Here’s the truth: you can’t heal in a stressed state. When your nervous system is on overdrive, the body prioritizes survival over wellness.
Here’s the truth: you can’t heal in a stressed state. When your nervous system is on overdrive, the body prioritizes survival over wellness.
Nervous system regulation is an often-overlooked piece of the healing puzzle, but it is essential. You can eat the perfect diet, take all the supplements, exercise consistently, and follow your functional medicine protocol to the T, but if you’re not regulating the nervous system, you’re missing out on healing potential.
Today’s article will dive into how to regulate the nervous system, but first, what is the nervous system? Keep reading as we explore:
Think of the nervous system as the body’s control center, composed of all the nerve cells (neurons) in the body. It takes in information about the world through the senses, processes that information, and responds. For example, if you touch a hot stove, the body reflexively pulls back, and neurons send pain signals to the brain.
The central nervous system (CNS) includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of all other nerves in the body. A subset of the PNS is the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls all the involuntary actions of the body, such as breathing and metabolism.
The autonomic nervous system has two branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system fires up under stress; it’s the “fight or flight” response. The parasympathetic branch is more of a calm nervous system, promoting rest, digestion, and relaxation.
Regulating the nervous system requires a balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic states.
“Regulate nervous system” is a bit of a buzzword. It doesn’t mean you are void of emotion and stay calm and even keel all the time. However, it does require allowing your emotions and stress to move through you, then reestablishing a balanced baseline afterwards.
The nervous system becomes dysregulated when it doesn’t reestablish homeostasis after a trigger. The most common pattern is chronic stress. In our busy, modern world, you may juggle multiple responsibilities and constantly feel overwhelmed and overstimulated. If you relate, this might mean your nervous system is stuck in the sympathetic, “fight or flight” mode and needs more parasympathetic stimulation to regulate.
Dysregulation can feel like:
Whether you are on a weight loss journey, experiencing hormone imbalances, or have been diagnosed with a chronic disease, a regulated nervous system will help you on your path. It’s an essential piece of the puzzle. Since stress drives weight gain and disease, a nervous system reset helps to address this root cause.
In simple terms, healing happens in a parasympathetic state. When the nervous system is constantly in a sympathetic state, it doesn’t have the resources to divert to healing, especially long-term healing. A calm nervous system is required.
While chronic stress and sympathetic overactivation are likely the most common patterns of dysregulation, it’s possible to experience other patterns. For example, some people are stuck in “freeze” and may need more stimulating, rather than calming, nervous system strategies.
Here are some general ways to regulate the nervous system for everyone:
Nervous system regulation often isn’t a quick fix. It takes time, multiple strategies, and support. Likely, you’ll never reach a perfectly regulated state, and the tools you gather will inform an ongoing self-care practice.
When your nervous system is chronically stressed, it can’t return to homeostasis from a stressful event because everything is stressful and there is no letting up. In this case, understanding how to calm your nervous system.
It isn’t just about relaxation but also activating the parasympathetic response. Sitting on the couch watching TV doesn’t have the same benefits and these strategies:
If you are implementing all the functional medicine tools, but not moving the needle on your health, nervous system regulation might be the missing piece in your healing work. Understanding this connection and ways to regulate your nervous system may be the next step.
If you are implementing all the functional medicine tools, but not moving the needle on your health, nervous system regulation might be the missing piece in your healing work.
At The Fork, we take a comprehensive look at your health and care plan, utilizing all the tools at our disposal, including calming, regulating, and restorative lifestyle strategies.
References
The Fork Functional Medicine
200 9th Ave S.
Franklin, TN 37064
Phone: (615) 721-8008
Fax: (615) 237-8331
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