Noticing Glimmers: Small Moments That Support Nervous System Regulation
As a therapist, I often hear my clients — especially the high-achieving ones — question whether anything is actually better or different since starting therapy. My response is usually to slow down and explore what might be different in small, subtle, and often overlooked ways.
Progress doesn’t always announce itself. It rarely looks dramatic. More often, it shows up quietly — in moments that are easy to dismiss or rush past.
And that’s where glimmers come in.
What Are Glimmers?
The term glimmers was coined by Deb Dana, a clinician known for her work translating polyvagal theory into everyday language. Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. Instead of cues that signal danger to the nervous system, glimmers are small cues of safety — brief experiences that help your body register that you are okay.
They’re often subtle.
The warmth of sunlight on your face.
A deeper breath.
A moment of genuine laughter.
A conversation that feels slightly easier than it used to.
The quiet relief of finishing something that once felt overwhelming.
None of these moments erase stress. But they do signal safety and connection to the nervous system — even if only for a few seconds.
And those seconds matter.
Why Glimmers Support Nervous System Regulation
Our nervous systems are constantly scanning for cues of safety or threat. If you’ve lived with chronic stress, high expectations, or unpredictability, your system may have become especially attuned to what’s wrong or what could go wrong.
That doesn’t make you negative. It makes you adaptive.
But when the system is biased toward threat detection, it can overlook moments of steadiness. Glimmers gently widen that lens.
When you intentionally notice a moment of ease, neutrality, or connection, you allow your nervous system to register that safety exists alongside stress. Over time, this builds regulation capacity — not by forcing calm, but by increasing your tolerance for it.
When It’s Hard to See Growth
For high-achieving or high-functioning clients, progress can feel intangible. There may not be a dramatic shift. Life may still be demanding. Stressors may still exist.
But maybe:
You paused before reacting.
You set a boundary you normally wouldn’t.
You recovered from a hard day a little faster.
You noticed your anxiety without spiraling.
These are glimmers too.
Emotional resilience is rarely built through grand transformations. It’s built through accumulated micro-experiences of safety, choice, and flexibility.
Cultivating Glimmers in Daily Life
You don’t have to manufacture glimmers. You practice noticing them.
You might ask yourself:
Was there a moment today that felt even slightly grounding?
Did anything feel neutral instead of tense?
Was there a small moment of connection, relief, or steadiness?
When you find one, pause. Stay with it for a few breaths. Let your body register the experience instead of immediately moving on.
This is not forced positivity. It’s nervous system literacy.
Over time, this practice can increase emotional resilience and expand your capacity to experience steadiness without dismissing it.
Glimmers and Somatic Therapy
In somatic therapy, we work directly with nervous system patterns — including both triggers and glimmers. By tracking cues of safety in the body and environment, we strengthen regulation and flexibility.
The goal isn’t to eliminate stress. It’s to help your system move more fluidly between activation and ease, rather than getting stuck in vigilance or shutdown.
If you’d like to learn more about how I integrate nervous system work into therapy, you can read more about my approach to somatic therapy here.
Even when change feels hard to see, glimmers remind us that something is shifting — quietly, steadily, and often more than we realize.