The Power of The Autonomic Nervous System
A significant portion of the population is grappling with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and autoimmune diseases. Also, there's a sharp increase in mental health issues like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and addiction. What could be the underlying cause of these alarming trends? As it turns out, the source can be linked back to trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), chronic stress, and resulting dysregulation of the nervous system.
Here is a great video explaining how the ANS works
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates many of our body's automatic functions including heartbeat, digestion, and body temperature. Beyond these, the ANS is crucial in managing our responses to stress and threats, essentially trying to keep us alive during really difficult times. It operates like a surveillance system, continuously scanning our environment to discern cues of safety or danger, and has three primary responses:
Safe State: Where we feel calm, relaxed, and connected to people around us.
Mobilized State: Triggered by perceived danger, this state increases our heart rate and breathing, releasing adrenaline and cortisol, preparing our bodies to either fight or flee.
Immobilized State: When the threat is overwhelming, and neither fight nor flight is viable, our body shuts down, reducing heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, while releasing endorphins to numb pain.
These states aren't just for survival; they're part of our everyday navigation through life's challenges and interactions. When functioning optimally, the ANS fluidly transitions between these states, allowing us to adapt and respond appropriately to various situations. For instance, during play, the ANS might blend the mobilized and safe states, or during intimate moments, combine the immobilized and safe states. This flexibility helps us manage stress and build resilience, enabling us to recover and move forward after negative experiences.
However, trauma and chronic stress can hinder the ANS's ability to operate healthily, causing it to get stuck in survival mode. This can make everyday situations like social gatherings or workplace meetings feel threatening. For those with a history of trauma, the ANS's detection system may malfunction, frequently signaling danger even in safe circumstances. It's akin to an overly sensitive alarm system that goes off without any real threat.
Living constantly in survival states can lead to debilitating conditions, and individuals might adopt maladaptive coping strategies such as substance use or other compulsive behaviors to find temporary relief. Recognizing the impact of trauma on the ANS is vital, as a wide spectrum of experiences can cause trauma, from shock traumas like accidents and assaults to developmental traumas involving chronic adversity and abuse during childhood.
Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences are significantly linked to long-term health problems and even reduced life expectancy. This points to a critical need for understanding how a dysregulated ANS can contribute to various chronic symptoms and conditions.
So, how do we address a dysregulated ANS? One effective approach is through "co-regulating" with others. Our ANS does not operate in isolation; it interacts with and mirrors the states of those around us. Being in the presence of calm, happy, and attuned individuals can significantly help in retraining our ANS to feel safe again.
In addition, there are emerging clinical therapies specifically designed to restore safety and regulation to the ANS. Activities that many find instinctively soothing, such as spending time in nature, practicing yoga, or dancing, also support better regulation and resilience of the ANS.
Understanding and healing from trauma is not just about individual recovery; it has profound implications for our collective social challenges. By working on healing past traumas and building healthy, regulated nervous systems, we can potentially break the cycles of dysfunction and contribute to creating a safer, more vibrant, and interconnected society.