Signs of Nervous System Dysregulation
Welcome back to the Nervous System Regulation series where we’re getting educated on why the nervous system matters and why focusing on regulation can support our mental health and overall wellbeing. Now that you understand how the nervous system is supposed to function (if you’re still a little fuzzy, go back and read Part 1), let’s get into what happens when the nervous system is dysregulated.
WHAT CAUSES THE NERVOUS SYSTEM TO BECOME DYSREGULATED?
Your nervous system shouldn’t be something you have to think about, in a perfect world it would be just fine regulating itself. But with the increase in modern stressors, your nervous system can become out of balance and needs a little help to seamlessly regulate again.
CAUSES OF NERVOUS SYSTEM DYSREGULATION
Trauma and/or abuse – especially during birth or childhood
Traumatic brain injury/concussions
Poor sleep quality
Substance misuse
Lack of movement and physical activity
Diet high in processed foods
Excessive screen time
You might be thinking that a lot of these are really common and sometimes hard to avoid. Is everyone just walking around with a dysregulated nervous system?! It certainly seems a lot harder in modern times to stay out of fight or flight mode. Like we talked about in Part 1, your nervous system is either activating your rest and digest or fight or flight branch. And you do want your fight or flight branch to be activated sometimes, especially when you need to quickly get to safety.
The problem is when that fight or flight response is always activated because you’ve exceeded your Zone of Tolerance. Your Zone of Tolerance is where your nervous system can comfortably process threats, and then return to homeostasis or baseline. You’re able to stay regulated and not get overwhelmed by the stressor.
When you are pushed too far out of your Window of Tolerance, for example by weeks of long to-do list, too much screen time, and lack of sleep, you can be pushed into an overactive or hyperarousal state. This is usually what people describe when they feel “stuck” in fight or flight mode and like they can’t relax even when they perceive nothing to be stressed about. You might find yourself bursting into tears or getting irrationally angry about dropping the milk and spilling it all over the kitchen, instead of just brushing it off as a minor inconvenience.
signs of an overactive nervous system:
Difficulty sleeping
Changes in appetite
Running to the bathroom
Oversensitive to noises and sounds
Muscle tension
Irritability
Feeling on edge
Anxiety, panic
Emotionally overwhelmed
For some people, being pushed out of their window of tolerance results in an underactive nervous system or hypoarousal. This is the “freeze” response, where your nervous system almost feels shut down.
signs of an underactive nervous system:
Sluggish
Low energy
Still tired after 10 hours of sleep
Depression
Can’t focus
Numb
Emotionally disconnected
When it comes to your nervous system, you’re looking for the perfect Goldilocks situation where you can stay in your Zone of Tolerance. Not too much stimulation and stress where your nervous system swings into becoming overactive and on edge or underactive and burnt out.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T TREAT A DYSREGULATED NERVOUS SYSTEM?
The nervous system affects way more than just your neurologic or mental health. If you remember our computer processing analogy from Part 1, your nervous system is the commander sending out pings to all your other organs telling them when to turn up or turn down. And when your lead commander is having an off day, the communication starts to break down and this is where you can start to see disease in the body.
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
When signals in the immune system become confused and the body is stuck in fight or flight mode, the immune system will believe it is under attack. When your immune system is launching an attack, it sends out signaling proteins called cytokines, telling your immune system to mount its defenses. These defenses are no joke and create a lot of inflammation in the process, which can lead to a group of conditions called autoimmune disorders. An autoimmune disease is when the body starts attacking its own healthy tissues, thinking it’s a foreign invader. In Crohn’s disease, the immune system attacks the intestines. In Hashimoto’s, it attacks the thyroid.
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Being under chronic stress can also impact the digestive system. The vagus nerve, the longest nerve in the body that runs from your brain down to your gut, directly influences your digestion. When your nervous system is dysregulated this can cause issues like intestinal permeability or leaky gut, where the lining of your gastrointestinal tract allows food particles into your bloodstream (aka where they are not supposed to go), creating inflammation in the body. This can lead to symptoms of gas, bloating, diarrhea, cramping, and food sensitivities.
THE HPA AXIS
The nervous system also impacts your hormones. The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis is the communication system between the hormonal glands that are responsible for regulating your hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone which play a role in metabolism, blood pressure, and mood to name a few.
Everyone’s window of tolerance is different, impacted by their environment and history, including past traumatic events. However, when someone is pushed for too long outside of their Zone of Tolerance and the nervous system is left in this prolonged state of stress and not treated, it can lead to these conditions over time.
CONDITIONS LIKE
Autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder (PANS/PANDAS)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Panic Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Fibromyalgia
Migraines
While each of these conditions requires personalized healing plans, nervous system regulation will be a key component of healing these conditions. From a root-cause approach, you can see how restoring proper function to the nervous system can then balance all the affected systems such as the digestive and immune systems - helping you work smarter, not harder.
So how exactly do you regulate your nervous system? Stay tuned for Part 3 for the best practices to strengthen your vagus nerve and heal a dysregulated nervous system.
If you are ready to get started with nervous system regulation today, book a free discovery call with Dr. Mel and take the first step towards healing.
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REFERENCES
Polyvagal Theory by Finley Smith
Corrigan F, Fisher J, Nutt D. Autonomic dysregulation and the Window of Tolerance model of the effects of complex emotional trauma. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2011;25(1):17-25. doi:10.1177/0269881109354930