The Root + Response method is grounded in the understanding that nervous system symptoms do not appear randomly, nor do they persist because something is permanently broken. Drawing inspiration from Dr. Arthur Spielman’s 3P model (which focused on insomnia, but is broadly applicable to ALL symptoms stemming from a nervous system in overdrive), Root + Response views symptomatic recovery through three lenses: predisposing factors that create vulnerability, precipitating events that trigger symptoms, and perpetuating patterns that keep the nervous system stuck in a loop of fear and hypervigilance. Rather than obsessing over the original trigger or endlessly searching for the “singular cause” even after receiving medical clearance, this approach recognizes that true recovery happens when we interrupt what is perpetuating the cycle in the present moment.

Influenced by the amazing Claire Weekes’ work (Face, Accept, Float, Let Time Pass), Root + Response emphasizes acceptance over resistance and response over control. Symptoms are not treated as threats to eliminate, but as signals of a sensitized nervous system doing its best to protect. Healing does not come from forcing calm, suppressing symptoms, fighting them, fearing them, or chasing temporary comfort, but from learning how to meet discomfort without panic, urgency, or second fear (the fear of fear). Progress is measured not by symptom reduction alone, but by a changed relationship to sensation, thought, and uncertainty.

What makes Root + Response distinct is its focus on lived experience and practical application. It integrates nervous system science, behavioral change, and compassion-based organic exposure into everyday life, not as rigid rules, but as flexible responses. The method teaches people how to build capacity, tolerate emotion, and stay present even when symptoms flare. It replaces symptom monitoring with self-trust, and hyper-fixation with “imperfect” consistency. The goal is not to eliminate fear, but to stop organizing one’s life around it.

In short, we must commit to making life more important that symptoms, sensations, and fears, until our body believes we are safe.

To learn more about how our systems enter this highly symptomatic state, read my Ebook.