How to Activate the Vagus Nerve

How to Activate the Vagus Nerve

by | Apr 17, 2022 | Grounding Exercises, Trauma, Vagus Nerve

The Vagus Nerve is one of the cranial nerves that connects the brain to the body. It represents a main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which oversees an array of crucial bodily functions, including our mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. A stimulated vagus nerve can produce powerful health benefits, making it an attractive target in treating psychiatric and gastrointestinal disorders.

How to Activate the Vagus Nerve

Belly breathing. One of the main ways to stimulate the vagus nerve is through deep, slow belly breathing. The moment we anticipate stress in any form, most of us stop breathing and hold our breath. This activates the fight-flight-freeze response; which often also increases pain, stiffness, anxiety, or fear. To practice deep breathing, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Breathe slowly (aim for six breaths per minute) and deeply, from the belly. The exhale triggers the relaxation response, so also aim to exhale longer than you inhale.

‘OM’ chanting. Effective ‘OM’ chanting is associated with the experience of a vibration sensation around the ears and throughout the body. It’s expected that this sensation is also transmitted through the auricular branch of the vagus nerve, which supplies sensory stimulation to the skin of the ear canal, tragus, and auricle. To chant, hold the vowel (O) part of the ‘OM’ for 5 seconds then continue into the consonant (M) part for the next 10 seconds. Continue chanting for 10 minutes. Conclude with some deep breathing and end with gratitude.

Cold water face immersion. Cold water face immersion can be a simple and efficient means of immediately accelerating the parasympathetic reactivation via the vagus nerve. In other words, it helps to reduce the heart rate, motility of the intestines, and turns on the immune system. Remained seated and bend your head forward into a basin of
cold water. Immerse your face so that the forehead, eyes, and at least two-thirds of both cheeks are submerged. Hold your breath for as long as you can, then come up, exhale, inhale and dunk again. Repeat as many times as you need to until you calmer. The most the average person should need to dunk their head is 4 times in one session. *NOTE: Do NOT try this technique if you have a heart condition.

Increased salivation. To stimulate salivation, try relaxing and reclining in a chair and imagine a juicy lemon. As your mouth fills with saliva, just rest your tongue in this bath. Relax and notice your hands, feet, hips, neck and head all relaxing. Breathe deeply into this feeling and stay there as long as you can. If you are having trouble producing saliva, you can also fill your mouth with a small amount of warm water and rest your tongue in this bath. The simple practice of relaxing will actually stimulate the secretion of saliva.

Sing, hum, or gargle loudly. The vagus nerve is connected to our vocal cords and the muscles in the back of our throats. Singing, humming, chanting and gargling can activate these muscles and stimulate the vagus nerve.

Foot massage. When gentle or firm massage is applied to the feet, it can stimulate the vagus nerve and, in turn, stimulate all the organs of the body promoting a sense of wellbeing.

Laugh. A good laugh can lift your mood, boost your immune system and – you guessed it! – stimulate the vagus nerve.

We can help!

Our bodies have a natural ability to heal. Our entire team at Sustainable Wellness is trained in trauma-focused modalities, including techniques that assist with supporting the vagus nerve. We are passionate about helping our clients build insights and heal from the root.  Contact us at hello@sustainablewellnessny.com or 585-206-2631 to begin your healing journey.

The Nervous System’s Role in Trauma

The Nervous System’s Role in Trauma

by | Feb 25, 2022 | Grounding Exercises, Trauma, Vagus Nerve

The nervous system controls every function in our bodies and is the direct pathway to one of our most important organs: the brain. Nerves that branch off the spinal cord relay information between the brain and body, allowing us to self-regulate and function in our daily lives.

The nervous system is made up of three major parts:

  • Central Nervous System. Consists of the brain and spinal cord.
  • Peripheral Nervous System. Includes the head and spinal nerves.
  • Autonomic Nervous System. Includes both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which control proper function of organs and involuntary movement (ie. heartbeat, breathing, reflexes, digestion and healing.

The Regulated Nervous System

On any given day, our nervous systems experience a combination of both stress and calming responses. Perhaps you recently rushed to get somewhere (stress) and then relaxed when you arrived on time (calm). Or, maybe you slammed on the brakes to protect yourself while driving (stress) only to return to a calmer state after avoiding a crash.

When we can regulate ourselves by shifting between these states of stress and calm, we’re within what Dr. Dan Seigel calls our “window of tolerance.” When people are within their window of tolerance, they’re within a zone that allows them to receive, process, and integrate information and otherwise respond to the demands of everyday life without much difficulty.

The Impact of Trauma on the Nervous System

Trauma pushes the nervous system beyond its ability to self-regulate, making it incredibly difficult for someone to stay within the window of tolerance. For many, this activate nervous system gets stuck “on.” When a system is overstimulated like this, it stays in fight-flight mode, often leading to experiences of anxiety, panic, anger, hyperactivity, and restlessness. This fight-flight response is the body doing what it knows how to do: get ready to move and protect from threat.

Some nervous systems will stay activated in this state of hyperarousal, while others will dip below the window of tolerance and become stuck “off” – or freeze mode. In this state, we see symptoms of depression, fatigue, dissociation, disconnection, “zoning out,” and lethargy. 

Our nervous systems can get stuck in states of hyperarousal and hypoarousal for prolonged periods of time, or they can vacillate between the two.

How to Self-Regulate the Nervous System

When we learn to work with our nervous systems, we build our ability to self-regulate and even build a wider window of tolerance, which allows us to move through the world feeling more grounded and connected to others.

Below are some healthy ways to help our nervous systems stay in – or more easily return to – the window of tolerance:

 

  • Seek safe relationships. Being with someone who feels safe and soothing helps us feel more settled and connected. Humans are social creatures, and we heal through relationships. While you don’t need to be around people all the time, if you find yourself isolating or pulling away, seek out people who feel supportive.
  • Find a trained trauma therapist. Finding a therapist who you trust and is also skilled in understanding the relationship between trauma and the body can help you better understand and connect with your nervous system.
  • Recognize your own window of tolerance. If you are someone who identifies with any of the above-mentioned symptoms of hyperarousal or hypoarousal, you are probably living outside your window of tolerance. Start building awareness to how you feel at different times of the day, around certain people, and while doing certain activities. Notice whether you’re more anxious, more shut down, or more calm. All of this can help you build awareness to your body’s shifts.
  • Activate your Vagus Nerve. The vagus nerve represents the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which oversees a vast array of crucial bodily functions, including control of mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. Use these strategies to help support your vagus nerve.
  • Learn what calm looks like for you. It’s important to recognize whether your system needs to be soothed or stimulated – and if these needs occur at different times. For some, calm may look like being alone and staying still, while others may find peace in light movement like walking or yoga. Explore what works best for you.
  • Get in tune with your body. When you’re feeling stressed, take a moment to notice how you feel physically. Where do you feel the stress in your body? What does it feel like? Let yourself fully experience this for as long as you can. If you start to feel overwhelmed by focusing on the distress directly, focus on a small part of the stress instead.  
  • Practice mindful breathing. Simply put, breathing has the capacity to calm the brain and regulate the nervous system. Trauma responses are connected to the brain stem (which helps us with physiological regulation) and the limbic (emotional) brain. Mindful breathing helps connect a basic physiological process (breathing) with your prefrontal cortex (thinking brain), which helps to integrate and shift our neurological state. 

We Can Help!

Our bodies have a natural ability to heal. Our entire team at Sustainable Wellness is trained in trauma-focused modalities, including techniques to help calm the nervous system. We are passionate about helping our clients build insights and heal from the root.. Contact us at hello@sustainablewellnessny.com or 585-206-2631 to begin your healing journey.

The 101 on Trauma

The 101 on Trauma

by | Sep 1, 2021 | EMDR therapy, Trauma

Trauma is an emotional response to experiencing or witnessing a severely distressing event, or series of events. In short, trauma is what happens when our system becomes overloaded.

Our brains and nervous systems are built to automatically protect us and help us survive. This automatic reaction is called the fight, flight, or freeze response. Trauma is a normal response to an abnormal situation. This means that trauma is not a defect or something someone has done wrong. The consequences, however, are that the threat – or perceived threat – from the traumatic event, can disconnect us from the moment, our reactions, or from those around us.

Fight-flight-freeze

The fight-flight-freeze response prompts our bodies into survival mode by increasing our heart rate, releasing stress hormones, and increasing blood flow to prepare for running or protecting ourselves. Adrenaline and other neurochemicals rush to the brain. These reactions impact certain parts of the brain, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex.

The amygdala acts as the brain’s emotional alarm system, or watchtower, when we feel unsafe.

The hippocampus assists with long-term memory storage.

The prefrontal cortex monitors rational thought and helps us control emotional responses.

When activated by trauma, the amygdala may disrupt signals to the hippocampus. This is why trauma memories may seem fragmented. The prefrontal cortex may also go off-line when the amygdala signals the need for alarm. This happens because the body doesn’t have time to think under threat. Any additional time spent thinking could jeopardize survival.

Our fight-flight-freeze response explains why thinking our way out of threatening situations becomes difficult. It’s also why trauma memories often become associated with images, feelings, and body sensations, rather than rational thoughts. The chemicals released during a trauma response prohibit the brain’s reasonable side from helping the emotional side escape memories of the trauma. In other words, a disconnect occurs from the side of the brain that handles reasoning and cognitive processing.

Recognizing trauma

People who have experienced trauma often appear shaken and disoriented. Some signs and symptoms of psychological trauma include, but are not limited to: confusion, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts.

Because trauma changes the brain, it also impacts a person’s perspective. For example, trauma may lead someone to perceive a situation as dangerous, even when there is no actual safety threat. It may include consistent feelings of guilt and responsibility (self-blame), feeling ashamed, and feeling different from or misunderstood by others. To a traumatized brain, it can become difficult to distinguish threat from reality. 

Trauma may also involve major emotional shifts, including difficulty regulating anger, as well as self-destructive behaviors, including unhealthy patterns related to food, substance use, and hurting oneself to relieve pain. Difficulties staying present may include feeling mentally disorganized, or detached from one’s own body and mind. 

Other shifts include relationship challenges, such as difficulties trusting others, feeling disconnected from loved ones, or struggles with intimacy. Many people with trauma attempt to protect themselves from being hurt, which often lead to unsuccessful or unhealthy coping patterns over time. 

Trauma

What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a diagnosis in the DSM-5 and refers to a specific set of criteria regarding trauma symptoms. PTSD occurs when the symptoms and reactions caused by a traumatic event do not resolve in a few months.

It’s possible to experience trauma and not develop PTSD. In these cases, the person will be able to process, or make sense of the event and feel okay with moving on after the experience. Someone who does develop PTSD will remain so overwhelmed by the event that it does not resolve, remaining stored in the brain and nervous system in an unhealthy way. In these cases, trauma memories linger and disrupt everyday life.

There are many reasons why someone might develop PTSD. Sometimes one single trauma event (ie. natural disaster, car accident) can cause PTSD. Other times, repeated events from childhood or ongoing traumatic events can create conditions for PTSD. Regardless of the reason, PTSD will occur when the body and brain’s ability to cope is disrupted and overwhelmed.

PTSD symptoms generally fall into four areas:

  • Re-living symptoms: flashbacks or nightmares.
  • Avoidance symptoms: staying away from activities, people, or places that are reminders of the trauma.
  • Cognition and mood symptoms: negative thoughts about self and world, extreme guilt, or lack of interest in things that used to be enjoyed.
  • Increased arousal symptoms: startling easily, having angry outbursts, and difficulty sleeping.

You can heal from trauma and PTSD!

Our bodies have a natural ability to heal, even through trauma and PTSD. Our team at Sustainable Wellness offers specialized services to heal your traumatized brain. We support your healing with therapies such as:

There is no shame in seeking the treatment you need. Let us help you understand why. Contact us at hello@sustainablewellnessny.com to begin your healing journey.