is just how life feels.
That constant pressure to keep it together.
The ache in your body by 3 PM.
The shame about snapping or spacing out.
The tiredness that’s somehow not fixed by rest.
But that’s not the full story.
Those are signs that your system has been working hard to keep you safe—long past the point of needing to. Even if you’ve grown and coped and worked through so much, your nervous system might still be waiting for a new signal.
Even if you’re someone who figures things out and pushes through, your body might still be waiting for a different kind of support—the kind that doesn’t come from thinking harder, but from listening differently.
That’s what the Rest and Restore Protocol offers.
A way for your system to slowly, gently trust that it’s okay to shift gears.
What Makes the Rest and Restore Protocol Safe
Because RRP interacts directly with your nervous system, it's essential to use it under the guidance of a trained provider. This isn't background music or a wellness app; it's a structured protocol designed to work with patterns your body has been holding—sometimes for years.
In my practice, I require that anyone using RRP is also engaged in regular therapy sessions with me, where we integrate Somatic Experiencing to support and process the shifts that may arise.
That’s why I always include:
Thorough intake and tracking
Co-created pacing based on how your body responds
Support before, during, and after
You won’t be left on your own to figure it out.
This work is quiet—but it’s still relational. And you don’t have to go it alone.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need more pressure to rest.
You need your system to feel safe enough to allow rest.
That’s what the Rest and Restore Protocol supports—not by overriding your body, but by listening to it.
When overwhelm becomes a way of life, your body remembers.
But it can also remember something different.
If you’re curious about working together, you can learn more about my approach and schedule a consult at www.amyhagerstrom.com. I’d be honored to support you.