{"id":12117,"date":"2020-12-19T15:16:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-19T07:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/behealthy-beloved.com\/?p=12117"},"modified":"2020-12-19T15:21:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T07:21:00","slug":"simple-therapies-to-alleviate-the-symptoms-of-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/behealthy-beloved.com\/simple-therapies-to-alleviate-the-symptoms-of-anxiety","title":{"rendered":"Simple Therapies to Alleviate the Symptoms of Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"
When was the last time you felt stressed? Maybe it was last week or last month. Maybe it was earlier today. Or maybe, like many of us, you\u2019re anxious so often that you can\u2019t remember the last time you weren\u2019t stressed out, worrying about the past, present, or future.<\/span><\/p>\n Professional body therapist Stanley Rosenberg understands. Over the years, he\u2019s seen hundreds of clients at his clinic in Copenhagen who are stuck in a state of stress. You might also be familiar with their symptoms: sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, weight gain or weight loss, a lack of interest in socializing, and even teeth grinding.<\/span><\/p>\n The good news is that Rosenberg has traced all these symptoms back to a single source: the vagus nerve. Even better? He\u2019s pioneered a way to treat them at home.<\/span><\/p>\n You probably know the last time you were stressed. But when did you last feel relaxed<\/a>? Maybe you were sharing a drink and a meal with a friend. Maybe you were taking a long walk with your partner or family. Your body and mind probably felt at ease and safe from any potential threat or danger.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is what Stanley Rosenberg calls a state of social engagement. In this state, our minds and bodies rest and recover. We also enjoy intimacy and foster emotional connections with family and friends. But how do we access this state? Well, it all depends on one crucial component of our nervous system: our cranial nerves.<\/span><\/p>\n We have twelve cranial nerves, which, through tiny openings in the skull, connect the brain to our organs and muscles. The vagus nerve is the longest of these nerves.<\/span><\/p>\n Before we learn about the vagus nerve, let\u2019s zoom out a bit. The overall goal of our nervous system is incredibly simple: to keep our physical bodies alive. Each of the twelve cranial nerves serves a different purpose in support of that goal. Many cranial nerves, as you might imagine, are related to helping us find, consume, and digest our food. The ninth cranial nerve \u2013 CN IX \u2013 is one of these. Its purpose is to facilitate tasting and swallowing.<\/span><\/p>\n But our ability to survive isn\u2019t just about the physical requirements for life, like food and water. We need a healthy emotional life, too, and we achieve this through social engagement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Social engagement itself depends on five crucial cranial nerves. If these aren\u2019t functioning properly, they can impede our social relationships and, as a result, hinder our evolutionary success.<\/span><\/p>\n To illustrate this point, let\u2019s have a look at the spinal sympathetic nervous system. This system is a bundle of cranial and spinal nerves that, when activated, trigger our fight-or-flight response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If a lion is about to attack, we might appreciate this system being triggered, so we can either run away or brace for impact. But if the fight-or-flight response is triggered because of a stressful day at work, it can make us restless or aggressive, and not much fun to engage with.<\/span><\/p>\n These are just a few of the ways in which cranial nerves govern our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n Not all cranial nerves are created equal \u2013 at least not when it comes to social engagement. When it comes to social relationships, one cranial nerve is king. That\u2019s the vagus nerve.<\/span><\/p>\n The vagus nerve travels from the brain stem down into the chest and all the way into the abdomen. No surprise, then, that the nerve is named after the Latin vagus, which means \u201cwanderer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In the past, we thought that there were only two settings for the nervous system: stress or relaxation<\/a>. This was based on the idea that the vagus nerve was a single entity. But one psychiatrist\u2019s theory changed all that. Cue Stephen Porges and his Polyvagal Theory.<\/span><\/p>\n With Polyvagal Theory, Stephen Porges complicates our understanding of the vagus nerve. Porges hypothesizes that, rather than being a single nerve, the vagus nerve has two branches: the dorsal or rear branch, and the ventral or front branch.<\/span><\/p>\n But Porges goes even further: He argues that there aren\u2019t just two settings for the nervous system, but five.<\/span><\/p>\n The first is the relaxed state of social engagement, in which our nervous system is free from a sense of danger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Number two is the fight-or-flight response, which happens when the spinal sympathetic system is activated. This is known as \u201cmobilization with fear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The third setting for the nervous system is called \u201cimmobilization with fear.\u201d In nature, this usually happens when, upon perceiving an extreme danger, we freeze to conserve our remaining resources. In this setting, the dorsal or rear vagus nerve is activated, our blood pressure drops, and our muscles soften.<\/span><\/p>\n The fourth setting occurs when both branches of the vagus nerve \u2013 the dorsal and the ventral vagus \u2013 are engaged. This setting is called \u201cimmobilization without fear,\u201d and it typically fosters feelings of safety and intimacy, encouraging activities like cuddling.<\/span><\/p>\n The fifth and final setting is called \u201cmobilization without fear.\u201d This happens when the fight-or-flight setting is combined with the activation of the ventral vagus, typically triggering a spirit of friendly competition.<\/span><\/p>\n Many people get stuck in chronic states of mobilization or immobilization with fear. But Rosenberg has developed a simple treatment to remedy both chronic states. Let\u2019s find out more.<\/span><\/p>\n When your nervous system gets stuck in a state of fear, it can be physically as well as emotionally debilitating.<\/span><\/p>\n Some people\u2019s dorsal vagus nerve is overactive, meaning it\u2019s consistently responding to dangers that are not present. Now, when the dorsal vagus nerve is activated, it immobilizes us with fear. If this happens repeatedly over time, we start to feel generally weak, tired, and weighed down.<\/span><\/p>\n An overactive fight-or-flight response causes similar problems. When we\u2019re in fight-or-flight mode, our heart rate and blood pressure jump. We take in more oxygen, and our liver dumps extra sugar into our bloodstream for quick energy. This can be distracting in the moment, and over longer periods it becomes exhausting.<\/span><\/p>\nWell-functioning cranial nerves are crucial to healthy social engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n
According to Polyvagal Theory, there are five possible settings for our nervous systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Activating your ventral vagus nerve can improve your well-being<\/strong><\/h2>\n