166: Calming Your Nervous System with Carly Stagg, MSN, RN, FNP-C
đEver feel like your nerves are shot? Our nervous system should be able to shift in and out of calm and stress gears but many of us get stuck in the stress mode. This is a problem because the nervous system affects EVERY system in the body. When it canât shift back to calm, it wreaks havoc on our physical and mental health.
In this weekâs episode, Nurse Practitioner and FNTP, Carly Stagg, shares that she often sees this as a roadblock to her patientsâ healing and has had to incorporate strategies in her practice to help people shift their nervous systems back into the parasympathetic/calm state in order to facilitate the healing process.
Come listen to determine whether your nervous system is in the ventral, sympathetic or dorsal state and the tools she uses to shift it back into a calm, healthy baseline.
EPISODE 166: Calming Your Nervous System with Carly Stagg, MSN, RN, FNP-C
Show Notes
(0:00) Intro
Hello my friend, welcome back to the club. How are you today?
Todayâs episode is a timely follow-up to last weekâs episode- weâre talking about calming our nervous system and much of that involves feeling safe, loved and connected.
Welcome Carly to the CHC podcast đ
(3:03) Why do you resonate with this topic?
I see this as a common thread for MANY of my patients
We live in a world where much of the time, we feel the very opposite of safe, connected, and loved. We feel lonely, disheartened, anxious.
I also wanted to explain why the nervous system matters so much- the body is ultimately always working FOR us and for our healing. The experiences we go through may not always be our choice; but the body has adapted in this way for a reason and I wanted to share that- ex depression, anxiety
I remember that oftentimes my patientsâ only loving interaction for the day could be with me which is why I love my job so much, I have that opportunity.
But as patients, we can create more opportunities to create this safety for ourselves, versus needing others to facilitate itâŚ
(5:00) What is the Nervous System?
How did God create the nervous system?
Goal of the nervous system is to protect us. Focused on SURVIVAL- how do we survive- we adapt to stressâŚ
(7:40) Polyvagal Theory:
How we shift between different states of the nervous system= along a nervous system âladderâ. The theory that explains this is known as the Polyvagal Theory.
Framework: Polyvagal theory: Dr. Stephen Porges & Dr. Deb Dana are two of the leading scientists.
How the autonomic nervous system interacts with the primary experiences of our lives:
This impacts everything- from how well we listen and learn, interact with others socially, and how our body works (digestion, immunity etc).
6 total states but there are 3 major states and then the gray areas between them
âVentral Vagalâ- parasympathetic presence- state of regulation, rest & digest; ventral means âfrontâ
Calm, capable, creative, flourishing âI can do thisâ grounded confidence
There are 2 other states that our nervous system can switch to when danger is sensed through our limbic âsurvival brainâ âthreat alert systemâ
Through a process called Neuroception⌠(body is constantly taking in our social, physical environment and looking for cues of safety and/or danger).
Threat perceived to physical, emotional body => moves body into a protected state
(12:35) 1st protective state- Sympathetic âfight or flightâ
Excessively MOBILIZED
âIâm unsafe and need to run or fightâ
Racing heart, irritability, fight or flight, anger, big emotions and anxiety
âGreat physiological state for runningâ- Dr. Porges says
âRun from tigerâ essentially- advantageous for survival in some distinct circumstances
Many kids with ADD/ADHD will be in this state which is why they have difficulty focusing and with social engagement at times
âAnxietyâ âanger issuesâ âcanât sit stillâ âADHDâ âADDâ âhigh blood pressureâ âaddicted to busynessâ
If this goes on for long enough, body cannot sustain it, âemergency brakeâ is activated, pulling you into 2nd protective stateâŚ
(18:28) 2nd protective state- Dorsal vagal âshutdownâ
Excessively SHUT DOWN
âIâm overwhelmed and shut downâ
âI give upâ
Bloodflow is limited
Essentially curling up into the fetal position
Lethargy and feeling disembodied, disassociated- mental, emotional
Depression
Dorsal vagal => dorsal means back
âPlay deadâ essentially- advantageous for survival in some distinct circumstances
âBurnoutâ âdepressionâ
(23:13) Goal is not always to be in the ventral vagal stateâŚ
Ventral *should* be a healthy nervous systemâs baseline- NOT always going to stay here, BUT we should be able to move back here once the stressor or threat has passed
Unhealthy nervous system is being stuck in one of the survival modes (or a blended state between them) and unable to get back to that ventral healthy place
Heart rate variability- this metric describes how stuck we are in a certain nervous system state
The higher the HRV, the better, because it means our body has a better capability to adapt to stressors by moving between modes
64: HeartMath: Better Than Yoga, Meditation, and Deep Breathing
(32:10) How does our nervous system get âstuckâ?
Traumatic events- could be big T or little t
Trauma is not necessarily the event but our bodyâs response to it
The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk
Chronic stress
We live in a society where our bodies are constantly bombarded by stress, anxiety, pain, loneliness
Toxic load/burden- Mycotoxins, mold, heavy metals, etc.
Stressor exceeds the bodyâs capacity to overcome it- modifies the nervous system- gets stuck in a survival state as the new âbaselineâ. Really challenging to move out of this.
Why do we target the nervous system?
Because the nervous system affects EVERY system in the body.
When Ventral vagal is our baseline, we reach homeostasis (the balanced state where we can truly HEAL).
Goal of nervous system training⌠learn to befriend your body!
(36:40) How do we heal?
Daily, consistently, release survival energy over time
Signal safety to our body on a daily basis
Remind your body that it is safe and loved and cared for
Sarah Jackson says âwe cannot rewire if we are not releasingâ
Minimum 6 months of daily focused releasing and rewiring that creates LASTING change
Letâs talk about biochemistry⌠what underlies these lasting changesâŚ
Ventral vagal state activates the social engagement system, promotes calming hormones- oxytocin, vasopressin- Dr. Sue Carter
Dr. Carter
Oxytocin release is directly anti-inflammatory and counteracts threats & disease
(42:37) Interventions that promote nervous system health
Activities that promote oxytocin release
Rest & rebuild- take a Sabbath day
Intimate relationships
Sex- This is what everyone thinks of when we say âoxytocinâ
This is because orgasm during sex in a safe context releases a flood of oxytocin into the brain
Strengthens the bonds between us and another, making us blind to their faults, great for long term partnership
Casual sex is less oxytocin stimulating and more so stimulates vasopressin (element of forbidden, danger, âdonât trust themâ)
Physical touch
Skin to skin contact
Think about premature babies- studies have shown they grow faster and are healthier overall if they have plenty of physical touch and are skin to skin with mother and father
Hugs
Touch starvation- elevates blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, disturbances of heart rhythm, increased tendency for blood to coagulate
Safe touch/ Bodywork
Myofascial Release
Massage
Therapeutic touch
Nervous System Focused Chiropractic
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Touch-based vibration therapy that you wear on your wrist or ankle
When our bodies feel the rhythm of the Apollo vibrations, it is automatically recognized by the body as a soothing gentle touch, just like a friend giving you a hug on a bad day.
Improves heart rate variability by promoting safety (in the long term) while also being used for symptom relief (ex: different modes exist for sleep issues, focus issues)
Iâve used it with some of my patients who are kids, who have had severe trauma, depression, chronic stress, focus issues etcâŚ
Safe & Sound protocol
You listen with headphones to an auditory soundtrack which has soundwaves in it that are perceived as the frequency of a gentle, soothing voice. Moves the middle ear muscles which stimulates certain neural pathways.
âProsodyâ: the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech (every aspect of our speech except the actual words we speak)
âItâs not what you say, itâs how you say itâ
Prosody of âthreatâ- yelling, aggression
Prosody of healing- like Brahmsâ lullaby
Promotes ventral vagal state and presence.
Soundtrack you listen to over a period of 10 hours (in our practice we do 1 session a week for 10 weeks to allow you time to assimilate it)
Nice because it is one and done. Great for those acutely traumatized or someone stuck in sympathetic mode.
(58:15) Limbic Specific Retraining- focusing on taking charge of the cognitive aspect (thought life)
DNRS/Gupta- I prefer Gupta
For both of these repetition and daily commitment are important- remember, you need to reinforce!
MindREMAP- practitioner guided
Accelerated version of DNRS/Gupta⌠because itâs accessing the subconscious mind versus things that are just in your conscious awareness
Vagal Exercises
Singing, humming, chanting, gargling- all physically stimulate the vagus nerve to be in this more ventral vagal, connected state
There are also exercises you can do by Dr. Stanley Rosenberg- free YouTube videos
They look a little silly but they do work to move out of sympathetic or dorsal into ventral vagal
Some of these are also incorporated into SJP restore membership class
Resource- Book- Accessing The Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve- Dr. Stanley Rosenberg
HeartMath
Another HRV-focused therapy
Self-paced breathing technique that teaches you âheart focused breathingâ which moves you out of sympathetic very effectively
Works very well for panic/anxiety that comes up in the moment
Delivered via an earpiece that connects to phone or computer
Comprehensive education, somatic & vagal work (moving trauma out of the body)
Sarah Jackson Panther Restore membership & classes
(103:53) Parting thoughts:
Passage I wanted to share for those that may have lost hope in their healing journeyâŚ
Mark 5:25-34 NIV
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, âIf I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.â 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, âWho touched my clothes?â
31 âYou see the people crowding against you,â his disciples answered, âand yet you can ask, âWho touched me?â
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, âDaughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.â
When it comes to healing your nervous systemâŚ
Less is more.
Give yourself grace.
Believe for your healing. Prayer is critical!
@carlyfnp
(1:10:32) Outro & Disclaimer
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!