Nervous System Dysregulation Explained and What to Do About It

Nervous system dysregulation refers to an imbalance in the way the nervous system functions, impacting the body's ability to respond appropriately to stress and stimuli. This condition often arises when there is excessive activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which governs the "fight or flight" response, or insufficient activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation. Individuals experiencing nervous system dysregulation may suffer from chronic anxiety, heightened sensitivity to stress, and difficulty managing emotions.

Other symptoms of nervous system dysregulation are feeling constantly on edge or shut down, digestive issues, especially IBS that gets worse with stress, chronic pain or inflammation, rapid heartbeat, difficulty calming down, chronic anxiety, brain fog, mood swings, emotional numbness, and hypersensitivity to light, sound, touch, or smell. 

When patients come into the office with any of these symptoms, I am instantly muscle testing the nervous system to figure out if the dysregulation is due to the brain, the gut, or the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). The autonomic nervous system has two branches: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system activates your stress response, including increasing your heart rate, blood pressure, mental alertness, energy release, and sweat glands. Your parasympathetic nervous system is in charge of breathing, digestion, and relaxation.

You especially need your parasympathetic nervous system turned on when eating and going to bed. When you are dysregulated, the nervous system is either stuck in sympathetic or parasympathetic and does not switch between the two like it should. When the sympathetic nervous system stays on, you have anxiety, insomnia, and irritability. When you are stuck in parasympathetic, you feel frozen, shut down, numb, detached, fatigued, or depressed. You may also not be stuck in parasympathetic or sympathetic, but bounce rapidly between the two and not feel stable. 

Why Would the Nervous System be Dysregulated?

The nervous system would get to this point of dysregulation if it were under a lot of stress or under a small amount of stress for a long period of time, called chronic stress. It can be so low-grade and so chronic that you may not even be aware of it. In muscle testing, I can see if the nervous system dysregulation is due to stress, and yet the patient doesn't feel stress. It's because they have gotten so used to it that it does not register to them as stress but as their normal. 

Sometimes there is no current stress, but if the patient's childhood was stressful, then their nervous system did not develop with good stability, as it should have.

Trauma can lead to nervous system dysregulation, including emotional trauma, leading to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also, physical trauma such as a bad fall, whiplash, or a concussion can also cause nervous system dysregulation even years after the trauma. The nervous system has a way of staying stuck in the trauma unless it is worked on and healed. 

Any chronic illness can lead to nervous system dysregulation due to the inflammation it creates. Inflammation is the natural response to injury or infection, but in chronic illness, the response becomes dysregulated, contributing to further symptoms, including dysregulation of the nervous system. The most common chronic illnesses I see that cause nervous system dysregulation are:

• Lyme's Disease
• Epstein Barr Virus
• Post-COVID
• Inflammation can be from neurotoxins such as
• Heavy Metal Toxicity
• Detoxing Mercury

Where the Nervous System is Dysregulated

The nervous system can be dysregulated in 3 different areas: the HPA axis, the brain, or the gut. When the brain wants to communicate with the body, it communicates through the hypothalamus gland. The hypothalamus gland, once stimulated by the brain, secretes hormones to the pituitary gland. Both of these glands are in the brain. Depending on what hormone the hypothalamus secretes, the pituitary gland will then secrete hormones to the adrenals, thyroid, or sex organs. Adrenals are in charge of the adrenaline output for a stress reaction and cortisol for the sleep/wake cycle. So when there is stress of any kind, this hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal communication is happening. We call this the HPA axis, and sometimes it's hard to shut off and will run on automatic because the body is so used to stress. 

The dysregulation may not be in the HPA axis but in the brain itself. I specifically look at ways to support the amygdala, which is the brain's threat detector that can become overactive, causing the fight, flight, or freeze reaction even when there is no actual danger. I also look at how to turn on the prefrontal cortex that helps you calm down, make decisions, and assess safety. During nervous system dysregulation, it can become underactive. When this happens, logic cannot override panic or fear. 

To help the brain regulate, we have a specific brain kit with magnets that we use. We muscle test which part of the brain is affected and use magnets to depolarize the nervous system. It's the best brain reset I know! We all need brain resets after a stressful period. We test 60 different parts of the brain and nervous system using magnets. In this way, the brain communicates better through the nerves. With better communication and brain control, the body's ability to heal itself is back on track. The brain is able to respond to the magnets because of its ability to make new nerve connections. We call this neuroplasticity, the ability for the body to make new neural pathways due to a stimulus, which is usually because you are learning something through your experience or environment. Frequently used connections become stronger and more efficient, while connections that are rarely used may weaken or even disappear. 

The brain's communication relies heavily on neurotransmitters to communicate through the nerves. It needs the right level of dopamine, serotonin, GABA, glutamate, and endorphins for you to feel good, focus, and sleep well. 

The gut also makes neurotransmitters to communicate with the brain. I call the gut the second brain. About 90% of your serotonin is made in the gut. In the gut, it regulates digestion, gut movement, and immune response. Dopamine and GABA are also made in the gut and help regulate digestion by calming your body down. In order for the gut to make the neurotransmitters, you need a healthy gut flora with the right type of good bacteria and no infections. Many times, to help with nervous system dysregulation, we are helping patients kill parasites, candida, and mold infections.

Holistic Treatment for What Nervous System Dysregulation

Besides helping your gut heal by killing infections, detoxing you of heavy metals, or using the brain kit, you can help your nervous system by stimulating the parasympathetic nerves with breath work, gentle exercise like walking or yoga, grounding, humming or singing, and meditation. You would want to wake up with no rush, relaxing in bed for 5-10 minutes before getting up. If you are stuck, numb, or depressed, you will want to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system with exercise, especially high-intensity exercise, cold plunges, and caffeine. A daily spiritual practice is also beneficial for training your mind and heart to rely on something greater than itself. This brings comfort when the brain and nervous system are not reliable. With comfort, there is less stress, which is important for faster healing; otherwise, the stress can cause more nervous system dysregulation. 

If you think your nervous system dysregulation is due to trauma, then chiropractic care can help get muscles and joints back in place after a fall. If you think it's due to emotional trauma and PTSD, we have an emotional release technique that uses magnets to get emotions out of the organs that are stuck there. When emotions are stuck in the body, the nerves keep firing as if the trauma is still happening. This technique is good for anyone who knows they are overreacting to a situation.

Good sleep is always good for a nervous system reset. For the nervous system to reset during sleep, it is important to go to bed and be asleep before 11 pm. A digital detox is important before bed. No electronics 30-60 minutes before bed, including television, to give your nervous system a break as it goes into parasympathetic mode to sleep. If you have a poor HRV score for sleep, it's because you need to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. To not overstimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, it's best not to eat 2 hours before bed. 

If you eat before bed and don't give the body time to digest, you are asking your parasympathetic nervous system to do two things at once, and there will be too much energy going into digesting, so sleep will not be as good. If sleep is not great, you can feel the nervous system dysregulation even more. We tend to be more irritable, more anxious, more depressed, or even have more brain fog when we don't sleep well. The feeling of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, to me, is another way of saying my nervous system is dysregulated. So a good night's sleep is helpful on many levels to get the nervous system to regulate. 

No matter how you feel, know that there is hope to support your body, brain, and nervous system naturally with the right nutrition, detox, and tools to live a happier, healthier life.