What is Dysregulating Your Nervous System?

 

Information you need to know to Heal Your Chronic Pain and Symptoms


By Tanner Murtagh, MSW, RSW

Chronic dysregulation of the nervous system is when you get stuck in the states fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown for prolonged periods of time1. When prolonged dysregulation occurs, your nervous system can then become sensitized, meaning it begins to generate chronic pain and/or symptoms.

A healthy nervous system is a flexible system that shifts with ease between different states1. This doesn’t mean you will always feel calm or relaxed, but instead, you are able to flexibly shift with ease out of states of fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown. Our therapeutic approach with clients supports them in becoming more regulated and flexible, and in our experience, this can support the reduction or complete dissipation of chronic pain and symptoms.

An essential step in regulating the nervous system is first understanding the factors that are causing you to become dysregulated. These factors could include but are not limited to:

  • Trauma1, 2
  • Childhood adversity3
  • Chronic stress3
  • Burnout4
  • Social isolation5
  • Perfectionism6
  • Suppressing difficult emotions7
  • Poor sleep8
  • Lack of exercise9
  • Poor diet10
  • Premature birth11, 12
  • Dangerous and oppressive social factors13, 14, 15

It is important to reflect on if you relate to any of these factors as understanding what factors are dysregulating you can support you in knowing where you need to focus your healing work. Remember this can support you in eliminating your chronic pain or symptoms.

Our therapists are trained in assessing a client in what factors are dysregulating them early on in treatment and a unique treatment plan is then developed based on this.


If you are ready to begin regulating your nervous system and reduce your chronic pain and symptoms, book in for a free 20-minute consultation with one of our therapists.

1.     Dana, D. (2018). The polyvagal theory in therapy: Engaging the rhythm of regulation. W W Norton & Co.

2.     Schneider, M., & Schwerdtfeger, A. (2020). Autonomic dysfunction in posttraumatic stress disorder indexed by heart rate variability: a meta-analysis. Psychological medicine, 50(12), 1937–1948. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172000207X

3.     Elbers, J., Jaradeh, S., Yeh, A. M., & Golianu, B. (2018). Wired for Threat: Clinical Features of Nervous System Dysregulation in 80 Children. Pediatric neurology, 89, 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2018.07.007

4.     Kanthak, M. K., Stalder, T., Hill, L. K., Thayer, J. F., Penz, M., & Kirschbaum, C. (2017). Autonomic dysregulation in burnout and depression: evidence for the central role of exhaustion. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 43(5), 475–484. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3647

5.     Grippo, A. J., Lamb, D. G., Carter, C. S., & Porges, S. W. (2007). Social isolation disrupts autonomic regulation of the heart and influences negative affective behaviors. Biological psychiatry, 62(10), 1162–1170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.04.011

6.     Afshar, H., Roohafza, H., Sadeghi, M., Saadaty, A., Salehi, M., Motamedi, M., Matinpour, M., Isfahani, H. N., & Asadollahi, G. (2011). Positive and negative perfectionism and their relationship with anxiety and depression in Iranian school students. Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 16(1), 79–86.

7.     Patel, Jainish & Patel, Prittesh. (2019). Consequences of Repression of Emotion: Physical Health, Mental Health and General Well Being. International Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research. 1. 16-21. 10.14302/issn.2574-612X.ijpr-18-2564.

8.     Hirotsu, C., Tufik, S., & Andersen, M. L. (2015). Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions. Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 8(3), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.slsci.2015.09.002

9.     Schuch, F. B., & Vancampfort, D. (2021). Physical activity, exercise, and mental disorders: it is time to move on. Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy, 43(3), 177–184. https://doi.org/10.47626/2237-6089-2021-0237

10.  Kris-Etherton, P. M., Petersen, K. S., Hibbeln, J. R., Hurley, D., Kolick, V., Peoples, S., Rodriguez, N., & Woodward-Lopez, G. (2021). Nutrition and behavioral health disorders: depression and anxiety. Nutrition reviews, 79(3), 247–260. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaa025

11.  Mulkey, S. B., & du Plessis, A. J. (2019). Autonomic nervous system development and its impact on neuropsychiatric outcome. Pediatric research, 85(2), 120–126. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-018-0155-0

12.  Pyhälä, R., Wolford, E., Kautiainen, H., Andersson, S., Bartmann, P., Baumann, N., Brubakk, A. M., Evensen, K. A. I., Hovi, P., Kajantie, E., Lahti, M., Van Lieshout, R. J., Saigal, S., Schmidt, L. A., Indredavik, M. S., Wolke, D., & Räikkönen, K. (2017). Self-Reported Mental Health Problems Among Adults Born Preterm: A Meta-analysis. Pediatrics, 139(4), e20162690. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2690

13.  Goosby, B. J., Cheadle, J. E., & Mitchell, C. (2018). Stress-Related Biosocial Mechanisms of Discrimination and African American Health Inequities. Annual review of sociology, 44(1), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053403

14.  Brandt, L., Liu, S., Heim, C., & Heinz, A. (2022). The effects of social isolation stress and discrimination on mental health. Translational psychiatry, 12(1), 398. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-02178-4

15.  Caldwell, J. A., Borsa, A., Rogers, B. A., Roemerman, R., & Wright, E. R. (2023). Outness, Discrimination, and Psychological Distress Among LGBTQ+ People Living in the Southern United States. LGBT health, 10(3), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2021.0295

 

Tanner Murtagh