03/25/2024
When your body feels threatened, it's programmed to prioritize survival over all else. Understanding this key aspect is crucial for recovery, especially if you are dealing with autoimmune conditions or post-traumatic stress.
Imagine this: your body is finely tuned to swiftly detect and respond to perceived threats, yet it is equally as important that your body knows how to then calm down thereafter and bring you back into a rest-and-digest state. Don’t think of this as ups and downs, but a nice calm wave shifting back and forth depending on our day.
But when this response is activated chronically, it can wreak havoc on our health and well-being. It can cause symptoms like chronic fatigue, digestive issues, exercise intolerance, food sensitivities, and so much more!
That's because when your body is in survival mode, it's not in healing mode. Your body's resources are diverted away from essential functions like digestion, immune function, and tissue repair, and instead directed towards making sure you are safe.
How does this become activated chronically? Unfortunately the brain can’t decipher from what is a real or a perceived threat, it just senses THREAT - this gives you the same response while public speaking as you would have running away from a bear. If your body continues to perceive your environment as threat after threat, you can become chronically favoring a sympathetic state over time.
It’s important to note that this is not just mental stress. We can feel completely calm mentally, yet our physical bodies can still be experiencing a state of chronic stress due to things like diet, environmental toxins, infections, etc.
So, if your body feels perpetually locked in fight or flight mode, how can you shift gears and activate your body's inborn healing mechanisms?
First off, it’s not something we do overnight. You can’t just say “oh, Im not stressed anymore!” What you can try are different methods to help support the parasympathetic nervous system:
-diaphragmatic breathing
-transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation
-warm compresses on your belly
-meditation or mindfulness practices
-a healthful diet
-eliminating toxins from the body
-functional neurology care
