Hi Ailish,
way to go! :-D You could climb up from dorsal over sympathetic to ventral vagal!
The good thing is, you recognize that it was the learning environment which didn't fit you back then, and the helplessness "that's just as it is".
You made different experiences in your life when you could take care of your needs when learning. 
You don't have to understand everything immediately. I'm grateful for every question, so I see where we haven't yet succeeded in making it clear and usable.
We'll talk more about all different brain layers and themes and typical organ reactions, and bringing them to life. 
It's really about allowing us to express how we feel about something, that enables us to recognize where this feeling comes from - often from the past, not from the present! Then we can begin to change. Well done!