Our nervous system has a key role in our mental health and well-being. It is made of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. It is responsible for simple, everyday automatic actions like breathing and waking up. It is also responsible for more complex processes such as feeling emotions, thinking, and memory. The NS works by sending messages from parts of our brain to our body, and back to the brain telling it what to do. These messages are responsible for regulating our feelings, thoughts, memory, pleasure, pain, breathing, speaking, senses, balance, digestion, sweat production, aging and sleep. Phew! That was a mouthful.
The NS is the Rock of Gibraltar of life… controlling mental, emotional, and physical health. Research shows that mental illnesses result from problems in the communication between neurons in the brain (National Institute of Health). If you have endured trauma, prolonged stress, or suffer with anxiety, depression, dissociation, sleep disturbances, unresolved gastrointestinal issues, mood swings, addiction, impulsivity… then your NS may be dysregulated. A great way to find out is to see a therapist or psychologist and complete some assessments. Studies have recently found that many people are being misdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, and Autism due to their dysregulated nervous system.
The nervous system is made up of two systems: the sympathetic nervous system which prepares our body for stress by activating the fight or flight responses. The parasympathetic nervous system does the opposite by restoring our body to a calm and composed state. Often, our SNS is overworking and in overload, taking control of our lives making us irritable, angry, anxious, and unable to be present. This makes it very difficult for our PNS to do its job—rest and digest. There is a misconception that we must always be calm, cool, and collected to be healthy but that is not the case. Life is messy, shit happens! A regulated NS allows us to go back to calm AFTER being in the stress mode.
When our bodies are sympathetic dominant, we are always in a fight state, with increased cortisol (stress hormone). Veterans, individuals diagnosed with PTSD, first responders, abuse and trauma survivors typically function at this level, which is unhealthy and has long term effects on physical health. It is crucial after a stressful event for the parasympathetic system or the “brake pedal” to be activated to regulate your hormones back to normal and recover from stress. It is my clinical opinion that because stress, overworking, under resting are a normal part of our culture, our parasympathetic system is shot and dysregulated. However, often individuals who endured trauma go to the freeze state, making the parasympathetic system dominant which causes them to freeze, be emotionally unavailable, and unfocused. They survive by shutting down and disconnecting. Our nervous system will always choose familiar chaos over peace. Give yourself some grace.
There is good news… it is possible to heal our nervous system! Just like rocking a crying baby back to sleep, you can help get yourself back to a calm state. Of course, starting with seeing a therapist is ideal. They can help you find out what your triggers and stuck points are which will already start the process of healing your NS. Here is a list I have compiled with some of the best techniques for healing your nervous system. Remember, medications are also an option. They increase neurotransmitters in the brain like serotonin and dopamine, but I believe they work best with some natural remedies like these:
· Breathing exercises: square breathing, lion’s breath, or taking a breathwork class
· Meditation: it can look and feel different for everyone. Try a guided mediation or body scan.
· Movement: dance, practice yoga, play, have fun running.
· Weighted blankets: use it at night for sleep, or during work with it on your lap.
· Mindfulness & grounding: 5,4,3,2,1 technique, create something, be in nature, rock on a rocking chair or a hammock.
· Laugh: it activates the vagus nerve. Call a funny friend, watch a comedian, hang out with a kid and just fart! (in my house this stimulates lots of laugh).
· Get a massage: does not have to be a fancy expensive one, as your partner of a friend to help out.
· EFT tapping: try tapping all the points while repeating a positive affirmation or just simple cross your arms in a butterfly position and gently tap your chest one hand at a time.
· Cold plunge or cold shower: the relief is instantaneous!
Thank you for taking your time and reading this blog. If you learned anything new, please share it with someone :)
Pam
