How Do You Heal Your Nervous System?

Do you occasionally have anxiety or do you feel exhausted and irritable, but you don’t know why? Maybe it’s a sign of nervous system dysregulation.

If you’re looking to heal your nervous system to reduce anxiety and stress due to emotional trauma, there are a few ways to work through it. Rewiring the nervous system and the brain from past experiences may require self-awareness and therapy. Therapeutic methods include cognitive processing therapy, somatic experiencing therapy and talking therapy. Also, mindfulness, meditation, reducing stress, eating healthy, exercising and remembering your supplements may help calm your nervous system.

In order to heal your nervous system, we’ll go through what part of the brain controls the nervous system, signs of nervous system dysregulation and healing methods.

What Part Of The Brain Controls The Nervous System?

Have you ever had a frightening childhood experience that’s stuck with you even when you’ve grown into an adult?

Maybe you got lost in a crowded fair and it has left you feeling uncomfortable in crowded places. Or perhaps, you were bullied as a kid and now you’re hyper-aware of what other people think of you and you have a fear of doing anything wrong?

In situations where you feel threatened physically or mentally, your brain activates its fight and flight response. What’s more, is that it keeps a record of these responses and files them in your nervous system for later.

This is why as an adult, the sight of a crowded place or feeling judged by others might trigger you and your mind and heart start racing.

Your brain remembers the traumatic incidents and takes necessary precautions to prevent it from occurring again.

When you go through a traumatic or stressful experience, it triggers a series of physiological and psychological responses controlled by your brain and nervous system.

Your brain controls your nervous system through a complex network of neurons and communication pathways.

Your nervous system is divided into two main components:

The central nervous system (CNS), consisting of the brain and spinal cord

The peripheral nervous system (PNS), consisting of all the nerves outside of the CNS

Once your brain perceives a stressful situation, it sends a signal to activate the fight-or-flight response. Your Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is activated, which leads to the production of stress hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline. This increases your heart rate, blood pressure and respiration, which prepares your body for immediate action if needed.

At the same time, your hypothalamus sends out a signal which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Cortisol regulates various physiological responses such as metabolism, immune responses and inflammation.

Alongside these physiological responses, there are also cognitive and emotional responses. Stress impacts cognitive functions such as memory, attention and decision-making. Plus, it can trigger the amygdala, the region involved with emotional processing, to become hyperactive. This is why in stressful situations, you may experience intense feelings of fear and anxiety.

When you’re stuck in a stressful or traumatic situation, you feel overwhelmed by your emotions and might find it difficult to get out of that head space. However, with time, you may be able to heal your nervous system.

There are certain signs that indicate that the regular functioning of your nervous system is being disrupted, which we’ll cover next.

Signs Of A Dysregulated Nervous System

If you’re trying to heal your nervous system, it’s important to remember that emotional stress and trauma can disrupt the regular functioning of your stress response system.

Prolonged activation of the stress response can lead to dysregulation of stress hormone levels, which can impact your health negatively.

For instance, high levels of cortisol may lead you to feel irritable, hypervigilant and have a hard time regulating your emotions.

Research also suggests that emotional trauma and stress can result in structural and functional changes in the brain.

For instance, chronic stress and trauma can impact the production of new neurons in your hippocampus, the region in your brain inclined with memory and emotional regulation.

In addition, there’s research that suggests exposure to adversity and traumatic events can lead to shrinkage of the gray matter, which is the region in your brain responsible for emotions and self-control.

It may also disrupt the balance of your neurotransmitters, which are responsible for regulating mood and emotions. Trauma and stress can affect the level of serotonin, which is associated with mood regulation and dopamine, which is involved in the pleasure and response process.

Study suggests that these alterations in neurotransmitters may impact your mood and may contribute to symptoms of depression, anxiety and emotional dysregulation.

If you’re feeling more gloomy than usual and you’re feeling extra anxious, perhaps it’s a sign that your nervous system is overworking.

A dysregulated nervous system may also disrupt your regular sleep patterns. Hypervigilance caused by high levels of cortisol, along with constant feelings of anxiety and fear, can prevent your body from relaxing.

Plus, since your body is stuck in a fight-or-flight state, you may experience increased heart rate, rapid breathing and heightened alertness, all of which make it harder for you to sleep.

So, if you’re having a hard time falling asleep at night and are low in energy and generally tired during the day, it might be a sign your body needs a break.

Also, issues with your digestive system may be another sign of nervous system dysfunction. When your SNS is actuated, it diverts blood flow from non-essential functions like digestion, towards the muscles and organs that are needed to take immediate action if needed. As a result, digestion slows down or becomes less efficient.

Plus, stress can alter the balance of gut microbiota, which play a crucial role in digestion, nutrient absorption and general gut health.

As a consequence of this imbalance, you may experience bloating, gas and general discomfort in your gut.

As you can see, emotional trauma and stress can have quite an impact on your overall health. While recovering from emotional trauma is not as simple as recovering from a cold or flu, it’s not impossible.

How To Heal Your Nervous System From Trauma?

If you’re trying to heal your nervous system, you should be aware that you cannot heal from trauma overnight. It will require a conscious effort on your part to move your body and mind away from whatever has caused the trauma. It requires the right support and healing.

One way you can start the healing process is by undergoing therapy. There are various forms of therapy that connect the body and mind to help you process the trauma held in your body.

1. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT is one of the most common therapy methods for healing emotional trauma. It’s designed to help you identify and then challenge your irrational thoughts and fears related to the traumatic event. It also equips you with various techniques to counter or decrease emotional dysregulation.

2. Somatic Experiencing Therapy (SE)

Developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, the focus of SE is to restore balance to your nervous system by promoting your body’s natural capacity to self-regulate and heal.

It helps you recognize your trauma symptoms, use various resources to overcome them and revisit traumatic memories in a safe manner.

3. Talk Therapy

Talk therapy is an effective way of gaining insight into how trauma impacts various aspects of your life including your mental and physical health, relationships and general world view.

It gives you the space to untangle and process your thoughts, feelings and sensations that are linked to your trauma.

In addition, you can incorporate small changes in your daily life that allow your body and mind to relax. Yoga and meditation are one way of doing this. Not only does it help reduce and manage stress, but it also allows you to regulate your emotions.

It can help you develop a greater capacity to tolerate and navigate through intense emotions that come with nervous system trauma.

Plus, yoga and exercise can help regain hormonal balance in your body by reducing the level of cortisol. To maintain hormonal balance, I suggest you go through my FREE eBook, Kick Start to Hormonal Imbalance, where my step-by-step guide can help you shift towards a healthier lifestyle.

It might also help to learn about your hormone type. In my FREE Hormone Type Quiz, you can learn more about your hormone type and what’s the most effective way of trying to maintain hormonal balance.

Another way to calm your mind and cope with stress is through journaling. Research suggests that journaling helps develop a greater awareness of traumatic incidents and helps one cope with traumatic incidents.

It also helps to spend more time with your loved ones. A strong support system can serve as a buffer against stress according to research.

When you’re in a safe environment, whether it’s around friends or family, the levels of oxytocin in your body increase making you feel happier and reducing levels of stress.

If you’re generally in a positive headspace, it also becomes easier to heal. Focus on positive affirmations about yourself.

Spend some time in your own company. Try to sit with your own feelings, and think about why you’re feeling what you’re feeling. How can you make yourself feel better? Remember, self-awareness is the first step toward healing.