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DiscussionFeels like my autonomic system is on high all the time.
Brain & Nervous System | Last Active: Sep 6, 2023 | Replies (21)Comment receiving replies
I just joined this site to get advice, not give it, but I may have some ideas that can help. I'll try to be careful to separate facts from guesswork. I'm a layperson, so almost everything here is guesswork, but based on logging inputs and outputs.
I have a misfiring automotic nervous system (ANS). I don't know why and I don't think how it came about is important to trying to fix it. The ANS comprises two nervous systems: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The former is fight-or-flee (FOF), which is a stimulated state, and the latter is rest-and-relax (RAR), which is a relaxed state.
The PNS travels from the brain (I think the hypothalamus) down the vagus nerve (and maybe up again for all I know), from where branches take it through the body. Where the branches end, neurotransmitters go the rest of the way to receptors. Substances that enhance the capacity of the receptors to receive the neurotransmitters are agonists, and substances that impede the capacity of the receptors to receive the neurotransmitters are antagonists. The SNS travels a different main nerve, whose name escapes me.
Unlike most people, incl you, I'm over relaxed, and I'm not complaining! Much. An overactive PNS contributes to rare hypotensive episodes, reduced or no sweating, and other systems out of whack. The internet is replete with info about overactive SNS and the systems that it affects.
I have identified tricks, treats, and settings that activate the PNS, which I sometimes do, or the SNS, which I do when needed. They work for me, and I'll share them. You need to find the same that work for you.
Tricks are easy things I can do to activate my SNS, at least briefly. Google terms for explanations. Valsalva method for hypotensive episode from change of posture or related to strenuous exercise. Cold-water immersion, preferably of entire body (was the water in which you snorkeled cold?), but a hand in ice, to try to activate sweating. A trick to activate the PNS is square breathing or humming--weird, I know, but like a mystic sounding "Ommm" for a minute or two.
A treat is food or beverage. PMS activators include whole milk, tart cherry juice (no sugar added), most nuts, and foods/beverages high in magnesium. SNS activators include dark chocolate and coffee, tho the former's effect is offset by its magnesium. Check out theobromide and theophylline--former in chocolate, esp dark, and latter in coffee. I'm sometimes hyper-sensitized to them when, I suspect, my homeostasis is off.
Settings are crucial. I sit in an uncomfortable metal rocking chair, not my comfy leather chair, to stimulate me out of an over-relaxed state. You might do the reverse. I never watch tv or entertainment videos, incl movies unless I know that they are over-excitatory. You should do the same. No news, no sports, no hype, and, while you're at it, avoid hyped-up friends--you know who they are. I surround myself with lots of large dogs. I cycle through the woods. Do more sensory processing, less conceptual processing.
Remember, it's all guesswork or as a clinician would say, rule-out hypotheses. Good luck. And, notwithstanding the above, I'd recommend that you stick to reliable sources on the internet. Mayo and Cleveland clinic sites, Johns Hopkins. I'm ok with Healthline, sfgate/Livestrong, and a few others like that. NIH abstracts or complete articles are great, if you can understand them. Science Direct is the same. The more anecdotal, LIKE MINE, the less reliable. Sometimes I do a routine Google search, but I limit the timeframe to the last yr or mo--it's amazing the new material I'll find. And log, log, log. Try to figure out if misfiring symptoms are linked. I doubt my digestive/motility system is on the same neural as my sweat, spit, snot, dry eye, and ear wax, but I have no idea how many lines serve these systems--5, 1, somewhere in between??? But do one trick, treat or setting change at a time, AND LOG YOUR REACTION. You'll likely learn a lot about what works for and against you!
Peace.
Replies to "I just joined this site to get advice, not give it, but I may have some..."
Hello @tallyguy, welcome to Connect. Thank you for sharing your well detailed, thought out tips and tricks for living with autonomic misfires. I know that your info is bound to help someone.
Fight or flight is what my body does too, from a hypersensitivity perspective. Almost like a loud speaker. I feel things stronger, hear things louder, see things brighter...it takes less to hurt, the hurt lasts longer and not as much helps the hurt. It sure can make a person feel a little crazy without fully understand it and learning how to work with it.
What a journey your mind has been on for some time now, huh? Trying to figure out the "why behind the what" can be quite consuming to oneself. And for us Type A personalities, it can be all the more challenging!
You, and perhaps @marsheng might be interested in watching the following video from Mayo Clinic's Dr. Christopher Sletten. He presents on Central Sensitization Syndrome and offers up a pretty good science lesson. Take a peak...
- https://youtu.be/vJNhdnSK3WQ
I hope the video resonates with you. Do you mind sharing if so, and in what way? Can't wait to hear your feedback. Have a peaceful evening.